Mexico shines at Gold Cup

WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. - A two-goal lead in a final of any tournament would seem like an insurmountable deficit to overcome.

Not for defending Gold Cup champion Mexico.

El Tri railed from an early hole to stun the United States with a 4-2 win at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. that left many Yanks fuming and frustrated as the Mexicans routinely shredded the tournament's top defense to claim a record sixth Gold Cup on June 25.

"It's beyond me how they rallied back from that because we hit them, we counter-punched and they staggered us for a counter punch," U.S. goalie Tim Howard told reporters. "Every team in the tournament just sat back and waited on them and they just picked them apart. We didn't want to do that."

But maybe it would have been the better strategy in front of a sellout crowd of 93,420 mostly pro-El Tri fans, who turned the Rose Bowl into a sea of green and red.

With the Yanks netting goals from Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley in the first 24 minutes, it appeared Mexico was heading to what would be a demoralizing defeat after opening the tournament with five straight wins.

"You're worried and you don't want to become disorganized," Mexico's Coach José Manuel de la Torre said to reporters. "The United States was playing well. They surprised us with the first goal. We pushed too far up in the second goal. Fortunately, we were able to maintain our calm."

El Tri midfielder Pablo Barrera sent a hard shot past Howard from just inside the penalty box in the 29th minute to pull to within 2-1. Seven minutes later, Andrés Guardado tied the game when he poked home a loose ball from close range.

"You have to give Mexico a lot of credit," Donovan told reporters. "They are a difficult team to play against. They have a bunch of guys that can make special plays."

Mexico would take the lead in the 50th minute when Barrera struck again, this time sneaking a low shot past a lunging Howard. Finally, dos Santos capped the scoring in the 76th minute with the signature goal of the tournament, as he dribbled around several Americans - luring Howard off his line - before placing a world-class strike into the upper-left corner of the goal.

"It was a great goal," Mexico defender Rafael Márquez told reporters. "We'll forgive him for all the ones he's missed."

Howard also was in awe of dos Santos' amazing play.

"He does a great job," Howard told reporters. "He pulls wide. He isolates you and then he comes inside. It's hard to get tight on him. When you do, he does his magic."

Mexico's Javier "Chicarito" Hernández, despite not scoring in the final, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for scoring seven goals in six games.

The two bordering nations have met five times in the final, with Mexico winning four times. El Tri has claimed the past two finals overall by a combined 9-2 margin over the Americans on their own soil. The Yanks claimed victory in 2007 with a 2-1 win.

Overall, the teams have claimed 10 of the 11 Gold Cups contested since the tournament changed formats in 1991.

Mexico also claims an automatic berth in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. The invitation is a coveted prize as it allows El Tri the opportunity to test travel plans, hotels and play in stadiums and utilize other local venues in a practice run for the 2014 World Cup.

"There's no better moment than victory," de la Torre told reporters. "Everything else is in the past now."

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