Mexico beat Panama CONCACAF Nations League final
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Mexico scrapped and clawed and climbed back to the top of North and Central American soccer here at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, beating Panama 2-1 to win its first CONCACAF Nations League.
It climbed, literally and figuratively, on the back of resurgent striker Raúl Jiménez, who scored twice, once early and once in the 92nd minute from the penalty spot.
In stoppage time of a physical, fractured game, after a blatant and baffling Panama handball, Jiménez stepped up and put his stamp on a tournament that he owned. He converted the penalty, and simply stood still as bedlam exploded all around him. Teammates mobbed him. Some 60,000 fans erupted. Hundreds of beer cups rained down toward the field in celebration. Pizza boxes flew.
And the Mexicans reclaimed the CONCACAF throne that, for decades, was theirs.
In recent years, El Tri had ceded that throne to the United States. Or, rather, the U.S. had seized it first with a dramatic Nations League title in 2021, then an emphatic title defense in 2023, and a businesslike three-peat in 2024. The Americans, confident and rising, seemed like the new kings of the region. “I wanna keep winning this trophy, and only let us win it, to the point it gets boring to people,” U.S. defender Antonee Robinson said at this very moment last year.
But a year later, the U.S. flopped in its semifinal. Mexico resurged, beat Canada in the second semi, and won its maiden Nations League on Sunday without having to face the defending champs.
It was not dominant, not irresistible, not irrepressible. It could have been after Jiménez’s early goal, but Panama, the most impressive CONCACAF team of the week, fought back. In first-half stoppage time, Los Canaleros won a penalty of their own, and their intermittent pressure paid off. Adalberto Carrasquilla scored from the spot. The match went to halftime level.
Mexico labored for much of the second half. Anxiety spread throughout a crowd of 68,212. So did the discriminatory “p***” chant, which boomed at least six times, and prompted referee Mario Escobar to briefly suspend the match. At that point, it was still level and locked, with no locksmith on either side to unbolt it.
But then, out of nowhere, a clumsy Panamanian arm appeared, and a golden opportunity fell to the man of the hour and the weekend
Jiménez, a 33-year-old star reborn, struggled for years after suffering a fractured skull in late 2020. Even after returning to full health, he drifted further and further from his prime, away from the form that once made him the most feared player in CONCACAF. He drifted so far that he was omitted from Mexico’s squad for last summer’s Copa América.
But in 2024-25, he has turned back time. On a per-90-minute basis, he is scoring more than he ever has in the Premier League since his move to England seven years ago.
And if that wasn’t enough proof that he is back, fully back, Jiménez proved it this week.
He scored in the very first minute of Mexico’s semifinal, bursting through the Canadian defense. He sealed victory Thursday with a glorious free kick, a curler that beat Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair with both power and precision.
Three days later, he needed only eight minutes to pick up where he left off. His back-post header put Mexico ahead 1-0.
For the rest of the 90, he got precious little service. Mexico’s same old flaws namely, a lack of creativity and attacking structure reappeared. The game crept toward extra time, and looked increasingly likely to get there.
But once Escobar pointed to the spot, there was little doubt about the end result. There was little doubt about who’d win the tournament’s “Best Player” award. And there was little doubt about what this title would mean to Mexico and to Jiménez personally.
His scary injury five years ago, as head coach Javier Aguirre said,
had been “painful for all of Mexico.”
