INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Santiago Giménez entered the field in the 85th minute to replace Henry Martin in a scoreless Gold Cup final.
Three minutes later he plunged SoFi Stadium into hysteria after battling Panamanian defender Harold Cummings and making an absurd run from midfield, capping it with a fine finish past the keeper for the 1- 0.
After tense back-and-forths throughout the game, the game appeared to be headed for overtime. Instead, Santi became the hero to give Mexico their ninth Gold Cup title, the most of any CONCACAF team.
Things could have been very different if Martin’s 33rd-minute goal hadn’t been ruled out for offside after VAR reviewed it. Fans were nervously waiting from that exact moment to celebrate again.
Later in the first half, a wild double save by Panamanian keeper Orlando Mosquera kept the score going even before the break.
It seemed like the longer it went on, the further the momentum got away from Mexico in front of what was essentially a hometown crowd of 72,963. Legendary keeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa helped keep El Tri despite some warning shots from Panama.
Unlike the previous year, this one was not going to end with complaints to a coach. It wasn’t Gerardo Martino or Diego Cocca standing on that touchline. Those days are history, a sour past that Mexico can finally emerge from with a new mentality and material to brag about.
Jaime Lozano was only the interim and was only in charge of the tournament, but after that Gold Cup run he might have done enough to solidify himself for the full-time job.
Winning, especially trophies, changes a lot for a Mexican team used to dominating the region. A month ago, El Tri was in danger after losing the Nations League final against the United States.
A little time and a change of direction is enough.
Lozano’s late replacement worked perfectly as Giménez fired up the jets and etched himself into the history books. From that moment, the party began. The final whistle was accompanied by an epic roar and appropriately followed by Vicente Fernández’s “El Rey”, perhaps reminding some that Mexico are still kings of CONCACAF.