Front Row Seat: USA faces Mexico in Gold Cup Final
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Darren Smith
Soccer
USMNT heads to Gold Cup final vs. Mexico as Diego Luna takes a star turn - The Athletic
Diego Luna jumped on a rebound inside the box to put the U.S. up in the fourth minute, eliciting an enormous ovation from the American fans in the building, then doubled his output 11 minutes later. The two goals would be enough — just barely — for the U.S. to advance to the Gold Cup final with a 2-1 win, but only after they survived a frantic final 10 minutes following an 80th-minute Guatemala goal.
The U.S. will head to Houston’s NRG Stadium to face archrival Mexico in the Gold Cup final on Sunday night. El Tri defeated Honduras 1-0 later Wednesday night to continue their quest for a record 10th Gold Cup title, and it will mark the eighth all-time Gold Cup final meeting between the neighboring foes and 2026 World Cup cohosts.
USA Gets Mexico In The Gold Cup Final Everyone Wanted: 'We Owe Them' - FOX Sports
U.S. men’s national team defender Chris Richards didn’t hesitate when asked if he wanted to face Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup final.
It was only an hour after the U.S. had outlasted Guatemala 2-1 in Wednesday’s semifinal. But Richards was upfront about wanting to face the Americans’ historic nemesis in Sunday’s grand finale in Houston (coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on FOX).
He didn’t.
"Yeah," Richards said. "Yeah, I do."
"We owe them a little something from the October camp," Richards added, alluding to Mexico’s 2-0 win in Guadalajara last fall that snapped a seven-game winless run against the Americans. "We’ll do it by winning a trophy."
Donovan Calls Out Olympic Coach After Diego Luna Brace - Athlon Sports
After Luna's brace for the USMNT, Landon Donovan had a brief message for Mitrovic for not calling up the Real Salt Lake star last summer at the Summer Olympics.
"What the hell were you [Marko Mitrovic] thinking?"
Donovan went on to praise Luna and recalls watching the player in the USL Championship, the second tier of U.S. Soccer, a few years back. The former USMNT captain was the head coach of the USL team San Diego Loyal SC.
Gilberto Mora Sets Up Must-Win Final vs. USMNT: Takeaways From Mexico's Gold Cup Win vs. Honduras - Sports Illustrated
In only his second start after becoming the youngest player ever to make his official debut with El Tri, the 16-year-old Mora was the best player on the night. When the game looked increasingly complicated to navigate for Mexico, it was an out of nowhere moment of magic from the teenager that resulted in Jiménez's breakthrough, tallying his first assist for the national team.
Diogo Jota, Liverpool Soccer Star, Dies in Car Crash at 28 - New York Times
The Liverpool F.C. soccer star Diogo Jota, 28, was killed in a car crash in Spain early Thursday, according to the Spanish police.
Mr. Jota, a Portuguese forward who spent five seasons with Liverpool, died alongside his brother André Filipe, a professional soccer player in Portugal. The crash came less than two weeks after the Liverpool star was married.
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