Mexico 1-0 Honduras: Jimenez secures fourth consecutive Gold Cup final
Mexico will play the United States in the Gold Cup final after edging past Honduras in the final four thanks to Raul Jimenez's strike.
Raul Jimenez was Mexico's hero as his goal sent his nation into a fourth consecutive Gold Cup final following a 1-0 victory over Honduras at Levi's Stadium.
Jimenez was on target for Javier Aguirre's team in the 50th minute, with Mexico now facing the United States in the final, the eighth time they have met in the showpiece match.
In what proved to be a nervy first-half, Marcel Ruiz came closest to opening the scoring for Mexico, but he saw his effort saved well by Edrick Menjivar down to his left.
But five minutes after the restart, Jimenez broke the deadlock with a fine finish into the bottom-left corner, with his goal assisted by talented teenager Gilberto Mora.
Indeed, at 16 years and 262 days old, Mora became the youngest player to provide an assist in the Gold Cup since 2013.
Edson Alvaraz then had a goal disallowed four minutes late due to offside, but Honduras failed to threaten a comeback as Mexico comfortably saw out the victory.
Data Debrief: Defence wins championships
Jimenez proved to be Mexico's hero once again. It was the sixth time in his career with the national team that he scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory, including the third in the Gold Cup (2019 against Haiti and 2023 against Trinidad and Tobago).
The result also saw Mexico reach their 12th Gold Cup final, second only to the United States (13), who beat Guatemala in the competition's other semi-final.
Aguirre (2009, 2025) is only the second manager to lead Mexico to a Gold Cup Final multiple times, after Gerardo Martino, who did so in 2019 and 2021.
Mexico have kept clean sheets in five consecutive knockout round matches at the Gold Cup, equalling the longest streak in competition history, set from 1993-98 by themselves, with their defence needing to be at their best in the final.
