2019 Concacaf Gold Cup — Quarterfinals
Mexico vs. Costa Rica
NRG Stadium — Houston
June 29 — 9:30 PM ET
TV: FS1, Univision, UDN, TSN
STREAMING: FOX Sports GO
Longtime rivals Mexico and Costa Rica square off in the Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals Saturday night at sold-out NRG Stadium in Houston, with a berth in the semifinals at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix at stake.
This is their eighth all-time meeting in the Gold Cup, with Mexico winning five times with two draws. The last encounter was in the quarterfinals of the 2015 tournament, won 1-0 by El Tri at MetLife Stadium in extra time, with Andres Guardado scoring the lone goal from the penalty spot in extra-time stoppage time.
Mexico
Outside of a challenging penultimate match of the group stage against Canada, Mexico expectedly cruised to a first-place finish atop Group A following a 3-2 win over Martinique Sunday in Charlotte. The LA Galaxy's Uriel Antuna opened the scoring with his fourth goal, Raul Jimenez followed in the 61st minute and Fernando Navarro closed out the scoring in the 72nd minute.
Along with Haiti and the United States, El Tri were one of three teams to finish with a perfect 3-0-0 record in the group stage, doing so with a +10 goal differential.
Costa Rica
A draw in the final match of the group stage was all Costa Rica needed to finish atop Group B, but the Ticos were stunned by Haiti, falling 2-1 at Red Bull Arena Monday.
The Ticos jumped ahead in the 13th minute on an own goal by Haiti's Djimy Bend Alexis after former Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio put his header off the right back's chest and into the Haitian net. A foul by Chicago Fire defender Francisco Calvo resulted in a penalty kick, converted by Duckens Nazon, before Alexis went from goat to hero with his 81st-minute winner.
Series Matchup
- Mexico: 6 wins, 12 goals
- Costa Rica: 0 wins, 3 goals
- 2 draws
Officials
- Referee: PITTI, JOHN FRANCIS (Panama)
- Assistant Referees: LOPEZ RAMOS, WALTER ENRIQUE (Honduras), ZEEGELAAR, ZACHARI JAIR (Suriname)
- 4th Official: PARCHMENT, DANEON ESTRADO (Jamaica)
