INGLEWOOD — Raul Jimenez stunned Canada with a first-minute goal and added another on a 75th-minute free kick for a 2-0 Mexico win Thursday in a frenetic, hot-blooded CONCACAF Nations League semifinal.
The 31st-ranked Canadian men pushed hard for a tying goal after digging themselves an early hole. But Jimenez, who plays his club football for England’s Fulham, delivered the coup de grace with a wonderful set piece from well outside the penalty box — bending the ball around the Canadian wall and past a diving Dayne St. Clair to seal the win for No. 19 Mexico.
No. 36 Panama posted a 1-0 upset win over the 16th-ranked U.S. in the earlier semifinal at SoFi Stadium. Substitute Cecilio Waterman scored in the 94th minute on Panama’s lone shot on target to dispatch the three-time defending champions.
The Canada-Mexico contest was not for the faint of heart — an all-action, high-tempo affair compared to the drab U.S.-Panama game that only came alive in stoppage time. The Canadians were in high gear all night, with coach Jesse Marsch doing his bit — racing down the sideline early on to get the ball to speed up a Canadian throw-in.
There were five yellow cards in the first half alone.
Honduran referee Said Martinez booked Canadian defenders Moise Bombito, Alphonso Davies and Alistair Johnston in the 18th, 22nd and 33rd minute, respectively, for ill-timed tackles. Two Mexicans also went in the book in the first 45 minutes.
Mexico soaked up the Canadian pressure and took its chances.
The Mexicans will face Panama in the final while Canada takes on the U.S. in the third-place game, both Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Earlier, the Americans had 66.5 per cent possession and outshot Panama 12-3 (5-1 in shots on target) but could not break down a well-organized defence. It was just Panama’s fourth win in 19 meetings (4-8-7) with the U.S.
It was a disastrous start for Canada with a Johnston throw-in in his own end intercepted by Mexico some 45 seconds after kickoff. Two passes later, Jimenez was gifted the ball in the penalty box when the ball deflected his way off Davies and he beat St. Clair with a low shot to the corner.
Canada appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty in the ninth minute when Mexican captain Edson Alvarez got a piece of Derek Cornelius in the penalty box, felling the Canadian defender.
St. Clair had to be sharp to deny Jesús Gallardo in the 19th minute when the Toluca midfielder was put behind the Canada defence.
Davies was on target with a free kick in the 31st minute but his shot went straight at Mexican goalkeeper Ángel Malagon. Soon after, a Johan Vasquez header off a Mexican corner flashed just wide.
Alvarez’s headed goal off a free kick in the 39th minute was negated by the offside flag. Another Davies free kick went wide in the 44th minute.
Mexico outshot Canada 5-4 (2-1 in shots on target) in the first half.
Davies sliced a shot wide early in the second half as Canada kept coming forward. In the 53rd, a Cyle Larin shot deflected off a defender just over the crossbar.
It was Alvarez to the rescue in the 61st minute when he headed the ball to safety before Cornelius could knock it into an unprotected Mexico goal.
Jacob Shaffelburg came on for Canada in the 60th minute, followed by Mathieu Choiniere, Tajon Buchanan, Tani Oluwaseyi and Daniel Jebbison, who made his Canadian debut in the 80th minute.
The Canadian starting 11 went into the match with a combined 467 caps, with 160 of those coming from Jonathan Osorio (82) and Larin (78).
Ali Ahmed and Ismael Kone, both fasting from sunrise to sundown in observing Ramadan, were also in the starting lineup.
It marked Canada’s first outing since Nov. 19 when it blanked Suriname 3-0 in Toronto to complete a 4-1 aggregate win in the Nations League quarterfinal.
The Canadian men were unbeaten in their previous five matches (4-0-1) since last summer’s Copa America.
They came into the game with a 5-21-10 all-time record against Mexico but were unbeaten in the three most recent meetings (1-0-2) including a famous 2-1 World Cup qualifying win in the snow at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in November 2021. That victory ended a winless streak against the Mexicans lasting 21 years eight months and 25 days, dating back to Canada’s 2-1 quarterfinal win en route to hoisting the 2000 Gold Cup.
The teams played to a scoreless draw the last time they met, in a Sept. 10 friendly in Arlington, Texas.
Canada fell to 5-4-5 under Marsch, with one of those ties turning into a penalty shootout loss to No. 11 Uruguay and another to a shootout win over No. 47 Venezuela at Copa America.
The Nations League is worth $2 million (all figures in U.S. dollars) to the winner with the runner-up collecting $1 million. Third place is worth $600,000 with $200,000 going to the fourth-place side.
Canada placed fifth (2019-20), second (2022-23) and fifth (2023-24) in the three previous editions of the CONCACAF Nations League.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025
The Canadian Press
