Mexico Vooruit Santiago Gimenez stacked praise on teammate Raul Jimenez after his brace helped them to be eligible for the Concacaf Nations League final on Thursday.
Jimenez scored in the first and 75th minutes when Mexico Canada beat 2-0 in Sofi Stadium to set up a final against Panama, who had previously defeated the US with 1-0.
Jimenez was understandably the toast of his teammates after the implementation.
“We were a team today,” said Giménez. “We were a family, and we are very happy to be in the final. I think this cup, we'll be winning.”
'For me it is an honor to play with Raúl. I think he is a great striker. I have to learn a lot [from] it. We have a special connection because we are strikers that are doing well in the club. Of course we did not play in the club with two strikers, but it was fun. I am really happy. “
Canada was admitted almost immediately from a set of piece, was furious after he had been denied a penalty after what looked like an error by Edson Alvarez on Derek Cornelius in the penalty area in nine minutes.
Screens in Sofi Stadium had indicated that VAR was looking at the decision and at the same time the referee indicated that the game had been restarted.
“What I think is unforgivable … is that it is not at least viewed by the main referee, right?” said head coach Jesse Marsch Canada. “First it is mentioned a mistake in the other direction that is strange, because we clearly get contact first. For me this is the definition of a penalty.”
Ft. Our Concacaf Nations League continues with the 3rd place match on Sunday.
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Mf. La Ligue des Nations de la Concacaf se poursuit avec un match pour la troisième place CE Dimanche.#Canmnt pic.twitter.com/zejsq1fess
– Canmnt (@canmnt_official) March 21, 2025
But despite the defeat, Marsch was happy with how well his team had acquitted against talented opposition.
“They really wanted to lift the trophy for the country. It was a knife in the heart to play well, but only for a short time. That disappointment is hard to shake.
“I thought our boys really pushed the game. I thought we were organized. We were the aggressor. We were on top of many moments. I thought every man gave a good performance, and it's just one of those games that the bounces just don't really go your way.”
Jimenez made the result comfortable for Mexico with 15 minutes to go and bends in a beautiful free kick from more than 30 meters.
Although Marsch was clearly disappointed to be on the losing side, he could see the bigger whole and seemed optimistic for the future.
“In so many ways it is just a new step in which we continue to show our quality, our organization, our intelligence and now a bit smart, a little intelligence that the best international teams have,” he said.
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