The strike of Alexis Vega just after the break and a late goal of Abdullah Madu achieved a 2-0 win for Mexico on Saudi Arabia in the Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinals in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday a collision with Honduras in the last four.
Honduras, who eliminated Panama in a penalty shootout earlier in the day, will be confronted with defensive champions Mexico in the semi-final in Santa Clara on Wednesday.
“I am really happy with the work of the team,” said Vega, who scored for Mexico for the first time since 2022. “We will give everything to recover, prepare ourselves and reach another grand finale.”
Fulham Vooruit Raul Jimenez's Quick Through Ball put Vega's Sprint in the box, and although keeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi blocked the first attempt, the Toluca striker thought the target of the rebound and the 12-goal champions forwarded in the 49th minute.
Tournament -thebutanten Saudi -Aarabia's hope to make a comeback, were put to bed in the 81st minute, with the cross of Matteo Chavez from the left and took a curb from defender Madu and found it, doubled Mexico's lead.
Saudi Arabia, who were invited to play in the tournament through the North American football board and reached the quarterfinals after second place in Group D, did well to comprehensive heavy favorites in the first half.
Vega's Heroics
Vega's diagonal shot from the left in the 13th minute was just too high for Marcel Ruiz, and the Acrobatic overhead clearance of Ali Majrashi stopped with Roberto Alvarado's left staircase to reach Raul Jimenez in the box two minutes later.
Majrashi placed Saudi -Arabia almost ahead in the 20th minute when he used a defensive error to run to the Mexico box, but his shot missed the nearby post.
Vega, who created the biggest opportunities for Mexico, delivered a corner to an unmarked Edson Alvarez in the box, but the fast save from Al-Aqidi denied the captain of Mexico just before the half hour.
Midfielder Gilberto Mora, who became the youngest who played for Mexico when he made his international debut at the age of 16, found Vega with a short cross from the left just before half -time, but the striker shot wide.
Mexico, who only had one shot on goal in the first half, searched for an early breakthrough after the break when Ruiz cleaned up the Saudi defense line to receive vega's through the ball, but hit the bar up close.
The moans of the supporters of Mexico changed to cheers when Vega finally broke the impasse a minute later.