INGELWOOD, Calif. -- Mexico’s Gold Cup campaign got off to an uneasy start Saturday night, as El Tri survived an unexpected 3-2 thriller against a relentless Dominican Republic side before 54,309 nervous fans at SoFi Stadium.
In keeping with the drama unfolding across Los Angeles, the match turned on a wild second-half sequence that saw three goals in six minutes, masking what had been a frustrating evening for the tournament favorites.
Captain Edson Álvarez broke the deadlock just before halftime with an assured header from Orbelín Pineda’s corner. The breakthrough came after Mexico dominated possession but struggled to break down the Caribbean side’s compact low block.
Javier Aguirre’s side appeared to take control when Raúl Jiménez doubled the lead just 90 seconds after the restart, finishing with a cool finish between Xavier Valdez’s legs.
But the Dominican Republic immediately responded through Peter González’s strike in the 51st minute, the winger cutting inside before curling the ball into the far corner.
Seemingly undeterred, Mexico added their third just two minutes later with another header - this time from César Montes, albeit with a major deflection off a defender.
But the insurance goal proved crucial when D.R. substitute Edison Azona’s 67th minute shot deflected off a Mexican defender, wrong-footing goalkeeper Luis Malgón before finding the back of the net.
Still, Mexico’s defense managed to see out the victory, even if questions linger about their vulnerability to counters. The victory puts them at the top of group A - the only acceptable position by their lofty standards.
For the Dominican Republic, their determined performance against the tournament favorites should give them hope going forward - even if manager David González felt the result didn’t match their performance.
Ultimately, it was a reminder that victories rarely come easy in CONCACAF. And in what was a tense day both inside and outside the stadium, fans of both sides can perhaps breathe a little easier as they look ahead to their remaining Gold Cup campaigns.