Mexico wins 7th Gold Cup title with victory over Jamaica

1PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Andres Guardado scored his fourth goal of the knockout rounds, not needing a penalty kick this time, and Mexico won its seventh CONCACAF Gold Cup title Sunday with a 3-1 victory over upstart Jamaica.
2Jesus Corona and Oribe Peralta added goals as El Tri scored twice early in the second half to ensure this match wouldn't come down to any calls in the final minutes.
3It was a convincing performance for coach Miguel Herrera and his team after some shaky play and contentious moments in the previous two games.
4Jamaica had made a rousing run to the final, stunning the U.S. in the semis to become the first Caribbean nation to reach the Gold Cup's championship match.
5And the Reggae Boyz looked as though they belonged in the opening minutes, keeping the pressure on Mexico with several promising scoring chances but never putting a shot on goal.
6Jamaica hadn't trailed since early in the second half of its Gold Cup opener before a yellow card helped lead to Mexico's first goal.
7Darren Mattocks scored in the 80th minute to pull the Reggae Boyz within 3-1.
8El Tri will face the U.S., the 2013 Gold Cup champ, on Oct. 9 for CONCACAF'S spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.
9The only way Mexico had been able to score in the knockout rounds before Sunday had been on penalty kicks, all three by Guardado.
10And two of those came on late, questionable calls.
11Against Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, a scoreless game was moments from going to a shootout when Guardado converted his penalty in the final minute of extra time.
12Mexico had been the better team that day, but that wasn't the case in the semifinals.
13Down to 10 men, Panama was on the verge of victory when a disputed hand ball set up a penalty for Guardado in second-half stoppage time, and he scored on another for the winner in extra time.
14Mexico had gone 272 minutes since one of its players scored on anything other than a penalty when Guardado put El Tri ahead for good Sunday.
15Jonathan dos Santos found Paul Aguilar out wide on a free kick, and Aguilar crossed it to Guardado, whose left-footed volley made it 1-0 in the 31st minute.
16Guardado, voted top player of the tournament, had also been the last Mexico player to score on anything other than a penalty with his goal in the 88th minute against Trinidad and Tobago in the final group stage match.
17Any chance of a Jamaica comeback quickly evaporated after halftime.
18Just over a minute in, Jesus Corona, who had failed to convert two good chances in the first half, stole the ball from Michael Hector and pushed forward.
19The 22-year-old forward slid his left-footed shot from the edge of the area under the legs of Wes Morgan for a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute.
20Corona was selected top young player of the tournament.
21Another mistake by Hector in the 61st minute put Mexico up 3-0.
22He whiffed on an attempted clearance, and the ball went right to Peralta for an easy goal.
23Shortly after, Guardado came off to a thunderous ovation from the pro-Mexico crowd of 68,930 at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
24NOTES: Brad Guzan of the U.S. won Golden Glove as top goalkeeper.
25United States midfielder Graham Zusi (19) kicks the ball past Panama midfielder Armando Cooper (11) during the CONCACAF Gold Cup third-place match at PPL Park.
26United States defender Fabian Johnson (23) chases a loose ball against Panama during the first half of the CONCACAF Gold Cup third place match at PPL Park.
27Jul 25, 2015; Chester, PA, USA; United States defender Fabian Johnson (23) kicks a high ball against Panama during the CONCACAF Gold Cup third place match at PPL Park.
28United States forward Aron Johannsson (9) and Panama midfielder Armando Cooper (11) battle for the ball during the CONCACAF Gold Cup third place match at PPL Park.
29Panama defender Harold Cummings (3) lunges to block the shot of United States midfielder Michael Bradley (4) during the CONCACAF Gold Cup third-place match at PPL Park.
30United States defender Fabian Johnson (23) kicks a high ball against Panama during the first half of the CONCACAF Gold Cup third-place match at PPL Park.
31U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann during the first half.
32Alejandro Bedoya moves the ball defended by Jamaica's Adrian Mariappa.
33Jamaica's Darren Mattocks celebrates after scoring the opening goal in the semifinal.
34A fan looks on during the first half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer quarterfinal match between the United States and Cuba, Saturday, July 18, 2015, in Baltimore.
35United States fans during the match against Honduras during the 2015 Gold Cup soccer match at Toyota Stadium.
36United States midfielder Kyle Beckerman heads the ball against Honduras during the first half.
37Honduras forward Antony Lozano and United States defender Gyasi Zardes battle for position during the first half.