Mexico is the winner of the 2024–25 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League after beating Panama 2-1 in the Finals thanks to a late goal by striker Raul Jimenez. United States men’s national team, which won the previous three editions of the competition, finished fourth after losing to Canada in the third-place match.
After losing in the Finals two times in the past three seasons, Mexico finally managed to jump over the hump. However, it was far from an easy feat against a Panama team that was flying high after stunning USMNT in the semi-finals.
Mexico was aggressive from the kick-off and the strategy quickly paid off with Jimenez breaking the deadlock in the eighth minute of the game. After that, El Tri was happy to cede possession and soak up the pressure.
Panama intensified its attacks toward the end of the first half and it paid off in the added time as Mexican defender Johan Vasquez made a reckless tackle in the penalty box. Adalberto Carrasquilla converted the penalty kick to make it 1-1.
The second half saw Mexico taking the initiative once again but Panama proved well-equipped to keep them at bay. But Panama’s defender Jose Cordoba ensured the teams wouldn’t go into extra time by touching the ball with his hand in the penalty area. Jimenez was confident from the spot, scoring his second goal of the game and securing the first CONCACAF Nations League trophy for Mexico.
USMNT, on the other hand, failed to extend its domination in the CONCACAF Nations League. The Americans struggled throughout the surprise so the loss to Canada wasn’t a major surprise.
Tani Oluwaseyi got Canada in the lead in the 27th minute before Patrick Agyemang scored the equalizer for USMNT in the 35th minute. Jonathan David made it 2-1 for Canada in the 59th minute, and it turned out to be a winning goal as USMNT failed to come up with a response.
“We are all [disappointed] and the fans need to feel the disappointment that we didn’t win,” said USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino after the game. “But I’m not going to allow [us] to feel pessimistic because I think we have good players. We are going to find a way to perform and for sure we are going to compete in a different way.”
