Luis Fernando Tena walked on to the playing field after the sound of the final whistle Saturday.

Mexico's Olympic team coach made the sign of the cross, touching his forehead, chest, and each shoulder then kissed his right thumb. He then continued walking to meet his players celebrating at midfield.

Tena thanked the heavens for what his team had just accomplished. Mexico had just clinched its first soccer gold medal. El Tri beat mighty Brazil 2-1 at a sold out Wembley Stadium in the Olympic final in London.

Mexico needed first and second half goals by striker Oribe Peralta to shock the favorite Brazilians and probably shock the rest of the world. Peralta, one of Mexico's three allowed over-aged players on the Under-23 roster, scored 29 seconds into the match and added another in the 75th minute.

His name will go down in what will likely be the most important accomplishment in Mexican soccer history.

And so will Tena, the coach picked by the FMF, (Mexico's governing body) to run the other half of a daring soccer project.

The FMF's plan: split a pool of players into the Olympic team and the senior squad. Tena would coach the Under-23s while Jose Manuel de la Torre managed the first team. Both teams would take different paths to the Olympics and 2014 World Cup.

The plan proved to be golden.

With a lineup of entirely Mexican-based players from Chivas de Guadalajara, Tigres, Monterrey, America, Pachuca and Santos, Mexico beat Brazil, a squad made up of 11 players from European clubs, Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter and Real Madrid to name a few.

Mexico kept Brazil, a five-time World champion, from wining the only major tournament hardware it is missing. For Brazil, it was sure disappointment. Its notable star Neymar lay on the field, despondent, for several moments. He would join a list of stars such as Romario and Ronaldo without a gold medal.

In contrast, Mexico would culminate what appears to be its best generation. Mexico had deemed youth teams as its "Golden Generation," in previous years, but none have reached such accomplishments as recent youth teams.

The Under-17 team won the 2005 and 2011 World Cups. The Under-20 squad finished third at last year's World Cup. The senior team won the last two Gold Cups, clinching a slot in next year's Confederations Cup. Mexico is also the Pan-American games champ. It is the Toulon champion. The Milk Cup champ and it clinched a slot in this Olympics by winning the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.

Such accomplishments appear to point to a promising future in Mexican soccer. And it might also serve as a reminder of the gap between the United States and Mexico. The U.S. failed to qualify to the Olympic Games while Mexico went unbeaten, allowing one goal in the tournament while playing without its best player in the final against Brazil, who made a desperate attempt at a late comeback but ran out of time despite an injury time goal by striker Hulk.

"We want the people in Mexico to believe in this young generation of players," said forward Giovani dos Santos, who sat out the final while nursing a hamstring injury. "This gold medal goes to all of those in Mexico who always believed in us. For those who didn't believe in us? Well, let them celebrate too."

And Tena also dedicated the gold medal to Mexicans living in the United States.

"This goes out to them, our countrymen who left our land to go work and sacrifice in the United States," Tena said in a TV interview. "We know that they are hardworking people that mean a lot to the families they send money to in Mexico. This is also for them."

It is also a testament to the FMF's dedication to create improved youth teams. Mexico wanted to avoid a repeat from 2008. That's when El Tri failed to qualify to Beijing under coach Hugo Sanchez. Mexico didn't make it out of the group stage in the qualifying tournament.

Such result prompted the Mexican Federation to panic. They fired Sanchez. They hired then fired Sven Goran Erikkson. It brought in Javier Aguirre for a second stint before settling on de la Torre. And then there was Tena for the Under-23 team that played in the Copa America, the Pan-American games, the Toulon tournament and went on to become Olympic champion in London.