EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey Mexico is supposed to be the powerhouse in the region.
Many consider it to be the top team in CONCACAF, the region's governing body. El Tri didn't play the part for a little more than a half Saturday night.
Mexico overcame an early deficit with two second-half scores to clinch a spot in the Gold Cup semifinals, beating Guatemala 2-1 at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
Aldo De Nigris in the 48th minute and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández scored 18 minutes later, enabling the heavily favored Mexico to avoid one of the biggest upsets in Gold Cup history.
Mexico will travel to Houston where it will face Honduras at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday. Honduras beat Costa Rica in penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of play in the first of match of a doubleheader.
El Tri picked up the win but it wasn't as easy as previous matches in this Gold Cup.
Mexico won all three group stages matches with lopsided wins against El Salvador, Cuba and Costa Rica, outscoring its opponents 14-1.
However, Guatemala stunned Mexico with a goal in the fifth minute, virtually silencing the partisan crowd of 78,807, the second largest to see a soccer match at the New Meadowlands.
Elias Enoc Valasquez launched a long arcing ball from out of his own half that Mexican defender Héctor Moreno, who was marking Carlos Ruiz, tried to intercept as it fell. But he missed with his right foot, the ball bounced once and Ruiz was able capitalize, lifting it over goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera who had come off his line.
It was the first time Mexico had trailed in the tournament.
"This team knows it can win against any adversity if it wants to be a champion," said Mexico coach José Manuel de la Torre. "We knew that it was a difficult match and we would have a difficult opponent. The early goal greatly complicated things. We didn't anticipate it. That gave the rival more strength and that picks at you little by little but the team didn't panic and was able to overcome it."
Guatemala coach Ever Hugo Almeida and his players constantly said they were confident they could defeat Mexico, and it defended doggedly to preserve its lead.
After all, Guatemala had beaten Mexico in 2007 during the qualifiers to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
Guatemala began in their 5-4-1 formation and forced Mexico to penetrate their defensive stance.
The plan worked for most of the first half. Guatemala held five in the back line. Its defenders spent more time on their own side of the field than in Mexico territory and Ruiz at times was seen inside his own six-yard line. The strategy forced Mexico to take shots from a distance.
Mexico countered the strategy by pushing players up the field, which at times enabled
Guatemala to look dangerous on counters.
Guatemala players huddled near midfield immediately after the halftime whistle and briefly hugged and shook hands prior to heading into the locker room.
De la Torre, Mexico's coach, started the second half by replacing midfielder Israel Castro with forward Aldo De Nigris, a hint that Mexico would try for a more aerial offensive approach.
The move paid immediate dividends when De Nigris equalized three minutes into the second half.
The goal wasn't off a header, but the play began through the air.
Pablo Barrera sent a lobbed pass into the six-yard box, where Héctor Moreno leapt high to head it straight at Guatemala goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez.
The ball ricocheted off Jerez's hands back to Moreno, who poked at it only to have his shot blocked by Carlos Gallardo on the goal line.
De Nigris then sent in the ball off Gallardo's deflection for his third goal of this Gold Cup.
"You always want to have that opportunity to score," De Nigris said. "And when you get that chance you have to take advantage of it. It happened and the good thing is that the team was able to get the result we wanted."
Mexico continued to try and break through Guatemala's defense by moving the ball over the top and with quick combinations. El Tri often used four attackers who were fed by left wing Andrés Guardado and Barrera on the right.
Barrera helped create the eventual winner in the 66th minute. He rolled in a pass from the right into the goalmouth, where "Chicharito" merely touched the ball with his right heel and it rolled slowly across the line.
It was his tournament-leading sixth goal.
Mexico continued to pressure Guatemala as time expired but could not finish a series of opportunities.
Mexico had previously lost to South Korea on penalty kicks in 2002, lost to South Africa in 2005 and to Colombia the same year. All three were invited opponents to the tournament.
When asked what Guatemala needed to close out the match and force the upset, coach Ever Hugo Almeida gave a simple response.
"One more goal," he said. "In the first half we had opportunities to score. I think Mexico did a good job. They played patiently and figured out what they needed to do win."
Ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com
