Gerardo Arteaga’s goal from just outside the penalty area in the 69th minute secured a 1-0 victory for Mexico over Jamaica in their Copa America opener on Saturday night.
Competing as a guest in South America’s championship for the 11th time, Mexico dominated the match. Joel Latibeaudiere’s weak-headed clearance went to Luis Romo, who controlled the ball off his thigh and passed to Arteaga, whose left-foot shot beat goalkeeper Jahmali Waite and went inside the far post-side-netting for his second goal in 25 international appearances.
“The idea was to empower some players who were called before but didn’t have the minutes to shine,” Mexico coach Jaime Lozano said through an interpreter. “Today was Arteaga’s turn, but we have a set of other players who are adding minutes at the top level. That’s what we had in mind when we made the roster.”
Disallowed goal for Jamaica
Jamaica’s Michail Antonio appeared to put his team ahead with a short-range diving header in the 50th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a video review. “A fraction offside,” Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said. “I’ve seen it again, and it was correct.”
Mexico captain Edson Álvarez left the game in the 30th minute due to a left hamstring injury and was replaced by Romo. “Regarding Edson, we are going to wait,” Lozano said. “He’s going to see what he has and take some images. We don’t want to risk it. He felt something in his leg.” Lozano mentioned that it would be a couple of days before the severity of the injury is known.
“I think it has been our motto for this summer – together and unity,” Lozano said. “It’s not easy to overcome your captain being removed from the field, but I felt they responded fast. We suffered a bit more than we needed to suffer.” He also noted that the turf did not play a factor in the game.
Upcoming matches
In the other Group B match, Venezuela defeated Ecuador 2-1. Mexico will play Venezuela in Inglewood, California, on Wednesday, while Jamaica faces Ecuador in Las Vegas. The group stage concludes on June 30, with Mexico playing Ecuador in Glendale, Arizona, and Jamaica facing Venezuela in Austin, Texas.
El Tri has reached the semi-finals in 1997, 1999, and 2007. The Reggae Boyz are now 0-7 in the tournament following group-stage eliminations in 2015 and 2016.
“We fought until the end,” Hallgrímsson said. “I’m proud of the players. We gave them a tough match, and in the end, I was hoping, and I thought we deserved to score one, get something out of this game. … Overall, quite happy with how the game played out. Of course, unhappy with losing.”
The game was played before a crowd of 53,763 at NRG Stadium, and Mexico remains unbeaten against Jamaica in recent times, its last defeat coming in a 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final.
