Mexico defeats USMNT to win the Gold Cup, CWC final four set and Jota's final farewell
Kick off your Monday with all the action from this past weekend
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Let’s get to it: The July 4th weekend brought with it more games, headlined by the Gold Cup final and the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinals.
A note to readers: There will be no “Soccer Monday” on July 14. Instead, I will be covering the FIFA Club World Cup final, providing all of you with complete coverage from MetLife Stadium in New York.
Gold Cup: Mexico lifts the trophy for a 10th time
Edson Alvarez scored in the 77th minute after a video review reversed an offside call, giving Mexico a 2-1 win against the United States on Sunday night to win its record 10th CONCACAF Gold Cup title.
Mexico was awarded the free kick when Diego Luna fouled Alexis Vega on a flank. Johan Vásquez flicked the restart across the goal mouth and Alvarez burst past the defense, redirecting the ball from just three yards just inside Matt Freese’s far post.
While the play was initially called offside, the goal was awarded after a VAR check, and Mexico defended its title from 2023 while improving to 6-2 in Gold Cup finals against the U.S.
Patrick Agyemang had a chance two minutes into stoppage time, but he didn’t make good contact on his short-range shot that was stopped by goalkeeper Luis Malagon.
Chris Richards had put the USMNT ahead in the fourth minute at NRG Stadium in Houston, heading in a Sebastian Berhalter free kick for the second time in the tournament, but Raul Jiménez tied the score in the 27th with his third goal of the tournament.
Club World Cup: Semifinal matchups set
And then there were four.
The FIFA Club World Cup semifinals are set — with Brazilian side Fluminense taking on Chelsea on Tuesday, followed the next day with Paris Saint-Germain facing off against Real Madrid.
Both games will be played at MetLife Stadium near New York. The final, scheduled for Sunday, will also be played there.
PSG, the defending European champions, are aiming for the quadruple — downing Bayern Munich 2-0 on Saturday on goals by Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele.
In Saturday’s other quarterfinal matchup played at MetLife Stadium, Kylian Mbappe’s stunning overhead kick in stoppage time gave Real Madrid a 3-2 win against Borussia Dortmund.
Premier League: Liverpool pays final farewell to Jota
Players from Liverpool and Portugal’s national team joined family and friends for the funeral of their teammate Diogo Jota and his brother on Saturday, two days after the siblings died in a car crash in Spain.
Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk arrived carrying a red floral arrangement in the shape of a soccer shirt with Jota’s No. 20 in white. Liverpool teammate Andrew Robertson carried a similar arrangement with the No. 30, the number worn by Jota’s brother, Andre Silva, who played for Portuguese club Penafiel.
The service was held at Igreja Matriz Church in the Portuguese town of Gondomar, where Jota had a home.
Portugal manager Roberto Martínez and other national team players also attended, including Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.
“These are really, really sad days, as you can imagine,” Martínez said. “But today we showed we are a large, close family. ... Their spirit will be with us forever.”
In other news: Brescia, the club that Roberto Baggio ended his career with, had its national license revoked and was kicked out of Serie C after going bankrupt. Brescia owner Massimo Cellino’s failure to pay back millions in debts had already resulted in the club’s relegation from the second division. … At the Women’s European Championship, Netherlands star Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th goal in international competition against Wales on Saturday in a 3—0 win. Playing in her 126th game for the Dutch, the 28-year-old Miedema extended her national team scoring record in first-half stoppage time. … In MLS, Joseph Paintsil scored twice, lifting the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 3-0 win against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday night to snap a three-game winless streak. The defending MLS Cup champion won for the first time since beating Real Salt Lake 2-0 on May 31. The Galaxy went into the game with a league-low 13 points.