LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals are in the books having produced two very entertaining matches full of great moments.
Here are the three best from Wednesday’s two matches.
Carrasquilla delivers masterclass for Panama
Panama MF Adalberto Carrasquilla has gotten better with every game in this Gold Cup and his performance in his team’s semifinal contest with the United States was his best yet. The Canaleros reached the Final thanks to a 5-4 penalty shootout win following a 1-1 draw in which Carrasquilla pulled all the strings in the Panama midfield.
His pass set up Panama’s goal in extra time, he had three steals, completed 79 of 90 passes and then converted the winning penalty in the shootout with remarkable calm to send Panama to their first Gold Cup Final since 2013.
Chavez golazo the exclamation point for Mexico
There is just something about free kicks in big games that bring out the very best in Mexico MF Luis Chavez. Seven months after his powerful free kick for a goal against Saudi Arabia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Chavez supplied another work off art from a dead ball delivery in Mexico’s 3-0 semifinal win versus Jamaica.
With Mexico leading 1-0 and a half-hour played, Chavez stepped up to take a free kick from the left corner of the area. The left-footed Pachuca man proceeded to curl his free kick around the Jamaican wall and into the top left corner of net, immediately placing himself into the conversation for Goal of the Tournament. For Mexico, it was the exclamation point on a commanding win that sends them to a third straight Gold Cup Final.
Panama GK Mosquera the man for the moment
The 2023 Gold Cup has already been a stage in which goalkeepers have shown their best and on Wednesday it was Panama GK Orlando Mosquera’s turn to shine. The 28-year-old shot-stopper was pivotal for the Canaleros in the spot kicks, saving the opening U.S. penalty taken by Jesus Ferreira, as Mosquera guessed correctly and made a diving stop to his right.
With the penalty shootout locked at 4-4 through five rounds, it was time for sudden death and again Mosquera would come through in the clutch by making another diving save to his right, this time blocking the effort from U.S. MF Cristian Roldan. That paved the way for Adalberto Carrasquilla’s winning conversion and a moment that will forever live in Panamanian football lore.
