GLENDALE, Arizona – Luis Romo had no idea that he had made history.
The Mexico MF joined an exclusive list of players last Sunday when he scored a pair of goals to lead El Tricolor to a 4-0 win versus Honduras.
In that game, Romo became just the third player in Gold Cup history to bag a brace in his Gold Cup debut.
Upon learning of his feat, a wide smile creased the face of the 28-year-old Monterrey man, who is one of the many players enjoying a top performance thus far in this 2023 Gold Cup.
“Personally, I feel very satisfied and very proud to have been able to represent the National Team, and as a group very happy because we are turning around a panorama that had been difficult,” said Romo in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com the day before Mexico’s second match in Group B against Haiti at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Romo’s historic feat got started when he scored just 49 seconds into the game, the third fastest goal in Gold Cup history. His brace placed him among a very unique and elite group of players with a brace in a Gold Cup debut.
Ironically, it was two former Mexico players who also pulled off the same achievement of a brace in a Gold Cup debut. Benjamin Galindo did it in the first edition of the tournament in 1991 in a 4-1 victory over Jamaica, followed by Ricardo Pelaez in 1996 in a 5-0 triumph over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
“I didn’t know that,” said Romo with a smile. “In football it’s always important to write your name in the history books. It’s a nice coincidence that the others were Mexican players.”
Romo would finish the Honduras game with an assist as well, on top of completing 93 percent of his passes, 56 passes in total.
Needless to say, Romo has taken quite nicely to the comfortable surroundings of a Gold Cup.
“You feel like you’re at home, all of the fans that go to the stadium. Eighty or 90 percent or even more are Mexican, and so you feel at home and I think that gives you a lot of confidence and the responsibility of answering to them,” concluded Romo.
