:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/2912050/GYI0064973994.jpg)
Throughout the Gold Cup, the Javier Hernandez-Giovani dos Santos combination has looked like the second coming of the Cuauhtemoc Blanco-Jared Borgetti partnership. On Wednesday night, they were a little more Nery Castillo-Omar Bravo. Honduras did not have any of their biggest stars available, but they players that they did have on the pitch were more than willing to kick opposing players very hard. In the third minute of extra time, the Karma Police showed up and Aldo de Nigris put in the winner. Chicharito then killed off all of that good karma by scoring a second goal with his arm.
As a result, Mexico are the lucky recipients of a ticket to Pasadena, California, where they will face the United States for the Gold Cup crown. While the USMNT has not been at their best in this tournament, the manner in which they scored their goal shows that they're a team that can score very quickly and at any time, which can't really be said for any of the teams Mexico have faced thus far. They will will the possession battle on Saturday, but if they lack the killer instinct like they did on Wednesday, the United States will make them pay.
I'd tell you about the action in last night's game...but there really wasn't a whole lot of it. This means that Honduras were successful in executing their gameplan. For most of the second half, I really believed that the game was destined for penalties. Then, at the end of the second half, we finally got an indication that one of the two teams might actually be able to score a goal.
Javier Hernandez and Giovani dos Santos finally combined to put together a good move for what seemed like the first time in the game in the 88th minute, when Chicharito sent dos Santos through on goal. Gio hit the most Gio shot in the history of Gio, missing an inch wide of the far post. A minute later, Alfredo Talavera was forced into an acrobatic save on an absolute rip by Roger Espinoza.
The game went to extra time, but extra time was over as quickly as it started. Aldo de Nigris scored instantly, Chicharito added another, and Espinoza picked up a red card. After a tense 90 minutes, the ending was incredibly anti-climactic, though I'm sure fans of El Tri won't really mind. A win is a win, and they have a date with the United States on Saturday.