Antuna spares blushes as Mexico come from behind to beat Bermuda 2-1

Uriel Antuna’s injury time goal steered Mexico to a 2-1 win over Bermuda after a lackluster performance at the Estadio Nemesio Diez.

Mexico came into this match already qualified to the next phase of the CONCACAF Nations League but needing a win to officially finish as the top-ranked team of the Group Stage.

El Tri quickly went down in the scoreline when a set-piece finished with Dante Leverock heading Bermuda in to a surprise lead.

As expected, Mexico started pushing hard for an equalizer but a series of long distance shots led to nothing, with Necaxa’s Cristian Calderon coming the closest to scoring from a free-kick.

In the 27th minute, Mexico eventually equalized when Club América youngster Sebastian Cordova found himself with inches of space from long range to score a splendid left-footed shot into the back of the net.

Mexico continued to put pressure on the Caribbean side, and Jose Juan Macias got on the end of a close-range shot that went narrowly above the crossbar.

After the break, Mexico remained dangerous, particularly down the right-hand side through Uriel Antuna and Jorge Sanchez.

But Mexico’s best chance of taking the lead came in the 75th minute when second-half substitute Raul Jimenez forced the Bermuda goalkeeper to a good save.

Just when it seemed like Mexico were going to finish the game with an underwhelming draw, a brilliant combination between Raul Jimenez and Uriel Antuna saw the Galaxy forward appear 1 v 1 with the goalkeeper to score the Mexican winner.

The win gives Mexico a perfect finish to their CONCACAF Nations League Group Stage and will now face Costa Rica in the Semifinals, joining Honduras and the United States as the other two teams in the Championship Phase.