In a 1-0 victory over Jamaica in their Copa America opener, Gerardo Arteaga scored from the edge of the penalty area in the 69th minute, giving Mexico a successful start in South America’s championship, where they are competing as a guest for the 11th time.
Mexico dominated the game and found the back of the net on their 17th shot.
Joel Latibeaudiere’s weak header fell to Luis Romo, who controlled the ball with his thigh and passed it to Arteaga. Arteaga’s left-footed shot beat goalkeeper Jahmali Waite, finding the far post and marking his second goal in 25 international appearances.
“The idea was to empower some players who were called before but didn’t have the minutes to shine,” explained Mexico coach Jaime Lozano through an interpreter. “Today was Arteaga’s turn, but we have a set of other players who are adding minutes at the top level. That’s what we had in mind when we made the roster.”
Earlier in the match, Jamaica thought they had taken the lead in the 50th minute through Michail Antonio’s close-range header, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a video review. “A fraction offside,” commented Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrímsson. “I’ve seen it again, and it was correct.”
Mexico’s captain Edson Álvarez left the field in the 30th minute due to a left hamstring injury and was substituted by Romo.
“Regarding Edson, we are going to wait,” said Lozano. “He’s going to see what he has and take some images. We don’t want to risk it. He felt something in his leg.” Lozano mentioned it would take a couple of days to determine the injury’s severity.
Lozano praised his team’s resilience, “I think it has been our motto for this summer – together and unity. It’s not easy to overcome your captain being removed from the field, but I felt they responded fast. We suffered a bit more than we needed to suffer.”
He also noted that the turf did not impact the game.
In the other Group B match, Venezuela defeated Ecuador 2-1.
Mexico’s next match is against Venezuela in Inglewood, California, on Wednesday, while Jamaica will face Ecuador in Las Vegas.
The group stage concludes on June 30, with Mexico playing Ecuador in Glendale, Arizona, and Jamaica facing Venezuela in Austin, Texas.
Mexico reached the semifinals in 1997, 1999, and 2007, while Jamaica has yet to progress beyond the group stage, having been eliminated in 2015 and 2016.
“We fought until the end,” said Hallgrímsson. “I’m proud of the players. We gave them a tough match, and in the end, I was hoping, and I thought we deserved to score one, get something out of this game. … Overall, quite happy with how the game played out. Of course, unhappy with losing.”
In front of a crowd of 53,763 at NRG Stadium, Mexico donned red, green, and black jerseys inspired by folk art.
El Tri has maintained an unbeaten record against Jamaica since their 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal clash.
