The lights of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup have been turned off and Mexico has been crowned champions for the seventh time.
The 13th edition of the Gold Cup ended with El Tri walking away from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a 3-1 victory over Jamaica on Sunday. The Mexicans have won 10 titles in total, with three coming in the pre-Gold Cup days.
Now with the tournament over, it is time to break it down.
Best countries: Mexico and Jamaica
This section is a two way tie between El Tri and the Reggae Boyz. Mexico started the Gold Cup on fire by destroying Cuba 6-0. However, after that they tied the next two group matches against Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago.
In the second round El Tri continued to struggle and also was in the middle of controversy. In both the quarterfinals and the semifinals against Costa Rica and Panama, Mexico was not able to score a goal in the open play. They needed a controversial stoppage time penalty to defeat Costa Rica in the quarterfinal, and a far more controversial penalty in stoppage time against Panama in the semifinal to force extra time, where they duly won after another penalty, this one coming in extra time.
However, in the final against the Reggae Boyz, El Tri woke up and cruised to a 3-1 victory. Mexico recovered from their subpar performances and kept their focus to win another Gold Cup title.
Even after they became the villains of the tournament, they still performed and showed their class in the final. The mental toughness to overcome and claim the Gold Cup puts El Tri in the conversation for Team of the Tournament.
As for the Reggae Boyz, it was a magical run that saw them win their group, which included: Costa Rica, El Salvador and Canada. They went on to defeat Haiti in the quarterfinals and to shock the United States in the semifinal, winning 2-1.
Their defense was strong and fast as they bullied the Americans in their semifinal 2-1 victory. The offense was just as quick on their feet as they were with the ball. They made history by becoming the first Caribbean nation to reach a Gold Cup final.
However, the final proved to be a bridge too far for the Reggae Boyz as Jamaica’s Cinderella story was ended by Mexico.
Countries that disappointed: United States and Honduras
Honduras' tournament ended quickly in the group stages. They failed to win a single game and only tied Panama to finish with one point. The final blow was Haiti eliminating the Catrachos in their group stage finale. They entered the Gold Cup with high hopes but crashed out.
The Yanks in the other hand finished in fourth place of the competition. They lost to Jamaica in the semifinals and then to a short-handed Panama in the third place match.
The USMNT offense went missing for the entire tournament. If Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley did not score then, they were ineffective. The two combined for nine of the 12 goals the Americans scored in the six games they played. Six of those 12 goals came against Cuba in the quarterfinals.
The Americans defense was more unstable then the San Andrea Fault. Speed, strength and creativity proved to be nightmares for the American defense as they allowed five goals.
It all resulted in the Yanks finishing in fourth place. This was the Americans worst finish since the 2000 Gold Cup, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Colombia in penalties.
Surprise countries: Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti
Both of these Caribbean nations came in to the tournament with the region not really expecting much from them. However, both put on show and got to the quarterfinals.
Haiti was the biggest surprise of the Gold Cup. They were drawn in Group A with the United States, Honduras and Panama and when the group stages started they were predicted to finish in fourth.
However, Les Grenadiers started the tournament by fighting back and getting a 1-1 draw against Panama. In the second game they put the Americans on their heels and barely lost 1-0. In their final group stage match they had to beat Honduras to advance and they dominated Los Catrachos and won 1-0.
In the quarterfinals they were eliminated by Jamaica. Haiti’s quick passes and speedy midfield was the main reason why they enjoyed success, and got to the second round for the first time since 2009.
As for Trinidad & Tobago, they started the Group Stage with a 3-1 victory against Guatemala and never looked back. They ended the group with a thrilling 4-4 comeback draw against Mexico to win the group.
In the second round the Soca Warriors were eliminated by Panama on penalties. However, in the tournament Trinidad & Tobago's smash mouth style of play was relentless and caused chaos for their opponents.
Best player: Andres Guardado (Mexico)
In the second round he put Mexico on his back and carried his team to the final. When the knockout stage started Guardado only had two goals, by the time El Tri was crowned champs he had a total of six.
Against Costa Rica and Panama there were a combined three penalties. All three of the penalties were controversial and gifted Mexico two victories.
However, Captain Guardado still had to convert the penalties and he did each time. Without his cool and clutch performance in the knockout stages there is a good chance El Tri might have been eliminated by Costa Rica, and an even better chance they would have been eliminated by Panama.
2016 Copa América Centenario
With the tournament over, there is a blue print of the six CONCACAF countries that will be participating in next summer’s Copa América Centenario.
The United States and Mexico automatically qualified, while Costa Rica and Jamaica both secured their places by winning the 2014 Copa Centro Americano and the 2014 Caribbean Cup respectively.
However, for the final spots there will be two playoff matches to decide who will lock up the last two places. Panama will face Cuba, and Trinidad & Tobago will play Haiti in a Caribbean match up. The date or locations of these two matches have not yet been decided.
There is still doubt as to whether or not the Centenario tournament will even occur. The organizing process was riddled with corruption which has come to light in the last couple of months, throwing the tournament into doubt.
2017 Confederations Cup
For the Confederations Cup that will take place in Russia, a CONCACAF participant has not yet been decided. There will be a playoff match to decide the final spot on Oct. 9th under the bright lights of the Rose Bowl.
CONCACAF’s biggest rivalry, the United States against Mexico, will meet up for their 65th time to earn their one way ticket to Russia.
With that the 2015 Gold Cup is over, and now the rest of the region will have to wait till 2017 for the next cup.