Mexico book Gold Cup quarters

Mexico booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Martinique, while Panama also advanced from Group A after a goalless draw with Canada.

Mexico, who were stunned by Panama in the group opener but got their bid for a third consecutive Gold Cup title back on track by winning their remaining games, went ahead in the first half through Marco Fabian and Luis Montes before Kevin Parsemain’s penalty made it 2-1.

Martinique had opportunities to equalise in the second half but could not make the breakthrough, and Miguel Ponce scored from close range in the 90th minute to make the game safe for the Mexicans.

Mexico beat Canada 2-0 on Thursday to move into second place in Pool A behind Panama and clinched a berth in the next round with Sunday’s win.

Kevin Parsemain scored for Martinique, who lost their final two games of the tournament after opening with a 1-0 win over Canada on Saturday.

In the earlier Group A match, Panama settled for a 0-0 draw with Canada to top the group on seven points.

Panama (2-0-1 in Group A) had already secured a berth in the quarterfinals with wins over Mexico and Martinique. Panama’s Gabriel Torres, who had three goals in the victories, rested against Canada.

Canada were eliminated after failing to score a goal in any of their three games, finishing group play 0-2-1.