2025 Gold Cup Recaps: Mexico Squeaks By Dominican Republic

Group A got off to a fantastic start, as the defending champions El Tri held on against the upstart debut side from the D.R.

Usually the question for most CONCACAF giants when they play a minnow in the Gold Cup, is how much are they going to win by?

What we going to start asking a lot more of is, how hard can the minnows hit back?

A flurry of goals after halftime saw Mexico build multiple two goal leads before an eventual 3-2 victory over a Dominican Republic side in their first Gold Cup game.

Mexico almost got off to a flying start, with a 1v1 breakway that DR keeper Xavier Valdez (five saves) was able to thwart temporarily. A secondary chance by Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez was cleared off the line by DR’s Pablo Rosario.

Then right before halftime, El Tri got their lead, with Edson Alvarez heading home over a near post marker off a corner kick. And if giving up a goal right before halftime is almost the worst, giving up a goal right after halftime absolutely is.

Raul Jimenez in the 47th minute received a quick entry pass and stumbled slightly but was able to fire home Mexico’s second through the five-hole against an onrushing Valdez. But this would begin a trend of short lived two goal leads for Mexico.

In the 51st minute, Peter Federico etched his name into trivia lore with the DR’s first ever Gold Cup tally, a solo effort cutting in from the right wing via nutmeg and sliding home a long range finish into the far side netting.

Two minutes later Edson Alvarez thought he had a second off another corner, but his header found the back of Cesar Montes’ noggin before nestling into the far low corner of the goal to restore the two goal advantage.

In the 67th minute, Edson Azcona cut back inside the box from the left hand side and fired a low shot that popped up after a deflection up and over Mexican keeper Angel Malagon (three saves). A late stoppage time push saw DR substitute Luiyi de Lucas’ long range shot pushed just past the post as El Tri claimed the first win in their title defense.

The respect for DR after the match was widespread, with TV commentators Max Bretos and Herculez Gomez among others praising the effort from The Quisqueyanos. Making their first Gold Cup appearance after a trip to the Olympics and a solid Nations League and WCQ campaign should only boost the confidence of this rising team.

But it is Mexico that tops the group with Costa Rica-Suriname yet to play tonight. Group A action continues on Wednesday June 18th with Costa Rica-DR and Suriname-Mexcio, both from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.