Vega snaps scoreless streak, Mexico beats Saudi Arabia 2-0 in CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals

GLENDALE Ariz AP Alexis Vega snapped a -match scoreless streak in international play with a goal in the th minute and defending champion Mexico beat Saudi Arabia - in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals on Saturday night Mexico will face Honduras in the semifinals on Wednesday in Santa Clara California Honduras beat Panama in a penalty shootout earlier Saturday after the teams played to a - draw in regulation The -year-old Vega scored after finding selected room to work following a nice pass from Ra l Jimenez His first shot bounced off goalkeeper Nawaf Alaquidi but the forward expeditiously corralled the rebound and sent it through Alaquidi s legs and into the net Vega was initially ruled offside but after review the goal was allowed and Mexico had a - lead Vega s goal snapped a scoreless streak in international play that dates back to It also ended a dry spell for Mexico which scored for the first time in minutes of play El Tri s final match in group play ended with a scoreless draw against Costa Rica Mexico pushed ahead - in the st minute on an own goal by Saudi Arabia s Abdullah Madu Mexico s Mateo Chavez sent a bridging pass to Roberto Alvarado who never made contact with the ball Instead it caromed off a defending Madu and into the net Saudi Arabia stifled Mexico s offense for much of a scoreless physical first half The tension escalated just before the halftime break Saudi Arabia s Ali Majrashi and Mexico s Jes s Gallardo were both being shown yellow cards after the two exchanged shoves Gallardo will be suspended for the semifinal round because he has too plenty of yellow cards in the tournament Gilberto Mora a -year-old midfielder made his international debut for Mexico and played well over minutes He s the youngest participant to ever play for El Tri Mexico is in the knockout stage of the Gold Cup for the th consecutive time Saudi Arabia is playing in its first Gold Cup as an invited guest and advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Haiti losing to the U S and playing to a draw with Trinidad and Tobago El Tri is two wins away from a th Gold Cup championship which would be the greater part in the tournament s history The United States has won seven times while Canada won once Saudi Arabia has never beaten Mexico in international play with six losses and a draw AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source