Edson Álvarez was on target as Mexico began their defence of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 3-2 win over Dominican Republic on Saturday night.
The West Ham United midfielder opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with his sixth international goal, setting El Tri on their way to an entertaining victory at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, USA.
Mexico, nine-time winners of their continental championship, were made to work for the three points by their spirited opponents, who are making their Gold Cup debut.
There were 44 minutes on the clock when Álvarez broke the deadlock, getting across his man at the near post to nod Orbelin Pineda's corner into the net.
¡Cabezazo para abrir el marcador a favor de México! ⚽ pic.twitter.com/WO83v2gs7O
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) June 15, 2025
Mexico doubled their advantage shortly after the break through Raúl Jiménez, although Dominican Republic soon got themselves back into the contest thanks to a goal by Peter Federico.
The action kept on coming, with Mexico re-establishing their two-goal advantage by the 53rd minute mark.
This time, César Montes was on target, and his goal meant Edison Azcona's reply midway through the second period was merely a consolation.
With three points under their belts, Mexico will continue their Gold Cup campaign on Wednesday night with their second Group A contest against Suriname.
