Mexico kicked off its 2025 Gold Cup campaign with a challenging Group A matchup against the Dominican Republic. And it was Edson Alvarez who gave El Tri the breakthrough with a brilliant header just before halftime.
Despite dominating possession, Mexico struggled to create clear chances against a well-organized Dominican Republic defense. It wasn’t until the closing minutes of the first half that Javier Aguirre’s side finally broke the deadlock.
In the 44th minute, Orbelin Pineda sent in a precise corner kick, and Alvarez rose above the defense to power home a thumping header, giving Mexico a 1-0 lead at SoFi Stadium and scoring the first goal of the 2025 Gold Cup.
The goal marked the end of a nine-match scoring drought for Alvarez with the national team, extending his tally in a Mexico shirt. The opener gave El Tri momentum heading into the second half—and they didn’t waste it.
Just two minutes after the restart, Santiago Gimenez threaded a perfectly weighted through ball to Raul Jimenez, who calmly slotted it between goalkeeper Xavier Valdez’s legs to extend the lead to 2–0 and give Mexico full control of the match.
Despite Peter Gonzalez shortened the difference, Pineda and Alvarez repeated the formula, now with a different factor. The West Ham star headed the ball inside the box once again, and bounced in Cesar Montes’ head, netting the 3-1 for Mexico in a hilarious way in the 53rd.
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