Mexico beats Jamaica 1-0 in Copa America opener on Gerardo Arteaga’s 69th-minute goal

HOUSTON (AP) — Gerardo Arteaga scored from the sting of the penalty space within the 69th minute and Mexico beat Jamaica 1-0 on Saturday night time in its Copa America opener.

Competing as a visitor in South America’s championship for the eleventh time, Mexico dominated the match and scored on its seventeenth shot.

Joel Latibeaudiere’s weak headed clearance went to Luis Romo, who managed the ball off a thigh and handed to Arteaga. His left-foot shot beat goalkeeper Jahmali Waite and went contained in the far submit for his second objective in 25 worldwide appearances.

“The thought was to empower some gamers who have been referred to as earlier than however didn’t have the minutes to shine,” Mexico coach Jaime Lozano stated by an interpreter. “As we speak was Arteaga’s flip, however we’ve a set of different gamers who’re including minutes on the high degree. That’s what we had in thoughts after we made the roster.”

Michail Antonio appeared to place Jamaica forward with a short-range header within the fiftieth minute however the objective was disallowed for offside following a video assessment.

“A fraction offside,” Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrímsson stated. “I’ve seen it once more, and it was appropriate.”

Mexico captain Edson Álvarez left within the thirtieth minute following a left hamstring harm and was changed by Romo.

“Relating to Edson, we’re going to wait,” Lozano stated. “He’s going to see what he has and take some photographs. We don’t wish to danger it. He felt one thing in his leg.”

Lozano stated it was going to be a pair days earlier than they might know the severity of the harm.

“I believe it has been our motto for this summer time – collectively and unity,” Lozano stated. “It’s not straightforward to beat your captain being faraway from the sphere, however I felt they responded quick. We suffered a bit greater than we would have liked to undergo.”

Lozano stated the turf didn’t play an element within the recreation.

Venezuela beat Ecuador 2-1 within the different Group B match. Mexico performs Venezuela at Inglewood, California, on Wednesday, when Jamaica faces Ecuador at Las Vegas. The group finishes on June 30, when Mexico performs Ecuador at Glendale, Arizona, and Jamaica faces Venezuela at Austin, Texas.

El Tri reached the semifinals in 1997, 1999 and 2007. The Reggae Boyz are 0-7 within the match following group-stage elimination in 2015 and 2016.

“We fought till the tip,” Hallgrímsson stated. “I’m happy with the gamers. We gave them a troublesome match, and in the long run, I hoped, and I believed we deserved to attain one, get one thing out of this recreation. … General, fairly pleased with how the sport performed out. In fact, sad with shedding.”

Earlier than a crowd of 53,763 at NRG Stadium, Mexico wore pink, inexperienced and black jerseys patterned after people artwork.

El Tri has not misplaced to Jamaica since a 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer