Arteaga’s goal seals Mexico’s 1-0 victory over Jamaica in their opening Copa America match

Gerardo Arteaga’s goal from just outside the penalty area in the 69th minute secured Mexico a 1-0 victory over Jamaica in their opening match of the Copa America on Saturday night.

Mexico, making their 11th appearance as a guest at the South American Championship, dominated the match. Joel Latibeaudiere’s weak header found Luis Romo, who controlled the ball with his thigh and passed it to Arteaga, whose left-footed shot beat goalkeeper Jahmali Waite and found the side netting at the far post. It was his second goal in 25 international matches.

“The idea was to strengthen some players who were called up before but didn’t get the playing time they needed,” Mexico coach Jaime Lozano said through an interpreter. “Today it was Arteaga’s turn, but we have a number of other players who are gaining playing time at the highest level. That’s what we had in mind when we put together the squad.”

Disallowed goal for Jamaica

Jamaica’s Michail Antonio looked to have put his team ahead in the 50th minute with a diving header from close range, but the goal was disallowed for offside after a video review. “A fraction of offside,” said Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrímsson. “I watched it again and it was correct.”

Mexico captain Edson Álvarez left the game in the 30th minute due to a left thigh injury and was replaced by Romo. “As for Edson, we will wait and see,” Lozano said. “He will see what he has and take some pictures. We don’t want to risk it. He felt something in his leg.” Lozano mentioned that it would take a few days to know the severity of the injury.

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“I think that was our motto for this summer – togetherness and unity,” Lozano said. “It’s not easy to get over having your captain taken off the field, but I felt they reacted quickly. We suffered more than we had to suffer.” He also noted that the pitch played no role in the game.

Upcoming games

In the other Group B match, Venezuela beat Ecuador 2-1. Mexico plays Venezuela in Inglewood, California, on Wednesday, while Jamaica faces Ecuador in Las Vegas. The group stage ends on June 30, with Mexico facing Ecuador in Glendale, Arizona, and Jamaica facing Venezuela in Austin, Texas.

El Tri reached the semi-finals in 1997, 1999 and 2007. The Reggae Boyz are currently 0-7 in the tournament after being eliminated in the group stage in 2015 and 2016.

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“We fought until the end,” said Hallgrímsson. “I’m proud of the players. We gave them a tough game and in the end I hoped – and I think we deserved a goal – that we would take something from this game. … Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the game went. Of course, I’m unhappy with the defeat.”

The match was played in front of 53,763 spectators at NRG Stadium and Mexico remained unbeaten against Jamaica since its last defeat in the semifinals of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.