César Montes’ scoring instincts power Mexico past Suriname to advance to Gold Cup knockout stage

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The defenders did it again for Mexico.

With the attack not firing, center back César Montes showed his scoring instincts Wednesday, converting two goals from corner kicks in a 2-0 win for El Tri over Suriname. The result, which qualifies Mexico for the knockout stage of the Gold Cup with a match still left to go, comes just days after Edson Álvarez scored twice in the tournament opener against the Dominican Republic.

After a disappointing attacking showing in that match, despite ending in a 3-2 Mexico win, manager Javier Aguirre opted to change his formation. He shifted away from the two-forward setup he had been using, keeping Raúl Jiménez in the starting lineup and sending Santi Gimenez to the bench. Relentless playmaker Alexis Vega also earned his first start since leading Toluca to the Liga MX title.

The switch back to the one-forward setup El Tri used for much of 2024 didn’t pay immediate dividends, and the crowd of 34,015 at AT&T Stadium became antsy, with some fans booing the display as players headed into the locker rooms for halftime. They were on their feet in the 57th minute, however, as Montes opened the scoring.

After a series of corner kicks, just before the hour mark that Suriname was able to defend, Mexico finally broke through. Vega’s corner kick went directly to an unmarked Montes, and the defender’s header inside the near post beat Suriname goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen.

Vaessen had made three saves by that point but in the first half had mostly been happy to watch Mexico’s best attacking moves end in efforts whizzing well past his goal — including a pair from Álvarez, who spent the entire night in the midfield after shifting from the middle of the field to center back in the previous match.

Montes’ second goal was much less straightforward. Taking a corner kick from the opposite side, Vega again found Montes in the box. His diving header bounced off the chest of a Suriname defender and fell to the feet of Mexico winger Julián Quiñones. But despite still lying on the ground, Montes’ sweeping kick beat his teammate to the ball — and beat Vaessen for the second goal of the night.

Mexico thought it had a goal from an attacker in the 75th minute, with second-half substitute Cesar “Chino” Huerta putting the ball in the back of the net after he started a move and received a return pass from Ángel Sepúlveda. But the Cruz Azul forward was offside when he received the pass, and the goal didn’t count.

Though El Tri is already in the quarterfinals, it’ll look to top the group by beating Costa Rica in the final match of the group stage Sunday. The Tacos, who also won their first two matches and are into the next round, are led by manager Miguel “Piojo” Herrera, who led Mexico into the 2014 World Cup and won the 2015 Gold Cup before being let go because of a physical confrontation with a commentator the next day.

Aside from beating the well-known manager, who went on to win a Liga MX title with Club América in 2018 and also coached Tigres and Club Tijuana before arriving in Central America this year, Mexico will also look to ensure the friendliest matchup in the quarterfinals.

The winner of that showdown will play the runner-up in Group D, the group currently topped by the United States. But a slipup from either of the North American rivals could lead to an early meeting between two teams that came into the tournament hoping to win the continental championship.

(Photo: Omar Vega / Getty Images)

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