euphoria reignited.
“aguirre ignites el tri”
sunday, march 23, 2025
méxico’s path from trials to triumph in this year’s nations league cup can be summarized in one word: resilience. considering how they seemed to have been written off by many leading up to the start of the cup, the shift in gears midway that led them to victory was quite the cinderella story.
following the first leg in november, which resulted in a disappointing loss to honduras where they were kept goalless, it seemed the rest of their path was an uphill battle. however, that fear turned out to be short-lived. when the teams clashed for the second time that month, henry martín’s brace helped seal a commanding 4-0 victory. this would then push them to the semifinals, where raúl jiménez, would steal the show.
while not necessarily the outright favorite, canada was a much tougher task for méxico to overcome, especially considering many had predicted the final would be between canada and the usa, who had the advantage of playing at home. raúl jiménez took it upon himself to score both goals for méxico, which turned out to be the only goals of the match as luis magalón’s crucial saves helped secure a clean sheet for the team.
as the usa fell short in their semifinal test, panama was the final team to have a chance at conquering the once written-off méxico team. the momentum el tri carried proved to be far too much for thomas christiansen and company. after an early header by none other than raúl jiménez in the 8th minute of the final, things were shaping up well for méxico to close out this historic run. a few were left on the edge of their seats when a stoppage-time penalty from alberto carrasquilla equalized both teams’ chances at winning yet again. jiménez turned out to be the hero on their biggest stage yet again in the tournament, as a late stoppage-time penalty paved the way for the team to be crowned champions and capped off one of the most storybook endings one could witness.
from entering the nations league as somewhat of an underdog due to once questionable setup shifts, this turnout supports an optimistic outlook for the team as they now have their sights set on the 2026 world cup, where they very well may be able to flash their abilities on the same pitch once more.
editors: gabe gonzalez & jose sanabria
photographer: chris gerardo