Dos Santos Masterpiece Goal Caps Mexico's CONCACAF Gold Cup Victory

Tottenham Hotspurs star Giovanni Dos Santos' jewel of a goal highlighted Mexico’s brilliant win in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final over the United States

Pasadena, California (June 25, 2011) - A masterpiece goal by Giovanni Dos Santos highlighted the well deserved triumph of Mexico over the United States, 4-2, in the final of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mexico won a record-setting sixth title in front of a crowd of 93,420 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Pablo Barrera scored two goals (50th and 39th minute), Andres Guardado (36th minute) added another for “El Tri”.

But it was Dos Santos’ jewel of a goal that truly wowed the fans due to the incredible skill, poise and accuracy that the Brazilian-Mexican player displayed in making it happen.

On the 76th minute, Gio received a pass from Gerardo Torrado outside the goal box on the right side, he then eluded USA goalkeeper Tim Howard’s two efforts to tackle him on his feet, kept dribbling to the center, and then, in between three onrushing defenders, unleashed an incredibly accurate lobbed shot toward the upper left-hand corner of the U.S. goal. The shot kept looping in a perfect arch toward the precise upper-left corner and could not be stopped by a leaping defender who tried to clear the ball.

It was a moment that made all soccer fans—not just Mexico soccer fans—believe that dreams do come true. It was a goal that reminded all futbol/soccer fans why we love this game so much. Gio's goal was one of those precious -extremely rare moments- where reality meets our sky-high expectations. It was artistry, it was inspiration, it was beauty. It was an authentic celebration of the sport.

Watch goal here!

As reported by Fox News Latino, Landon Donovan on Mexico's "Fab Four."

"They're as dynamic as any [Mexican] team that I've ever played against," U.S. forward Landon Donovan said. "They've got a few guys who can change the game in a heartbeat. Between Guardado, Barrera and Giovani and Chicharito, they can make special plays. They're explosive. If you give them a lot of space, they're going to make plays, especially on a big field like this. It certainly played to their advantage."

Mexico has won two consecutive Gold Cup titles and its sixth overall. The win qualifies “El Tri” to compete in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, considered a preview of the 2014 World Cup.

Mexico's Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez was the tournament’s top striker with seven goals and was named the competition’s Most Valuable Player. “Chicharito” scored 20 goals for his club, the famed Manchester United during last year’s Premier League season.

Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan scored for the United States helping the Americans build a 2-0 lead. With his tally, Donovan became the Gold Cup's all-time leading scorer with 13 goals.

Scoring Summary:

USA - Bradley, 9USA - Donovan, 22MEX - Barrera, 28MEX - Guardado, 35MEX - Barrera, 49MEX - Dos Santos, 76

LineupsUSA - Howard; Cherundolo (Bornstein, 12), Goodson, Bocanegra, Lichaj; Jones, Bradley, Bedoya (Agudelo, 62); Dempsey, Donovan, Adu (Kljestan, 86)
Substitutes Not Used - Hahnemann, Onyewu, Ream, Wondolowski
Mexico - Talavera; Juarez, Moreno, Marquez (Reynoso, 42), Salcido (Torres, 27); Torardo, Castro, Guardado, Barrera (Zavala, 75); Dos Santos, Hernandez
Substitutes Not Used - Orozco, Aguilar, De Nigris, Reyna