Carlos Vela Must Find Way to Score to Send Mexico to Gold Cup Final

As the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup grew closer to its opening match, the anticipation grew in regard to how much Carlos Vela would help Mexico in the tournament. 

But after his exploits against Costa Rica in Mexico's quarter-final win on Sunday, there are concerns about the Real Sociedad player's finishing ability. Of the four shots he attempted during his 86-minute shift, Vela only put one of them on target. 

Vela's biggest blunder came in the 67th minute, when he skied an attempt over the bar on an impressive counter Andres Guardado started. The miss came at a vital time in the match as El Tri tried to finish off the Ticos before the possibility of extra time crept into the match. World Soccer Talk highlighted Guardado's "picture-perfect long ball":

Due to Vela and his fellow forward Oribe Peralta's inefficiency, El Tri were forced to fight it out until the 122nd minute, when a penalty was called following Peralta's fall to the ground in front of the Costa Rica goal.

Since they were able to escape without facing a penalty shootout, Mexico were able to leave the quarter-final contest with a few positives about their attacking mindset. But it still wasn't good enough, especially Vela's production. 

Vela seemed to be set for a solid tournament when he scored in Mexico's Group C opener against Cuba in the 22nd minute of the 6-0 victory. However, his performance dropped off a bit as the group stage progressed. Vela did net a brilliant strike in the second half of the wild 4-4 draw with Trinidad and Tobago, but if he were in top form, Mexico would have finished off the match when they were up 2-1. 

As Sunday's match at MetLife Stadium started, Vela seemed to have a good grip on how to handle the Costa Rica back line, but despite the electric runs and nice buildup play, the final touch once again escaped Vela. 

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Although there are other forwards in the squad to blame for the lack of production up top, Vela shoulders most of it because of his status as one of the top stars in North America. Since his suspension from the national team in 2010, Vela was seen as the missing piece to take Mexico to the promised land. But he continued to turn down offers to return to the national team until current head coach Miguel Herrera called him up again in November. 

By linking up with the squad at the end of 2014, Vela had plenty of time to assimilate back into the team before the high-stakes Gold Cup came around in July 2015. A Mexico victory in the tournament would hand them a one-game play-off against the United States for the CONCACAF berth in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. With Vela leading the line alongside Javier Hernandez and Giovani Dos Santos, El Tri were expected to contend for the title. 

Guillermo Arias/Associated Press

But now with Hernandez out with a broken collarbone and Dos Santos dealing with a thigh problem, the pressure is squarely on Vela's shoulders to be the star of the Mexico team. But that hasn't happened just yet for the 26-year-old. 

The good news for Vela is he has two more chances to prove his worth as the top attacker in the Mexico side. A tired Panama squad may present the best opportunity to work his way into top scoring form before the expected rivalry clash with the United States appears on July 26 in Philadelphia. 

However, based on his Gold Cup scoring, the expectations may be lowered for Vela to thrive. After putting four of his six attempts on target in the 6-0 win over Cuba, Vela became wasteful in front of net. He failed to send any of his four shots in the direction of the net in the 0-0 draw with Guatemala, while his goal against Trinidad and Tobago marked the only time he challenged the goalkeeper. Fox Soccer noted Vela was instrumental in increasing Mexico's lead:

If he is able to embrace the pressure of being Mexico's top scorer and be more efficient in the final third, Vela has the potential to bring the Gold Cup back to El Tri. But if he doesn't do that in the next two matches, he and the rest of his teammates may be looked upon as failures. 

Joe Tansey is covering the Gold Cup for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.