Uruguay vs. Mexico: Score and Reaction from 2015 Pan Am Games

Brian Lozano scored the only goal in Uruguay's 1-0 win over Mexico in the final of the 2015 Pan American Games, as La Celeste avenged their group-stage loss by winning the gold medal on Sunday.

El Tri mustered few chances throughout the match and couldn't come up with any late-match heroics against an organised Celeste defence. Mexico finished the match with 10 players, as Jordan Silva received a late red card.

As shared by NNL Chatter's Graeme Perrow, temperatures in Toronto were very high, and officials understandably made the decision to allow water breaks during the match:

The heat didn't stop fans from turning out in force, however, as they continued to file into the stadium well after kick-off. They nearly missed the first goal of the match, with El Tri's Jonathan Espericueta coming close to putting his team ahead inside the first 10 minutes.

Mexico were slight favourites entering the match and dominated the opening exchanges, but Uruguay stood firm and shockingly took the lead after 12 minutes. Lozano fired a free-kick from long range directly at goal, giving Mexico stopper Gibran Lajun no chance. AM900 CHML was impressed:

This fan shared the Vine of the phenomenal strike:

El Tri were shocked by the early deficit, and Uruguay took full advantage. Mexico's usual fluent passing moves amounted to nothing, and the team resorted to playing the long ball over and over again.

Lajun consistently went looking for Espericueta, who was clearly the main danger man, and the Uruguay defence quickly figured out the talented midfielder was the man to watch closely.

With so many defenders around him, the youngster started showing signs of frustration. First, he was involved in a minor altercation with Lozano, before trying his luck from long range. This fan thought he might have watched too many MLS highlights:

The first half was low on chances, but there was plenty for fans to enjoy regardless. Cards went flying left and right, as play was stopped on several occasions as things started getting heated, and at half-time, it seemed unlikely both teams would finish the game with 11 players.

At the start of the second half, it became clear the heat was starting to take its toll on the teams. The pace of the match dropped dramatically, and Uruguay managed to contain the Mexican attack rather easily.

The better chances were for Uruguay, but after 10 minutes of pressing, La Celeste dropped most most of their midfielders back into their own half. Lozano often found himself isolated, making it almost impossible to double the lead.

Just before the final water break, El Tri came close to tying things up. As shared by FutbolTotal, Angel Zaldivar's header only just missed the target:

"

Cerca Zaldívar del gol. Uruguay 1-0 México https://t.co/YyPdJZaHW8

— futboltotal (@futboltotal) July 26, 2015"

He tried his luck again minutes later after a fine dribbling move, but his shot failed to hit the target. Mexico were pressing now, but their bid to complete the comeback took a major hit when Silva received his second yellow card for a wayward elbow, reducing El Tri to just 10 men.

Via TVD Noticias' Eric Alarcon, the youngster was devastated:

The pressure on the Uruguay defence didn't drop, but La Celeste held firm in the final minutes, avenging their group-stage loss and capturing the gold medal, despite five full minutes of stoppage time.

Both teams will now shift their focus toward qualification for next year's Summer Olympics, where Mexico will defend the title they grabbed in London.

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