Carlos Vela torments USA

Carlos Vela was the star of the show as Mexico thrashed the United States 5-0 to win a record eighth CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Vela came off the bench at the start of the second half to transform a final which until that point had been a tight, nervy affair.

Both sides barely had a sight of goal in the first period but 11 minutes after the break Mexico captain Gerardo Torrado fired his side into the lead from the spot after Jay Heaps had hauled down Giovani Dos Santos.

The Confederation Cup winners started to panic as they had to hold back wave after wave of attack, and Mexico doubled their lead in the 62nd minute when Vela raced down the left flank and cut inside before slotting the ball back to Miguel Sabah.

The tournament's leading goalscorer saw his shot saved but the rebound fell to Dos Santos who lashed it home from close range.

Vela got his name on the scoresheet five minutes later when he raced onto Dos Santos' pass into the penalty area before firing across goal into the bottom right corner.

The 20-year-old turned provider again in the 79th minute, tearing the USA defence apart yet again with a through ball to Jose Castro for a simple finish.

Things went from bad to worse for the hosts two minutes from time when Heaps was sent off for a second yellow card.

There was still time for a final goal from Mexico when Fausto Pinto found Guillermo Franco and he fired into the bottom left corner from just outside the penalty area to complete a miserable night for USA goalkeeper Troy Perkins.

Gold Cup Review: US take on Mexico

The United States will battle it out with Mexico for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in a repeat of the 2007 final.

Two-time defending champions USA progressed to their third successive showpiece with a 2-0 victory over Honduras.

The tournament hosts opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time through Clarence Goodson, who rose highest to meet a Stuart Holden corner.

Kenny Cooper then made sure of the win in the third minute of stoppage time when he was picked out unmarked in the area by Holden for an easy tap-in.

Mexico were taken to a penalty shootout before eventually seeing off Costa Rica in the other semi-final.

Miguel Sabah missed a penalty for the Mexicans after 58 minutes, but Guillermo Franco's goal two minutes from time looked to have settled the tie with the striker stabbing home in a crowded area.

Costa Rica had other ideas though, and Froylan Ledezma scored deep into stoppage time to make it 1-1 and take the contest into extra-time.

No more goals arrived and penalties were eventually needed to separate the teams, with Ledezma's missed kick sending Mexico through.

The US were 2-1 winners over Mexico in 2007 to claim their third Gold Cup title in four tournaments.

United States bag top spot with draw

An injury-time equaliser spared the United States' blushes as they drew 2-2 with Haiti in the Gold Cup to seal top spot in Group B.

Despite taking an early lead through Davy Arnaud, the United States found themselves behind thanks to a stunning double salvo from Sirin Vaniel and Mones Chery in the first five minutes after half-time.

That left it to Stuart Holden to grab the goal that keeps the United States above second-placed Honduras, who thrashed Grenada 4-0 in the second game of this doubleheader.

Haiti also go through from third place thanks to a better record than Jamaica in Group A.

Grenada made light work of Honduras thanks to goals from Walter Martinez, Roger Espinoza, Melvin Valladares and Carlos Costly, the latter bundling in the rebound after seeing a penalty saved.

Mexico secure Group C top spot

Mexico have secured top spot in Group C of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-0 win over Guadeloupe.

Goals from Gerardo Torrado and Miguel Sabah earned the points Mexico needed to leapfrog their opponents into first place.

Torrado opened the scoring four minutes before half-time, lashing a powerful shot into the net after being played in by Efrain Juarez.

Guadeloupe then had Alain Vertot and Ludovic Gotin sent off in quick succession, Vertot for a second bookable offence and Gotin a straight red for a dangerous tackle.

Sabah then made sure of the points with an 85th minute header.

Mexico were playing without coach Javier Aguirre, who began a three-game suspension for his role in a scuffle that marred the end of the 1-1 draw with Panama on Thursday.

Earlier, Panama beat Nicaragua 4-0 to book their place in the quarterfinals.

Blas Perez and Gabriel Gomez both scored before Luis Tejada's late brace.

Costa Rica and Canada eke out wins

Costa Rica and Canada both picked up narrow victories in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Costa Rica edged out 10-man Jamaica 1-0 before Canada beat El Salvador by the same scoreline in the doubleheader in Columbus, Ohio.

Jamaica had played well after Rudolph Austin was shown a straight red card for his tackle on Celso Borges in the 35th minute, but eventually succumbed when Borges got on the end of Pablo Herrera's cross to slide the ball past Donovan Ricketts in the 64th minute.

The second game of the night was settled by Ali Gerba's 31st minute strike as Canada joined Costa Rica at the top of the group.

The leading pair will meet in the second round of group games on Friday, the same night that Jamaica and El Salvador will be drinking from the last chance saloon as they face off.

USA ease to victory at Gold Cup

Freddy Adu's second-ever international goal helped the USA to a dominant 4-0 win over Grenada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers and Charlie Davies also scored for the Americans, who go top of the standings on goal difference.

Adu opened the scoring after the seventh minute when he collected a pass from Rogers and fired home from 12 yards.

Holden then increased the USA's lead in the 31st minute when he headed home from close range.

Rogers scored his first-ever international goal on the hour mark when he latched onto a through ball from Logan Pause before pushing the ball beyond goalkeeper Desmond Noel.

The USA continued to dominate possession and Davies wrapped up the victory eight minute later when he picked up a cross from Heath Pierce and smashed the ball home at the far post.

In the other game in the group, Carlo Costly's second-half header was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Honduras over Haiti.

Costly headed home from a free-kick in the 76th minute after Haiti had dominated possession for the majority of the game.

Honduras play the USA on Wednesday while Haiti will look to get off the mark against Grenada.

Gerba strike secures Canada win

Ali Gerba's second-half strike secured a 1-0 win for Canada over Jamaica in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The last time the two sides met Jamaica eased to a 3-0 win in a World Cup qualifier but this game was a much more close-fought affair with both goalkeepers making crucial saves.

Canada goalkeeper Greg Sutton had kept Jamaica at bay with two fine saves in the space of 10 minutes as he first denied Ricardo Fuller in the 65th minute before quickly blocking a shot from defender Damion Stewart minutes later.

Jamaica goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, meanwhile, superbly tipped over a goal-bound effort from Kevin McKenna.

But Gerba secured the win for Canada in the 74th minute when the Toronto FC striker volleyed home from Mike Klukowski's cross.

William Romero scored twice to secure a 2-1 win for El Salvador over Costa Rica in the other game in the group.

Romero had put El Salvador ahead in the 20th minute when he picked up a long ball from goalkeeper Miguel Montes before unleashing a curling effort into the back of the net.

Celso Borges almost equalised shortly before the break when his header flew narrowly wide of the post but Warren Granados did bring Costa Rica level in the 64th minute.

However, Romero ensured El Salvador took all three points when he struck with four minutes remaining to condemn Costa Rica to their seventh straight Gold Cup game without a win.