Heading into the final Gold Cup match, Canada’s Jonathan David led the field of players for the Golden Boot with six goals and will take home the award with none of the other goal leaders scoring in the final. Mexico’s Raul Jimenez was David’s biggest threat as he trailed by one, and had the ability to make up the difference against the USA in the Gold Cup final.
Jimenez’s teammate Uriel Antuna also had an outside chance with four goals. Sportsnet’s Peter Galindo provided a few facts related to David winning the award.
“OFFICIAL: #CanMNT’s Jonathan David wins the Golden Boot at the #GoldCup2019 with 6️⃣ goals. Second youngest player to win the award after Alphonso Davies. David is also on the top 20 all-time Gold Cup scoring list. He’s played just four games,” Galindo tweeted.
Christian Pulisic led the U.S. in scoring with three goals but needed a hat trick against Mexico just to tie David in the standings. David’s run at the Gold Cup has a bit of a storybook feel as the 19-year-old originally was born in America.
“What has happened to me is really unbelievable,” David told The Athletic. “It’s something that doesn’t happen every day. It was the right moment and everything came together. To wake up every day and to be able to say ‘this was my dream and right now I’m really living it’—that’s the most unbelievable part.”
Pulisic Led the USMNT in Scoring With 3 Goals
Pulisic had a solid Gold Cup and flashed throughout the tournament. USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter discussed with ESPN how he believes Pulisic is best utilized.
“My idea is that he’ll play central but move wide sometimes,” Berhalter explained to ESPN. “We want him in between the lines, being able to attack players, go at players, and then help other people get goalscoring opportunities. We think he can do it from a central position better. But that may not be the case when we actually see him.”
Pulisic and the entire USMNT were shutout against Mexico. The USA was unable to finish opportunities in the final third as Mexico came away with the Gold Cup trophy.
It was a solid start for the USMNT in the Berhalter era but the team showed in the final that it still has some work to do. Mexico manager Tata Martinez admitted before the final that Mexico felt “obligated” to win.
“(The obligation) doesn’t change,” Martinez told Goal.com. “I’ve seen a lot of Gold Cups and I know that Mexico is obligated to win. We’ve never hidden Mexico’s responsibility. We got here and we’re still backing that. We’re in the final and we’re still going.
Here is a look at the final Golden Boot standings for the Gold Cup.
Gold Cup Golden Boot Standings 2019
PLAYER | GOALS |
1. Jonathan David, Canada (Winner) | 6 |
T-2 Raul Jimenez, Mexico | 5 |
T-2 Lucas Cavallini, Canada | 5 |
4. Uriel Antuna, Mexico | 4 |
T-5 Christian Pulisic, USA | 3 |
T-5 Gyasi Zardes, USA | 3 |
T-5 Neil Danns, Guyana | 3 |
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