Mexico outclasses Canada in frenetic Gold Cup affair

Mexico has a stranglehold on Group A at the 2019 Gold Cup after Andres Guardado's brace and Roberto Alvarado's second senior goal guided El Tri to a 3-1 victory over Canada on Wednesday night in Denver.

Alvarado opened the scoring five minutes before the break when the Cruz Azul midfielder was the beneficiary of a juicy rebound off the palms of Milan Borjan.

Mexico had the brunt of possession in the opening half and the better of the chances as Canada employed a three-man backline and deep-lying midfield that largely ceded control to Tata Martino's charges.

Canada made six changes from the side that beat Martinique by four goals, with John Herdman altering the formation to include midfield veteran Atiba Hutchinson as one of three central defenders. A series of second-half substitutions saw Herdman revert to a formation that provided better chances going forward, but only after the deficit was doubled.

Guardado, who came on in the 37th minute for Erick Gutierrez, made it two for El Tri nine minutes after the interval.

Mexico's second came moments after Alphonso Davies fashioned a chance out of nothing that nearly leveled the scoreline. The Bayern Munich teen fired an effort from an acute angle narrowly wide of the far post after beating two Mexican defenders.

Canada got their goal 15 minutes from time on the break when Jonathan David found Puebla striker Lucas Cavallini unmarked in the area. Ultimately, hope of a comeback was shortlived, as Guardado got his second two minutes later when his deflected strike ricocheted off the post and in.

With the result, Mexico sits atop the quartet on six points ahead of a date with Martinique on Sunday. Canada and the Caribbean minnows are locked on three points apiece after Martinique eliminated Cuba from the competition with a 3-0 victory earlier Wednesday.