A look ahead to Sunday's Gold Cup final

Who: Jamaica vs. Mexico
Where: Lincoln Financial Field
When: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports 1, Univision
Forecast: partly to mostly cloudy, chance of thunderstorms, low 70s

Jamaica

Group stage: Jamaica 2, Costa Rica 2 (StubHub Center, Carson, Calif.)
Group stage: Jamaica 1, Canada 0 (BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston)
Group stage: Jamaica 1, El Salvador 0 (BMO Field, Toronto)
Quarterfinals: Jamaica 1, Haiti 0 (M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore)
Semifinals: Jamaica 2, United States 1 (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)

Mexico

Group stage: Mexico 6, Cuba 0 (Soldier Field, Chicago)
Group stage: Mexico 0, Guatemala 0 (University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.)
Group stage: Mexico 4, Trinidad and Tobago 4 (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.)
Quarterfinals: Mexico 1, Costa Rica 0 (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.)
Semifinals: Mexico 2, Panama, 1 (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)

Jamaica 2, United States 1

Jamaica struck first, in the 31st minute, scoring on a header from Darren Mattocks, who returned from a one-match suspension to give his team a 1-0 advantage over the defending Gold Cup champions. Five minutes later, Giles Barnes doubled Jamaica's lead with his second goal of the tournament on a penalty shot after it was ruled that U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan handled the ball outside of the box.

Emerging from halftime down, 2-0, the U.S. launched a high-energy attack in the opening minutes, eventually capitalizing on a loose ball in the box and scoring from 7 yards out off the left foot of Michael Bradley in the 48th minute. Bradley had a chance for an equalizer in the 57th minute, but his right-footed shot from 23 yards away deflected off Jamaica goalkeeper Ryan Thompson and spun off the left post.

The U.S. had a final chance to tie things in the 81st minute, but Thompson thwarted a clever chip attempt by Clint Dempsey. Jamaica is the first Caribbean team to reach the CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

Mexico 2, Panama 1

The first half of play was largely uneventful for both sides, with the exception of Luis Tejada's ejection (red card) in the 25th minute, reducing Panama to 10 players for the rest of the match. Despite being shorthanded, Panama managed to take a 1-0 lead off a header from Roman Torres in the 57th minute.

Seconds away from defeat, Mexico caught a break in the 88th minute as Torres was called for a hand ball in the box and Mexico was awarded a penalty kick. Gold Cup second-leading scorer Andrés Guardado stepped up and converted the PK to force an additional 30 minutes of play. Guardado struck again near the end of the first overtime period, converting on yet another penalty kick - this time resulting from a foul in the box by Panama's Harold Cummings on Mexico's Javier Orozco - to give Mexico a 2-1 lead, which the Tricolor would hold until the end of the match.

A six-time Gold Cup champion, Mexico will play in the final for the eighth time in its history.

Jamaica: Garath McCleary (2); Giles Barnes (2)
Mexico: Andrés Guardado (5), Oribe Peralta (3)

Jamaica has arguably been the most consistent team in the 2015 Gold Cup. Since tying Costa Rica, 2-2, in the first game of group play, head coach Winfried Schäfer's bunch has allowed only one goal - scored by the United States' Michael Bradley - in four Gold Cup matches leading up to the final.

Jamaica might not be the offensive powerhouse that Mexico is, but it employs a very consistent, accurate approach, taking 39 fewer shots on goal than Mexico. Despite its earnest offensive attack, Jamaica is comparable to Mexico in aggressiveness, ranking seven fouls ahead of the Tricolor in the category.

Playing the underdog in a matchup with uber-talented Mexico, Jamaica's one major advantage is its chemistry on both sides of the ball; they play for one another, and they play to win. Already the first Caribbean team to advance to a Gold Cup final, the so-called "Reggae Boyz," come Sunday, could be the first to win the tournament as well, if they stick to their well-balanced game plan.

Aside from a 6-0 blanking of Cuba in the opening game of group play, Mexico has yet to put together a performance indicative of the copious amount of talent on its roster. After tying both Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago in group play and sneaking by Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, Mexico needed two penalty shots to get past Panama in the semifinals.

The Tricolor are extremely dangerous when they play as a unit, but it's simply a matter of whether they'll turn it on or not. Mexico's attack is as explosive as any in the tournament, as it leads the Gold Cup in both goals (13) and shots (95), but the defense has been unpredictable, ranking third in both yellow cards (12) and fouls (67).

With Gold Cup second-leading scorer Andrés Guardado (five) manning the midfield and talented forwards such as Oribe Peralta and Giovani Dos Santos in front, Mexico has the offensive firepower to beat any team in this tournament, but overall inconsistency could hold the Mexicans back from doing so in the final.

Jamaica head coach Winfried Schäfer, on the Gold Cup final: "We cannot have a party now. We still have one more match. Bob Marley comes after the match." (via fifa.com)

Jamaica's Giles Barnes on the Gold Cup final: "I want to lift the Gold Cup with Jamaica. That's a big thing for me and our team, and it's how we feel as a unit right now. And we want to qualify for the World Cup. People are seeing us now doing well, and they're, like, 'Is it luck?' We don't think it's luck. We want to show on the world stage what we're capable of." (via Grant Wahl, si.com)

Mexico head coach Miguel Herrera on beating Panama in semis: "We didn't play at all well; we didn't deserve to win the game. We didn't have chances; we didn't have the ball; we gave it up and we've failed." (via Tom Marshall, espnfc.com)

Mexico's Andrés Guardado on Panama and the Gold Cup final: "We played an ugly match and we weren't clear. Even with one more player [than Panama], we didn't have those kind of shots that we had against Costa Rica playing with 11. We have to analyze that, because, if we play like that in the final, we are going to lose, for sure." (via ESPN Staff, espnfc.com)

Who: United States vs. Panama
Where: PPL Park, Chester
When: 4 p.m. tomorrow
TV: Fox Sports 2, Univision
Forecast: Mostly sunny, low 90s