CONCACAF Gold Cup: Andre Blake's Jamaica shuts out Mexico, El Salvador beats Curaçao

Off we go with this morning's roundup of last night's Gold Cup action.

It was another big night for Union goalkeeper Andre Blake. Officially, he was credited with only two saves. Unofficially, he and the rest of the Reggae Boyz delivered a huge defensive effort to secure a result that leaves them tied with El Tri atop the Group C standings.

Here's one of the saves:

And here's the other:

The biggest save of the game came not from Blake, but from Jermaine Taylor of Minnesota United:

Mexico gave Houston Dynamo striker Erick "Cubo" Torres his first cap for the national team since 2015. He had a few good chances to score, but couldn't convert:

21′: If you've followed Major League Soccer for a long time, you might remember the name Gerson Mayen. He played for Chivas USA from 2008 to 2011 – and also for the United States under-20 national team at the 2009 World Cup. The Los Angeles native decided after that to play for the country of his heritage. Last night brought his 27th appearance for La Selecta, and his second goal:

24′: Before Curaçao had time to catch its breath, El Salvador doubled its lead courtesy of Rodolfo Zelaya. The creative winger is overwhelmingly right-footed, and when he's got the ball on that foot, he's quite fun to watch:

Here's how the Group C standings look heading into the final round of games, which will be played Sunday in San Antonio:

1. Mexico, 4 points, +2 goal difference, 3 goals scored (those are the tiebreakers in order)
2. Jamaica, 4 points, +2, 2 goals
3. El Salvador, 3 points
4. Curaçao, 0 points

It took two days for the announcement to be made, because that's how CONCACAF does things. In the end, though, it was as expected. The governing body awarded Honduras a 3-0 forfeit victory over French Guiana because of Florent Malouda's involvement, which broke Gold Cup eligibility rules.

Malouda was also suspended for two games, and the French Guiana Football League – as close to a governing body as the territory has, since it's not an official FIFA member – was fined an undisclosed amount.

You might wonder how it's possible to suspend a player who wasn't eligible for the Gold Cup. The answer is that he is eligible for other regional competitions — in particular, the Caribbean Cup. If the most recent edition of the tournament is any indication, qualification for the 2019 tournament will likely begin early next year. That's when Malouda's ban would be in effect.

Notably, CONCACAF's statement did not acknowledge any responsibility for not blocking Malouda from being on French Guiana's roster in the first place. As I wrote earlier this week, the governing body could have stopped the whole thing before it started, but it did not. Because of that, French Guiana took advantage of the opportunity to protest how it's treated by global soccer's power-brokers.

Here's how Group A now looks ahead of the final round of games, Canada vs. Honduras and Costa Rica vs. French Guiana. They'll be played Friday in Frisco, Texas (outside Dallas):

1. Canada, 4 points, +2 goal difference, 5 goals scored
2. Costa Rica, 4 points, +1 goal difference, +1, 2 goals
3. Honduras, 3 points
4. French Guiana, 0 points