Mexico secured top spot in Group C of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-0 win over Guadeloupe in Arizona on Sunday. Both teams will now go through to the quarter-finals of the regional showpiece along with Panama, who thrashed Nicaragua earlier in the day.

Goals from Gerardo Torrado and Miguel Sabah earned the points Mexico needed to leapfrog their opponents into first place. The result also saw the side breathe a big sigh of relief after struggling up to that point in the competition.

The team worked very hard and played well tonight. The win came at the perfect time too as we needed some joy in the locker room.
Mexico assistant coach Mario Carillo

Torrado, captaining the team in place of absent Barcelona star Rafa Marquez, opened the scoring four minutes before the interval, lashing a powerful shot from 25 yards into the net after being played in by Efrain Juarez. Guadeloupe, a small French holding in the Caribbean Sea, 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 in the attacking third.

Sabah then made sure of the points with a header from a corner-kick with only five minutes left in regular time. Mexico were playing without coach Javier Aguirre, who began a three-game suspension for his role in a scuffle that marred the 1-1 draw with Panama on Thursday. "The team worked very hard and played well tonight," said Mexico's stand-in coach Mario Carillo. "The win came at the perfect time too as we needed some joy in the locker room."

Panama press on
Earlier, Panama - surprise finalists in the 2005 instalment - beat Nicaragua 4-0 to book their place in the quarter-finals. Blas Perez and Gabriel Gomez both scored before Luis Tejada's late brace. "We are improving with every game," said English-born Panama boss Gary Stempel. "Our goals were to improve all the time and reach the quarter-finals and we have accomplished both."

The quarter-final round will see Canada take on Honduras and Mexico meet Haiti while defending champions and hosts USA will play Panama and Guadeloupe and Costa Rica will square off. The last-eight games will take place on 18 and 19 July.