Guatemala will have a presence in the Gold Cup final on Sunday night, despite the elimination of Luis Fernando Tena’s team. Referee Mario Escobar has been chosen to oversee the game at NRG Stadium, Houston as the United States take on Mexico for the title.
This will be the second time Escobar will officiate a game involving Javier Aguirre’s team in this Gold Cup. The Guatemalan took charge of Mexico’s goalless draw against Costa Rica earlier in the tournament, when he controversially disallowed a goal by Santiago Giménez that would have given the tricolor the victory.
FINAL @GoldCup@miseleccionmx 🇲🇽 🆚 🇺🇸 @USMNT
👤: Mario Alberto Escobar Toca 🇬🇹
🚩: Luis Aroldo Ventura Chacón 🇬🇹
🚩: Humberto Noel Panjoj Chitay 🇬🇹
📟: Walter Alexander López Castellanos 🇬🇹
Mucho éxito a Mario y su equipo arbitral👏⚽️ pic.twitter.com/vZmFDLT0Th— El Cantante Guerrero (@cantantearbitro) July 5, 2025
In total Escobar has officiated Mexico on 11 occasions and El Tri have fared pretty well in those games, only suffering two defeats. One came against Canada in Edmonton (2-1) and another in an international friendly against Croatia prior to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they fell 0-1 thanks to a goal from Iván Rakitic.
The United States have only lost once in games involved Escobar, but that shared a lot of similarities with Sunday’s showday. That sole loss came against Mexico in the 2019 Gold Cup, where the ‘Aztec’ team won thanks to a goal from Jonathan Dos Santos.
In total this will be Mexico’s third final with Mario Escobar as referee, two of which were won by the Tricolors.
The most recent of those finals was the Concacaf Nations League, where Mexico defeated Panama 2-1. In that match Escobar awarded two penalties, one for the Panamanians and another that ultimately gave Javier Aguirre’s team the victory.
Mexico will face the United States this Sunday, July 6 with kickoff at 7pm ET / 4pm PT from NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans. Given the location the majority of the in-stadium support is expected for the Mexicans, despite it being played in the US.
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