Mexico rebounded form their 1-1 draw with to beat Guadeloupe 2-0 in front of 24,000 fans in Glendale, Arizona on July 12th. The win assured the Mexicans of top spot in Group C in the Gold Cup with seven points. Mexican manager Javier Aguirre served the first of his three-game suspension in this match after kicking out at Ricardo Phillips of Panama on the sidelines during Mexico’s last game. He’s eligible to return for the final on July 26 if Mexico qualifies.

“We qualified and we feel good,” Aguirre said through an interpreter. “We seemed lighter on our feet and more confident. I hope that we stay that way.”

Mexico will take on Haiti in the quarterfinals on July 19 in Arlington, Texas, while Guadeloupe, who finished in second place in the group with two wins, will meet Costa Rica on the same day and in the same locale.

This was the second straight eventful game for Mexico as two Guadeloupe players were shown red cards by the referee.

Mexico went back to attacking football in this game and dominated it from the opening kickoff. It paid off in the 41st minute as Gerardo Torrado took a pass from Efrain Juarez at the top of the 18-yard box and then hammered a right-footed shot past Guadeloupe’s keeper Yohan Bus just inside the left post for his second goal of the Cup.

Any hopes of a comeback by Guadeloupe were washed away when they lost their composure late in the game and had two players sent off the pitch within three minutes of each other. Defender Alain Vertot was given his marching orders after receiving his second yellow of the game in the 71st minute for hauling down a Mexican attacker. Then in the 82nd minute, substitute Ludovic Gotin, who came on in the 63rd minute for Mickael Curier, was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle and went to join Vertot in the shower.

It didn’t take Mexico long to take advantage of playing against nine men, and Miguel Sabah headed a cross from Pablo Barrera in the 85th minute to slam the door on Guadeloupe, who were also missing four injured players and another who was suspended.

In the other Group C contest, in Glendale, Panama clinched a berth in the playoffs after thumping Nicaragua 4-0. Panama ended in third place with four points, from a win and a draw and qualified as one of the top two third-place teams.

The turning point was probably when Franklin Lopez was sent off in the 45th minute with his second yellow card. The score was only 1-0 then, after Blas Perez banged one home in the 34th minute, but Haiti then pumped in three more goals against the 10-man squad.

The next three goals came in 10-minute intervals as Gabriel Gomez scored in the 56th minute and Luis Tejada added two more in the 75th and 87th minutes.

The quarterfinal schedule is as follows:

July 18th – Canada vs. Honduras at Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia

July 18th – U.S. vs. Panama at Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia

July 19th – Guadeloupe vs. Costa Rica at Dallas Cowboys Stadium; Arlington, Texas

July 19th – Mexico vs. Haiti at Dallas Cowboys Stadium; Arlington, Texas