Controversial Penalty Call in Mexico's Advance Through Gold Cup (Soccer) Tourney

The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup in soccer, which consists of the nations comprising the northern part of the Western Hemisphere, is now down to four teams.  Today the United States will play Jamaica and Mexico will play Panama.  The winners will face off in the final match.  I have been rooting for both the American and Mexican teams, but with the latter I have a little problem after seeing their last match in the quarterfinal round against Costa Rica...

I didn't see that Mexico-Costa Rica match, which was played last Saturday night, in its entirety.  As a matter of fact, I would have completely missed it had it not gone two overtimes.  Soccer matches traditionally last 90 minutes...plus "stoppage time" tacked on to the end based on accumulated game interruption time.  In elimination games (which this was), two overtime periods are allowed to see if either side can win it.  Then, after 120 minutes (plus that stoppage time) if the score is still tied there is a penalty kick shoot-out, the last resort to resolving these contests.  Well, when I discovered this match was going on, 110 minutes had elapsed and the score was still 0-0.  It looked more and more like Mexico and Costa Rica were headed for a penalty kick shoot-out.  The 120 minute mark passed, and 3 minutes of stoppage time was allotted.  After 122 minutes, just seconds before the end of the final overtime period, A Mexican player desperately kicked the ball high into the penalty zone of Costa Rica's.  Another Mexican player lunged at the ball to make a goal-scoring header, but he missed and fell to the ground.  A nearby Costa Rican defender was then called for a penalty foul when he clearly was shown in replays to not be responsible for it.  With seconds to go in this two-hour contest, Mexico then kicked in the penalty shot to win the game, 1-0.  Although I was rooting for Mexico, I was very disappointed in how it all ended...

Mexico's coach, Miguel Herrera, is a very colorful and fiery character who was very outspoken when his 2014 World Cup team was eliminated by the Netherlands in another very controversial penalty call...this one against his own team.  He claimed afterward that his opponent's players had taken several dives, faking fouls, and that the final call was clearly one such dive.  One problem with that, though, as I see it...I've watched Herrera's Mexican team over the course of several games and his players have been "diving" all over the field.  And that last penalty Saturday night looked a bit like a dive to me as well...

 All of that notwithstanding, I'll still be rooting for a USA-Mexico final match final...