Julio Cortez/AP

Julio Cortez/AP

Julio Cortez/AP

Julio Cortez/AP

Julio Cortez/AP

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Defender Cesar Montes scored twice in a six-minute span in the second half and defending champion Mexico struggled early but managed to get past Suriname 2-0 on Wednesday night to secure a spot in the knockout round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Montes opened the scoring on a header off a corner kick in the 57 and added another goal in the 63rd minute for the Mexicans, who defeated the Dominican Republic 3-2 in the opening match of the tournament.

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With three goals in the tournament, the 28-year-old defender, who plays for Lokomotiv of Moscow, currently shares the scoring lead with Costa Rican Manfred Ugalde.

“I am excited about the goals, but the priority is keeping a clean sheet. I obviously didn’t imagine it; that’s what strikers are for, but as long as I can help the team in that way, I’ll do it,” Montes said.

Montes had scored only once in his 53 previous national team games before to the Gold Cup, in a friendly match against Panama in June 2021.

With the win, Mexico leads Group A with six points and will play Costa Rica next Sunday in Las Vegas aiming to secure the first place ahead of the second round.

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The Costa Ricans are lead by former Mexican coach Miguel Herrera, who managed el Tri in the 2014 World Cup.

“We have an intense match coming up. It’s an good team. Miguel is a respected coach in Mexico, and he’ll definitely want to beat us. But we’re going to go out and work hard and try to fight for the group lead,” added Montes.

The Mexicans lead the group on goal difference and will secure the top spot with a draw.

“We knew it was a difficult group and that’s how it has been so far, although it might not seem like it because of the two wins, but it wasn’t easy,” Mexico’s coach Javier Aguirre said.

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The Costa Ricans defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 earlier for their second win of the Gold Cup and also qualified for the second round. Suriname and the Dominicans are eliminated.

Suriname has lost all four official matches played against Mexico and will try to close the tournament with a win when they play the debutant Dominican Republic next Sunday.

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