Mexico to defend Olympic title after earning Rio 2016 berth as Honduras beat the United States to qualify

Alberth Elis celebrates putting Honduras into the lead ©Getty Images

Mexico earned the opportunity to defend their Olympic title after beating Canada 2-0 in the 2015 CONCACAF men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship semi-finals, which saw them secure a berth at Rio 2016.

Having topped Group B the Mexican team were the clear favourites heading into the tie at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, with their opponents having picked up four points from their matches in Group A.

It was no surprise when Mexico, the London 2012 champions, took an early lead as a right-footed cross from Hirving Lozano was met by Erick Torres, and the forward guided a header past the Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.

Having conceded after just six minutes, Canada tightened up defensively which helped them reach half-time only one goal in arrears, but 17 minutes after the break their Olympic hopes took another blow as Lozano fired into the corner of the net with a powerful effort which made its way through a host of bodies.

Mexico’s progression was all but assured 10 minutes from the final whistle when Canada’s Michael Petrasso, who had scored in each of his team’s games in the tournament, saw his penalty saved by Gibran Lauid following a handball by Erick Aguirre.

There was another scare for Mexico with three minutes remaining as Skylar Thomas struck the crossbar with a header but ultimately they had proved the better side throughout the game to earn their win.

For the third Olympic men’s football tournament in a row Honduras will be represented after they overcame hosts the United States 2-0 due to a brace from forward Alberth Elis.

His first effort, which came midway through the first half, saw him take the ball down on his chest in the area before breaking clear of his marker to fire beyond Ethan Horvath in the American goal.

Honduras reached their third consecutive Olympic men's football tournament by beating the hosts ©Getty Images

An increasingly open match saw chances for both sides come regularly with the American team going close to equalising when Cameron Carter-Vickers' header from a corner needed to be turned around the post by Honduras' goalkeeper Luis Lopez.

It proved a pivotal moment in the match as with the American team pushing forward in search of a leveller, they were hit again by Elis, as he bent a shot beyond Horvath to give his side a two goal cushion.

A late Jordan Morris effort for the US was disallowed for offside, with the moment highlighting their frustration as they eventually fell to a 2-0 defeat.

It means that Honduras will play Mexico in Tuesday's final in Sandy but both teams can already look forward to next summer in Brazil.

Hope still remains for the United States and Canada though, as the winners of their third place match on Tuesday will progress to face Colombia in a play-off for another berth in Rio.