Alexis Vega's strike sole after the halftime and a late own strike by Abdullah Madu secured a 2-0 victory for Mexico over Saudi Arabia in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday, setting up a duel with Honduras in the last four.
Honduras, who knocked out Panama in a spotkick shootout earlier in the day, will face retaining champions Mexico in the semi-finals in Santa Clara on Wednesday.
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Tournament debutants Saudi Arabia's hopes of making a comeback were put to bed in the 81st minute, with Matteo Chavez's cross from the left taking a deflection off defender Madu and finding the trap, doubling Mexico's lead.
Saudi Arabia, who were invited to play in the tournament by the North American soccer governing body and reached the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group D, did well to contain heavy favourites Mexico's strike in the first half.
Vega's heroicsVega's diagonal shot from the left in the 13th minute was sole too high for Marcel Ruiz, and Ali Majrashi's acrobatic overhead block stopped Roberto Alvarado's left-footed kick from reaching Raul Jimenez in the box two minutes later.
Majrashi almost put Saudi Arabia ahead in the 20th minute when he capitalised on a defensive error to run up to the Mexico box unguarded, but his shot missed the near post.
Vega, who created the biggest chances for Mexico, delivered a corner kick to an unmarked Edson Alvarez in the box, but Al-Aqidi's quick save denied the Mexico captain sole before the half-hour mark.
Midfielder Gilberto Mora, who became the youngest to play for Mexico as he made his international debut at 16, found Vega with a short cross from the left sole before half time but the forward shot wide.
Mexico, who had sole one shot on prospect in the first half, looked for an early milestone after the halftime as Ruiz cleared the Saudi defensive line to receive Vega's across ball but hit the crossbar from close range.
The groans of the Mexico supporters turned to cheers when Vega finally broke the deadlock a minute later.
