EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez broke a tie in the 66th minute and defending champion Mexico rallied in the second half to beat Guatemala 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday night.
Second-half substitute Aldo De Nigris tied it at 1 early in the half as undermanned Mexico advanced to a semifinal showdown with Honduras on Wednesday night in Houston.
Honduras advanced in the first game of the doubleheader at the New Meadowlands Stadium that drew a mostly pro-Mexican sellout crowd of 78,807 with a win over Costa Rica in a game decided on penalty kicks.
Carlos Ruiz scored for Guatemala in the fifth minute and Mexican goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera had to make a nice finger-tip save on his 25-yard shot in the 73rd minute to keep El Tri ahead.
Mexico currently has 17 players on its roster because goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and defender Francisco Rodriguez, both starters on last year's World Cup team, and three others were removed from the team Thursday after testing positive for clenbuterol, a banned anabolic agent. Ricardo Osorio already had been sent home with an illness.
For most of the first half, it seemed that Guatemala was bent on pulling off a major upset after Ruiz stunned that crowd that spent most of the final minutes of the Honduras-Costa Rica game chanting (Meh-he-co).
Elias Enoc Vasquez started the play with a long pass down the middle of the field.
Mexican defender Hector Moreno whiffed when he attempted to kick the ball after it bounced. Ruiz, the captain of Guatemala, floated the ball over Talavera as the young keeper came out to play the ball.
Guatemala used only one attacker the rest of the half and Mexico only had a couple of scoring chances, with the best being a header by Hernandez that went over the goal.
Mexico, which had outscored its opponents 14-1 in winning its three opening-round games, made one substitution at halftime and it paid instant dividends.
De Nigris replaced Israel Castro and three minutes later the score was tied. Pablo Barrera, who had the primary assist on Hernandez's winner, controlled a crossing pass on the right side of the box. He floated a pass to the middle that Moreno headed only to be stopped by a great save by Ricardo Jerez.
While on turf, Moreno got the rebound and sent a second shot toward goal that De Nigris directed past Jerez, who had an outstanding game.
Barrera set up the game winner with a run down the right side. He sent a shot toward goal that "Chicharito" deflected past Jerez for his sixth goal of the tournament.