HOUSTON (AP) -- Abel Aguilar scored on an improbable 40-yard shot to help Colombia stun Mexico 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday.
Aguilar netted the winner in the 76th minute when he kicked the ball high and hard toward the goal while in a crowd, and it looped in over the top of goalkeeper Moises Munoz.
Heavily favored Mexico, which won Group C with a 2-1 record in the first round, was eliminated. It was Mexico's fifth loss in Gold Cup competition since 1997.
Colombia, which came out of the first round with a 1-2 record, advances to the semifinals against Panama at Giants Stadium on Thursday.
In the 59th minute, Colombia's Jaime Castrillon took a crossing pass from Jairo Patino and scored on a header in front of the goal.
Four-time Gold Cup champion Mexico came back six minutes later as Gonzalo Pineda took a deflected pass from Omar Bravo and scored from 15 yards out to tie it at 1.
Colombia's Wason Liberado Renteria appeared to score twice in the first 20 minutes of the game but Colombia was called for offsides both times as the teams ended with a scoreless first half.
Colombia had seven shots on goal the first half while Mexico had four.
Mexico seemed lost on offense in the first half without veteran striker Jared
Borgetti. The team's captain and leading scorer, Borgetti had to sit out the match
after receiving two yellow cards during first-round play last week.
After tying 1-1 in regulation and through stoppage time, Panama beat South Africa
5-3 on penalty kicks at Reliant Stadium on Sunday.
Panama advanced to the semifinals against Colombia at East Rutherford, N.J.,
on Thursday. Colombia upset Mexico 2-1 earlier Sunday.
In the shootout, Panama's Luis Tejada, Angel Luis Rodriguez, Felipe Baloy, Alberto
Blanco and Gabriel Gomez scored, while goalkeeper Jaime Penedo blocked the kick
of South Africa's Ricardo Katza to set up the victory.
After a scoreless first half, Jorge Luis Dely Valdes took a pass from Tejada
and scored from close range to put Panama ahead in the 48th minute.
In the 68th, South Africa's Lungisani Ndlela ran over Penedo en route to scoring
a close-in goal.
The 60,050 who attended the two games on Sunday represented the second-largest
soccer crowd in Houston history, trailing only a 70,000 sellout for a United States-Mexico
game in May 2003.
