PASADENA, Calif. -- Mexico assistant manager Luis Pompilio Paez was in a defiant mood after El Tri crashed out of the Gold Cup following the 1-0 semifinal loss to Jamaica on Sunday.
"I personally don't like the word failure," Paez told his postmatch news conference. "But everyone is entitled to their opinion."
Jamaica's Kemar Lawrence netted late to dump Mexico out of the Gold Cup, making it three consecutive international tournaments in which El Tri has failed to meet its goals.
In the Copa America Centenario last summer, it lost 7-0 to Chile in the quarterfinals, while last month Mexico fell 4-1 to Germany in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup.
But Paez stressed that Mexico is top of the Hexagonal group in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying and that making Russia 2018 is the priority.
"This coaching staff was hired with the mission of taking Mexico to the World Cup," Paez added. "We are very close [to qualifying]. In the Confederations Cup we were minutes from defeating the European champions [Portugal]."
Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio watched the game from a box in the Rose Bowl due to his ongoing ban and wasn't allowed to speak to the media after match, but Paez sought to calm the voices asking for the Colombian coaching staff to be fired.
"We can't say that Mexico was the favorite for the Confederations Cup, or that with this group we were [favorites] to win the Gold Cup," he said. "We came with that hope, we did the preparation."
Paez suggested that football "rewarded" Jamaica and "punished" Mexico, with El Tri dominating most the game against a side playing on the counter.
Jamaica now faces the United States in the final of the Gold Cup on Wednesday.