Erick "Cubo" Torres came to the rescue for Mexico as they escaped with a 1-0 win against Panama in their international friendly on Sunday at Estadio Corregidora in Queretaro, Mexico.

Mexico looked on their way to a disappointing goal-less draw finish against their CONCACAF rival, but Torres made sure that their home crowd didn't go home disappointed as he netted a goal in the 89th minute of the match.

Torres, who only made his second appearance for the senior squad, came in as a substitute in the second half, and coach Miguel Herrera's decision to replace Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez worked wonders for El Tri.

Mexico striker Oribe Peralta had his shot blocked by Panama goalkeeper Oscar McFarlane, but Torres was at the right place at the right time, rebounding the save to score the game-winning goal, which was his first international goal.

The win also kept Mexico unbeaten in four matches after their Round of 16 exit at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They have not surrendered a goal in those four matches. Alfredo Talavera, who started in place of Guillermo "Memo" Herrera, made two saves in the match to keep their clean sheet.

"Chicharito" Hernandez, who scored a crucial goal in their 2-0 win against Honduras on Thursday, was heavily involved in their offense during the first half, but the on-loan Real Madrid striker blew several scoring chances.

Despite losing against Mexico, Panama was impressive on Sunday as they manage to disrupt El Tri's attack during the match except for the late-game blunder that led to Torres' goal. They had several chances to score, but Mexico's defense held on for the entire match.

Panama coach Hernan Gomez praised his squad for their effort, saying that the close result shows that they are still at par with Mexico in terms of quality and talent.

"The distances (in quality) are short," Gomez said after Sunday's match via Goal. "It was a very similar game to what the World Cup qualifiers will be like and it was useful so people believe that we have a team that can fight for a place at the next World Cup."

For the latest sports news, follow Latin Post Sports on Twitter.

FOR MORE SOCCER NEWS UPDATES, CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VISIT LATIN POST.COM'S SPORTS PAGE.

Related