Mexico overwhelms Costa Rica, 4-1

Mexico’s Gold Cup hopes appeared to take a hit, if not a fatal blow, last week when five players were suspended after testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.

Among those lost were goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and center back Francisco Rodriguez, the heart and soul of the Mexican defense.

The team’s response? Score so many goals the defense doesn’t matter — a strategy it used to perfection Sunday when it scored four times in the first 38 minutes to blitz Costa Rica, 4-1, before a pro-Mexican sellout crowd of 62,000 at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

“The main objective is to win the Gold Cup,” Mexico Coach Manuel de la Torre said. “This group very much knows what it needs to do to represent Mexico.... Whatever situation is presented, the team knows the only way to get where we need to go is on the field.”

They proved that again Sunday with Andres Guardado scoring twice, sandwiched between goals from Rafael Marquez and Pablo Barrera, to give Mexico a quick lead that was never challenged.

For the tournament, El Tri has outscored its three opponents, 14-1, and will take a perfect record into the tournament quarterfinals Saturday at the New Meadowlands outside New York City against an opponent to be determined.

Costa Rica, 1-1-1 in group play, also advances to the quarterfinals on goal differential.

“It was easy for Mexico, too simple,” said Costa Rica Coach Ricardo La Volpe, who coached Mexico in the 2006 World Cup. “We couldn’t react.”

Indeed, Mexico’s quick, precise passing game overwhelmed Costa Rica from the start, helping El Tri get off 21 shots to just nine for the Ticos.

And because much of the action took place in the Costa Rican end, Mexican keeper Alfredo Talavera was rarely tested — although he was finally beaten in the 69th minute when second-half substitute Marcos Urena, left unmarked near the right post, chested down a Bryan Ruiz chip pass and knocked it into the net at the far side.

As dominant as Mexico has been so far, De la Torre warned there is more to come.

“We played a good match,” he said Sunday. “But there is always room for improvement.”

In the other Group A match, Rodolfo Zelaya scored a goal in each half to lead El Salvador to its first win of the tournament, a 6-1 rout of Cuba.

The victory gives El Salvador four points and a chance to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003, pending the results of the final matches in Group B and C.

Cuba, meanwhile, goes home after being outscored 16-1— though it didn’t go home with all the players it came with. Midfielder Yosniel Mesa, 30, who was listed as “injured” for Sunday’s game, said in an interview with Univision that he defected after Cuba’s loss to Mexico on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., climbing down a fire escape at the team hotel and running to a waiting car. Cuban and CONCACAF officials declined comment.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

Baxter reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed to this report.