The United States scored two first-half goals en route to a 2-1 victory over Canada that ended amid controversy.

Frankie Hejduk in the 39th minute and Landon Donovan from the penalty spot in the 45th gave the defending champion United States a 2-0 halftime lead, and the US held on book their sixth appearance in the Gold Cup final in nine editions of the tournament.

In the second semifinal, Pavel Pardo's 69th-minute strike was enough to give Mexico a 1-0 victory over Guadeloupe.

The title match is on Sunday at Chicago's Soldier Field.

The USA-Canada match ended acrimoniously after Canada's Atiba Hutchinson appeared to knot the score in injury time, only to have officials rule the play offside.

Canadian players argued the call vehemently and had to be restrained from going after the linesman as he left the field at the end of the match.

"Their player headed the ball backwards, so we can't be offsides in that situation," Canadian coach Stephen Hart insisted. "Referees are something I am not in control of, and they are like us, they have good days and bad days."

Canada's Dwayne De Rosario said his teammates "feel cheated."

"When you play teams like US and Mexico, you are not going to get calls, you have to beat them straight up," he said.

The Gold Cup winners qualify for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.