LONDON (AP):

Mexico was without one of the team's top stars. They were a long way from home. They lacked the rich tradition of the main contenders.

And it still won it all.

Mexico is headed home with the gold medal for men's football after coming to the London Games with a team few expected to win it all. The team jumped on favoured Brazil just 29 seconds into Saturday's final for the fastest Olympic goal in 36 years, and went on to a 2-1 victory.

While the Mexicans are celebrating their first gold, Brazil will have to wait another four years to continue a quest for the elusive medal.

But Brazil wasn't the only top contender to fail at this year's tournament.

Spain wasn't even close to a second gold after failing to get past the group stage, just like Uruguay. Britain's first team since 1960, without David Beckham, failed to live up to the expectations of the home fans and was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Mexico arrived at the Olympics with an outside shot at the title, with Brazil, Spain, Uruguay and Britain expected to fight for the gold. But the Mexicans had been playing together for a few years, and it showed during the run to the title, a championship that shows the national team has a promising future.

"It's a very important moment for Mexican football," coach Luis Fernando Tena said.

"It's a great moment for us. Our youngsters have developed great mental strength and our football is improving considerably."

The gold was even more impressive considering Mexico played without Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, who was not released by Manchester United. The team's other main forward, Giovani Dos Santos, missed the final with an injury.

Meanwhile, Brazil cruised through the tournament with players such as Neymar, Oscar and Leandro Damiao all performing well.

It was a relatively unknown striker who never played outside of Mexico who gave the nation one of their biggest victories in football. Oribe Peralta scored the early goal and added another in the 75th minute at Wembley Stadium to wrap up the championship. His first goal was the fastest at least since the 1976 Games, when FIFA began keeping record of the Olympic tournament.

Peralta was one of the three players older than 23 summoned by Tena after Hernandez was ruled out. The 28-year-old striker ended the competition with four goals and quickly helped the Mexicans forget Chicharito's absence.