Guardado participated at the 2015 Gold Cup, his first tournament as captain, scoring six times, the first being a first-half effort in a 6–0 demolition of Cuba in the group stage, the second in a 4–4 draw against Trinidad and Tobago, and the third a penalty kick in the last minute of extra time in the quarter-final against Costa Rica (1–0). In the semi-finals with Panama, he scored twice from the penalty spot to help his country come from behind and win 2–1 and, in the decisive match against Jamaica, scored the opener in an eventual 3–1 victory, becoming the first player to score in three different Gold Cup finals, and subsequently won the Golden Ball Award as most outstanding player. He was also called up by then interim-manager Ricardo Ferretti for the subsequent CONCACAF Cup – a play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup – against the United States, in which Mexico won 3–2 during overtime.