Gold Cup final a perfect setting for another edition of U.S.-Mexico rivalry
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final between a historically inexperienced U.S. men’s national team – did you know that the USMNT fielded its youngest-ever lineup in a competitive match during the tournament? – and an almost full-strength rival Mexico might feel unprecedented. It’s not.
Way back in 2009, another mostly MLS-based squad of U.S. reserves reached another Gold Cup championship despite being without around 20 lineup regulars who, like, Christian Pulisic and most of the other American headliners this month, were allowed to prepare for their club seasons in Europe after representing the national team with distinction earlier in the summer.
To stay up to date on all things Gold Cup, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!
Then as now, the U.S. had exceeded expectations. But after a scoreless first half in front of more than 79,000 fans, most of them cheering for Mexico, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, El Tri stars Gerardo Torrado, Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela scored in an 11-minute stretch on the way to an embarrassing 5-0 defeat for the hosts.
To that point, the USMNT had dominated the series with their southern neighbors for the entire 21st century, posting a 10W-3L-2T record in the 2000s, including the famous 2-0 win in the knockout round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Nobody knew it then, but that 2009 loss at the old Giants Stadium portended more than a decade of misery for the Americans against Mexico.
The Pulisic-led Nations League triumph in June marked the first U.S. win over Mexico in a final in 14 years. Now a squad featuring just four holdovers from that roster (Kellyn Acosta, Reggie Cannon, Sebastian Lletget, Jackson Yueill) has a chance at a second less than two months later.
But while Sunday’s title bout (8 p.m. ET, FS1 and the FOX Sports App) is being staged inside a sold-out Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and his team don’t feel like they’re playing with house money.
"I don’t give much credit to that school of thought. I think it’s a disservice to our guys," Berhalter, who played in that 2002 World Cup match, said Saturday during his pre-match news conference. "We’re going to do everything we can to win this game. And if we don’t win this game, I can guarantee you we're going to be bitterly disappointed."
Still, Mexico is the bookies’ clear favorite. El Tri manager Tata Martino selected a squad that, even without forward Hirving "Chucky" Lozano, who suffered a scary head injury minutes into El Tri’s group-stage opener, has far more big-game chops than the side they’ll see in Vegas.
The U.S. figures once again to lean heavily on central midfielders Acosta and Lletget, who have both been quietly excellent throughout the competition, as well as fellow veterans Paul Arriola and Gyasi Zardes. Zardes, who came off the bench to score the winner in the semis against guest team Qatar, has all but certainly earned the nod over 21-year-old Daryl Dike. Cristian Roldan is also pushing for more minutes, perhaps in a two-way role in place of 19-year-old Gianluca Busio.
If the USMNT is to win, though, it will also need impressive newcomers like forward Matthew Hoppe, center back Miles Robinson and goalkeeper Matt Turner to save their best performances for last. Robinson and Turner have the unenviable task of trying to stop El Tri striker Gabriel Funes Mori.
"The guy’s just a killer when he’s inside the box," Turner said of Mori. "He finds space, he’s got a great touch, and he can finish right-foot, left-foot and with his head. So we understand that he’s a very dangerous player."
Then there are the tactics. Berhalter surprised Martino in the Nations League by deploying wingbacks to flank three central defenders. But how his team sets up Sunday will be secondary in many ways. More imperative will be matching Mexico’s intensity. Rarely do U.S.-Mexico matches produce beautiful, free-flowing attacking. They’re brawls. Sometimes almost literally.
"I’ve seen numerous times when the players from Mexico are grabbing players’ necks and facial areas," said Berhalter. "We want both teams to battle, we want it to be physical but that has no place in the game.
"We’re not going to stand for that," he added. "The referee needs to get control of that."
However wild things get, expect a close game. The outcome in 2009 was an outlier. Sunday marks Berhalter’s third final against Mexico as U.S. coach. The first two, June’s contest and the 2019 Gold Cup finale that El Tri won 1-0 on Jonathan dos Santos’ late strike, were decided by a single goal. Just once in the last six competitive meetings between the teams has either prevailed by a more comfortable margin.
"There’s small things," Berhalter said, "that separate the winner."
Which team that is matters. Sunday’s result could have a lasting impact on the rivalry, regardless of which players are on the field. The next time the U.S. and Mexico meet it will be for a World Cup qualifier.
"It’s an exciting time for U.S. Soccer – two finals in basically a month is an amazing accomplishment," said Lletget. "It’s an opportunity to lift another trophy. Who better than to play against Mexico?"
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
