A sports rivalry exists between the national football teams of Mexico and the United States, widely considered the two major powers of CONCACAF. The first match was played in 1934, and the teams have met 67 times, with Mexico leading the overall series 34-15-19 (W-D-L). However, the Americans lead the series 18-12-14 since the beginning of the 1980s.
Matches between the two nations often attract much media attention, public interest and comment in both countries. The U.S.-Mexico matches are widely attended; several matches at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico have drawn over 100,000 fans, and several matches at the Rose Bowl in the United States have drawn over 90,000 fans.
The most important matchups take place in quadrennial FIFA World Cup qualification matches and major tournaments such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The rivalry plays out often in annual friendlies scheduled during the early months in U.S. cities with large Mexican American populations such as Los Angeles, Houston, and Phoenix.
Video Mexico-United States soccer rivalry
History
Origin
The first match between the two sides was a qualifying match in Italy for the final ticket to the 1934 World Cup. Where football was seen as a foreign sport in the United States, in Mexico, like many Latin American nations, it was embraced from the start as part of their culture. The U.S. had established a professional league in 1921, but it had folded in 1933. The final score was United States 4-2 Mexico. Three years later, Mexico began a winning streak over the U.S. in friendlies 7-2, 7-3, and 5-1 in Mexico City.
Recent years
Prior to 2012, Mexico had never lost to the United States at home and now owns a 23-3-1 (W-T-L) record on their native soil. Mexico has won in the United States ten times, compiling a record of 10-12-15 (W-T-L).
For most of the 20th century, the rivalry between the two nations was not significant due to the superiority of the Mexican team for the majority of that period. This began to change in the 1990s, when a new generation of United States players made the matches seriously competitive for the first time.
In the 21st century, the rivalry added a new chapter with the nickname Dos a Cero (2-0) to U.S. fans. Starting in 2001 during the qualifying cycle for the 2002 World Cup, the U.S. hosted Mexico in Columbus, Ohio at Columbus Crew Stadium, now known as Mapfre Stadium. The first meeting between Mexico and the United States ended in a 2-0 win for the U.S. Following the victory, the U.S. hosted Mexico at Crew Stadium again in 2005, 2009, and 2013 for World Cup Qualifiers (2006, 2010, and 2014 qualifying cycles). Each time these teams met in Columbus, the U.S. has come out with a 2-0 win. Following the September 10, 2013 game the U.S. clinched a World Cup berth following a Panama-Honduras 2-2 draw. Their meeting in the round of 16 of the 2002 World Cup also ended in a U.S. win by the same score. In addition, the U.S. has won three friendlies against Mexico by that score since 2000--in Los Angeles in 2000, the Phoenix area in 2007, and San Antonio in 2015.
On November 11, 2016, Mexico was finally able to win a Hexagonal World Cup qualifier in Columbus after beating the U.S. 1-2 with a late Rafael Marquez header. This would become a major factor in the U.S. failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as they would fail to make the final tournament for the first time in 32 years.
Maps Mexico-United States soccer rivalry
Results
Summary
On a macro level, Mexico leads the series 34-15-19, with almost double the goals of the U.S. (139-80).
On neutral territory, the United States leads the series 3-1. In addition, the lone World Cup match between the two countries, a Round of 16 meeting at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea, resulted in a 2-0 victory for the United States.
*no longer played
Gold Cup finals
The United States and Mexico have met in five Gold Cup finals to date, with Mexico holding a four games to one lead over the United States.
List of matches
Player eligibility
The United States and Mexico also compete to convince players who are eligible to play for both the United States and Mexico (e.g., a player who was born in the United States to Mexican parents) to play for their particular national team. To date, only two players, Martín Vásquez and Edgar Castillo have played for both nations. Castillo, who was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, debuted with the Mexican side in August 2007 for a match that was part of the 2008 CONCACAF Men Pre-Olympic Tournament. Castillo played his first game for the United States, a friendly against Denmark in 2009.
Other cases include William Yarbrough, Isaác Brizuela, Miguel Ponce and more recently with Jonathan González.
- William Yarbrough - born March 20, 1989 in Aguascalientes, Mexico to American parents, has an extensive career with Liga MX club León. Yarbrough did participate with a Mexico U20 squad in 2007 but did not obtain any playing minutes. In March 2015 he appears for the US team in a friendly against Denmark.
- Isaác Brizuela - born August 28, 1990 in San Jose, California to Mexican parents. Brizuela has made an entire career with Liga MX clubs Toluca, Atlas and Chivas Guadalajara. He was part of the Mexican delegation that obtained the gold medal in the 2011 Pan American Games. He makes his full appearance with Mexico in 2013.
- Miguel Ponce - born April 12, 1989 in Sacramento holds an extensive career with Liga MX clubs Chivas Guadalajara, Toluca and Necaxa. Ponce was part of the Mexico squads that took part in the 2011 Copa América, obtained gold medals at the 2011 Pan American Games and the 2012 Olympic Games. Makes his full appearance scoring one goal at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
- Jonathan González - born April 13, 1999 in Santa Rosa to Mexican parents. A product of the US national team youth program, González was part of the USA U20 squad that won the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. In 2014 he enters Liga MX club Monterrey's youth program and is eventually promoted to the senior squad in July 2017. In December 2017 González publicly states his wish to represent Mexico on the official scale. In January 2018 FIFA grants his request and makes his full appearance with Mexico on January 31 in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. González has also been involved in Mexico's youth squad projects such as the 2018 Toulon Tournament in which Mexico's U20 ended as runner-ups of the tournament.
Incidents
Prior to an Olympic qualifying game in Guadalajara, Mexico, on February 10, 2004, Mexican media reported that U.S. player Landon Donovan urinated on the field during practice, which angered Mexican fans and media outlets. Subsequent video showed Donovan actually urinated near some bushes outside the practice areas. Two days later, on February 12, 2004, Mexico defeated the U.S. 4-0, and the crowd was heard chanting "Osama, Osama, Osama", in reference to Osama bin Laden and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In a friendly held in Glendale, Arizona on February 7, 2007, Landon Donovan scored in injury time to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead and win over Mexico. After the goal, Mexico goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez tried to trip U.S. player Eddie Johnson as Johnson was running to celebrate the goal. No contact was made, and no reprimand resulted.
On February 11, 2009, the first qualifier for the 2010 World Cup was held in Columbus Crew Stadium, and resulted in a 2-0 victory for the U.S. against Mexico. After the game, as both teams headed through the tunnels to the locker room, Mexican assistant coach Francisco "Paco" Javier Ramírez slapped Frankie Hejduk in the face. Hejduk did not retaliate, and Ramirez was not reprimanded.
Women's football
The rivalry is less hostile in women's football but still important. Most games have been played on U.S. soil. However, games have been played between both teams in Mexico as well; including one at Estadio Azteca in 1999 which ended 0-0. Another was played during the 2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship at Puebla, Mexico, where the U.S. U-20 defeated the Mexico U-20 3-0. The Mexican women's team has only defeated the U.S. once, at the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup semifinal, where they won 2-1. This win got the Mexican women to their second Women's World Cup. Mexico also defeated the U.S. at the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil, where Mexico won 3-2 after being down 2 goals, though this match is not considered official by both associations and FIFA due to the U.S. fielding their U20 team in that tournament as opposed to their senior team.
On January 28, 2018 for the first time in women's official competitions of any category a Mexican U-20 squad had finally defeated the US. Mexico's U-20 side won the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship after having ended in a 1-1 draw in the full 90 minutes. Mexico went on to defeat the US 4-2 in penalty shoot.
In popular culture
A 2012 documentary, Gringos at the Gate / Ahi Vienen Los Gringos, written and directed by Pablo Miralles, Roberto Donati, and Michael Whalen, focuses on the cultural differences between the United States and Mexico when it comes to football. This includes the conflict of Mexican-American players in the U.S. while their family might support Mexico.
See also
- Hexagonal (CONCACAF)
Notes
References
External links
- Archive of U.S. national team results 1885-1979
- Archive of U.S. national team results 1980-
- Gringos at the Gate Documentary film about the U.S. and Mexico football rivalry
Source of article : Wikipedia
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