USA vs. Mexico Preview

Gold Cup title on the line

The USMNT making it to the Gold Cup final can be looked at one of two ways. The first is that it’s a miracle that they’re here. They were a wreck in the Nations League in March, a number of the best players aren’t here, and they lost both pre-tournament friendlies. And outside of a 5-0 thumping of Trinidad & Tobago in the opener, their performances so far in this tournament have let a lot up to chance. The other way to look at it is the USMNT making it to the Gold Cup final is entirely expected, no matter who isn’t available or what the results have been up to this point. Nobody has made the Gold Cup final as many times as the US, especially over the last 18 years as they’ve made it in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, and 2021. Regardless of how anybody wants to look at it, the fact remains that they now have one game standing between them and lifting another trophy. Perhaps most fittingly, that game is against Mexico.

There were sighs of relief after the quarterfinal, not just because the US prevailed on penalties against Costa Rica, but because of the result in the game immediately prior. Guatemala upset Canada, meaning the US would be facing Los Chapines, rather than a Canada team that has had their number of late. But as it turns out, Guatemala was perfectly capable of giving the US all they could handle. Things got off to a rip-roaring start, however, as Diego Luna gave the US the lead after just four minutes. The night got even better eleven minutes later as Luna made it 2-0 with a blast from just outside the penalty area. A multiple goal lead so early in the game led some to wonder if the game was going to be a breeze. Unfortunately, the US had to hold on for dear life for the remaining 75 minutes of the game. Guatemala launched attack after attack after attack and looked in danger of overrunning the US completely. Backed by a crowd that made the game feel like Guatemala City rather than St. Louis, they finally found a breakthrough ten minutes from time. But, somehow, some way, the US got out of the game without conceding again and put themselves into the Gold Cup final.

While there has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the US fans, things haven’t been going all that swimmingly for Mexico either. They too were grouped at last summer’s Copa America and despite winning the Gold Cup in 2023 and the Nations League earlier this year, there is still an air of uncertainty around this Mexico team as they get set to play co-host to next summer’s World Cup. Like the US, they were embarrassed by Switzerland in a pre-tournament friendly but bounced back to beat Turkey. At this Gold Cup, they topped Group A by beating the Dominican Republic 3-2 and Suriname 2-0 before settling for a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica. In the quarterfinals they were the only game that didn’t go to penalties as they made light work of Saudi Arabia by a score of 2-0. Their semifinal game against Honduras was an ugly affair that saw a litany of fouls, a great goal by Raul Jimenez (and an even better assist from 16-year-old Gilberto Mora), and another goal called back for offside. But at the end of the day, it was enough to send Javier Aguirre’s side through to the final for CONCACAF’s dream final against the US.

When, Where

Date: Sunday, July 6, 2025

Stadium: NRG Stadium

City: Houston, TX

Time: 7pm ET

TV: FOX

All-Time Series

USA trails 24-37-17

Last Meeting

Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Stadium: Estadio Akron

City: Guadalajara, Mexico

Result: USA 0-2 Mexico

Current FIFA Ranking

USA: 16

Mexico: 17

Next Game

Date: Saturday, September 6, 2025

Competition: International Friendly

Match-Up: USA vs. South Korea

Stadium: Sports Illustrated Stadium

City: Harrison, NJ

Time: 5pm ET

TV: TNT

Photo Credit: US Soccer