Mexico–United States soccer rivalry

The Mexico–United States soccer rivalry is a sports rivalry between the national association football teams of the two countries, widely considered the two major powers of CONCACAF. It began with the first match played in 1934. The teams have met 78 times, with Mexico leading the overall series 37–17–24 (W–D–L).
It is considered as one of the greatest rivalries in international soccer for its incidents involving fans, team brawls, and competitiveness, which is exemplified by political issues surrounding Mexico–U.S. relations. 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 prominent matchups take place in quadrennial FIFA World Cup qualification matches and major North American tournaments such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League. The rivalry also plays out with occasional friendly exhibition games, which media outlets often consider "anything but friendly".
The first match between the two sides was a qualifying match in Italy for the final ticket to the 1934 FIFA World Cup. 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. In September 1937, Mexico began a winning streak over the U.S. in friendlies 7–2, 7–3, and 5–1 in Mexico City.
Following that initial victory by the U.S. in 1934, Mexico went unbeaten in the next 24 games between the two nations, with 21 wins and three draws. The U.S. would not record its second victory over its southern neighbor until 46 years later in 1980, when they won a 1982 World Cup qualifier 2–1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Overall, the first 50 years of the rivalry concluded with Mexico holding a commanding lead in the series, 22 wins to the United States' two, with three draws.
In 1990, the U.S. qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1950 and fourth time overall, thanks in part to the Cachirules scandal which caused Mexico to be banned from the qualification tournament. This decade saw the U.S. begin to field more competitive sides, challenging the dominance of Mexico for the first time since 1934. However, despite a few notable U.S. victories, such as a 2–0 triumph in the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 1991, and a 4–1 win on penalties following a 0–0 draw in the quarterfinals of the 1995 Copa America, Mexico still got the better of the U.S. in the '90s, with five wins to three, alongside six draws.
The first decade of the new millennium saw the United States turn the tides of the rivalry. In 2001, the U.S. and Mexico faced off in a 2002 World Cup qualifier at Columbus Crew Stadium, which saw the U.S. defeat their archrivals 2–0 in a match dubbed La Guerra Fria ("The Cold War") by Mexican media due to the sub-freezing temperatures it was contested in. The following year, the two nations would face off in the World Cup itself for the first, and so far only, time in their history in the Round of 16. Goals from Brian McBride and Landon Donovan gave the U.S. another 2–0 victory.
The United States would continue their dominance throughout the rest of the decade and into the first half of the next, with three more 2–0 victories in home World Cup qualifiers at Crew Stadium. The penchant for the U.S. to defeat Mexico by that particular score line led to U.S. fans taunting their rivals by chanting dos a cero ("two to zero"). Also within this time frame, the U.S. would defeat Mexico 2–1 in the 2007 Gold Cup final. Mexico would return the favor in the following final in 2009 with a 5–0 victory, albeit against a U.S. side which was not fielding its best players, and repeat the feat 2 years later with a 4–2 comeback victory against a full-strength U.S. team. The following year, the U.S. would defeat Mexico at the Estadio Azteca for the first time, winning a friendly match 1–0, and then during 2014 World Cup qualifying, the United States earned their second ever point in the Azteca by way of a 0–0 draw.
A low point in the rivalry for Mexico came in 2013, when, in the final match day of World Cup qualifying, Mexico found themselves on the brink of elimination. With El Tri trailing in their match against Costa Rica and Panama holding a 2–1 lead over the United States, Mexico had found themselves in 5th place and were minutes away from failing to qualify for the World Cup. However, in stoppage time, an equalizing goal from American Graham Zusi saved Mexico, vaulting them past Panama and into 4th place in the table, ensuring their qualification to the intercontinental playoff, where they would defeat New Zealand to qualify for the World Cup. The goal caused the Mexican commentator for TV Azteca to exclaim "God Bless America!" in English, and led to Zusi being dubbed San Zusi ("Saint Zusi") by Mexico fans.
Ultimately, from 2000 to 2014, the United States was dominant, with 12 wins to Mexico's five, together with five draws.
Following the 2014 World Cup, Mexico regained its footing in the rivalry, starting with a 3–2 extra time victory in the 2015 CONCACAF Cup. In 2018 World Cup qualifying, Mexico finally broke the Dos A Cero streak with a 2–1 win, their first triumph over the U.S. in Crew Stadium. Ultimately, the second half of the 2010s would mark the lowest point of the rivalry for the United States since the 1990s, as they would fail to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Then, the following year, Mexico would defeat the United States 1–0 in the 2019 Gold Cup Final, then humiliate the Americans 3–0 in their own home in a September friendly, which was Mexico's most lopsided victory over their rivals since 2009.
Overall, the second half of the 2010s saw Mexico win four times and the United States win two times, along with one draw.
Following the United States' failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the two 2019 defeats, the U.S. revamped their lineup, fielding a roster composed of younger players competing in top European leagues. This saw the tide turn once again in their favor, starting in 2021 with the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League final, one of the most thrilling matches in the rivalry's history, which the U.S. won 3–2 after extra time after a late penalty goal from Christian Pulisic. Then, 2 months later in the Gold Cup final, the US, despite fielding a weaker roster compared to Mexico, who brought most of their first choice players, once again defeated their archrivals in extra time, this time by a 1–0 score line. Finally, in November, the U.S. defeated Mexico yet again in a 2022 World Cup qualifier at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati by the infamous Dos A Cero score, marking the first 3-game winning streak by the U.S. over Mexico in their history.
At the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, the United States eliminated Mexico in a resounding 3–0 victory at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas where the game had 4 red cards and 10 yellow cards for violent behavior on both sides, including Weston McKennie having his shirt ripped off by Mexican players. The match was called eight minutes into what were supposed to be 12 minutes of stoppage time amid homophobic chanting by Mexican fans; CONCACAF officially said the match was ended at the referee's discretion. In the following year in the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League final, the U.S. defeated Mexico 2–0 to clinch the title again, and achieved a continental three-peat.
On October 15, 2024, Mexico finally put an end to their losing streak and defeated the U.S. 2-0 in a friendly at Estadio Akron, albeit with both teams fielding a roster without many of their regular starters.
Mexico leads the series overall 37–17–24, with 147 goals for Mexico and 92 for the United States. In the 21st century the U.S. leads the series 19–8–10, with 50 goals opposed to Mexico's 35.
*no longer played
The United States and Mexico have met in seven Gold Cup finals to date, with Mexico holding a five games to two lead over the United States.
Matches marked in bold are final matches played for a title.
Results by U.S. State
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 or vice versa) to play for their particular national team. As of October 19th, 2024, five players; Martín Vásquez, Edgar Castillo, Julián Araujo, Jonathan Gómez and Alejandro Zendejas have played senior level matches for both nations.
Other cases include William Yarbrough, Isaác Brizuela, Miguel Ponce, Jonathan González, Efraín Álvarez, David Ochoa, Julián Araujo, and most recently Obed Vargas, who was capped by Mexico and became the first Alaskan to ever play for a senior national team.
Only one head coach has coached both national teams; Bora Milutinović, who coached Mexico first from 1983 to 1986, playing host to that year's World Cup and a second time from 1995 to 1997. With the United States, Milutinović coached the Stars and Stripes from 1991 to 1995, again playing host in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
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 attacks that occurred three years prior.
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.
On June 6, 2021, in the first CONCACAF Nations League final at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, the game between the two rivals was marred by several incidents of overly physical play and team brawls. In extra-time after Christian Pulisic scored a game-winning penalty to make it 3–2, Pulisic shushed the Mexican crowd in his celebration, which caused them to throw projectiles on the field injuring U.S. player Gio Reyna.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier on November 12, 2021, Mexican player Luis Rodríguez violently fouled U.S. player Brenden Aaronson and clawed his eyes, receiving only a yellow to the dismay of the U.S. side. The U.S. would win the game 2–0.
On June 15, 2023, at the semi-final game between the U.S. and Mexico during the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League finals, the game was seen as a rematch of the previous 2021 Nations League matchup and resulted in a U.S. 3–0 victory. The game ultimately had 4 red cards and 10 yellow cards for violent behavior on both sides, including Weston McKennie having his shirt ripped off by Mexican players. Several off-field incidents occurred involving Mexican fans, including thrown projectiles on the field and homophobic chanting which the match was called eight minutes into what were supposed to be 12; CONCACAF officially said the match was ended at the referee's discretion.
The two countries also have a rivalry between their women's teams, though the United States has won most matchups.
On January 28, 2018, the Mexican U-20 squad defeated the United States' team in the finals of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. After a 1–1 draw in the first 90 minutes, Mexico won the match on penalty kicks, scoring 4 against the U.S. total of 2. It was the third time the CONCACAF U-20 Championship featured U.S. and Mexico in the final game, and the first time that Mexico won.
The United States leads the series 41–1–2, outscoring Mexico 173–17.
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 soccer. This includes the conflict of Mexican-American players in the U.S. while their family might support Mexico.
The three-part documentary series Good Rivals, originally titled Good Neighbors, focused on the rivalry and featured interviews from past players and coaches. It was released in 2022 on Amazon Prime Video.