Ahead of Meaningful Summer, USMNT Denies Mexico Momentum in 1–1 Draw

In Wednesday’s friendly, the U.S. kept El Tri from breaking out of their slide before more consequential matchups in the Nations League and, potentially, the Gold Cup.

The U.S. Soccer Federation made some money Wednesday night, and that’s important for an organization facing an eight-figure deficit. More than 55,000 people showed up at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., for a meaningless, midweek friendly scheduled outside a FIFA international window.

That’s the power of USA-Mexico. Anything resembling the senior men’s teams of those longtime rivals and frequent business partners—and potential 2027 Women’s World Cup cohosts, as they announced Wednesday—will draw a crowd and boost the bottom line. That’s been obvious for years.

What isn’t immediately apparent is whether anything was accomplished on the pitch during an uneventful 1–1 draw that didn’t really pick up any speed until midway through the second half. El Tri has a new manager, Diego Cocca, and the Americans are playing under an interim one, Anthony Hudson. All but two of the men called up for the Continental Clásico—that was the brand attached to Wednesday’s exhibition—played for clubs in MLS or Liga MX. They flew in following their respective league games last weekend, had a couple of light walk-throughs and then took the field.

“We’ve got two days to train,” Hudson said this week. “I think the players are experienced enough and have trained enough with us to know that we can still talk about things and do things, and they can still execute it. But it’s difficult without having more real training days.”

The friendly was contested under the shadow of at least one, and perhaps two, bigger games to come. The U.S. and Mexico will meet June 15 in Las Vegas in a Concacaf Nations League semifinal (the final and third-place game are three days later). While the title is of secondary importance, the timing suggests both new coaches will have access to their top players. Then in mid-July, the rivals could meet again in the Gold Cup semifinals or final, with the regional championship on the line.

Jesús Ferreira scored the equalizer to seal Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with El Tri :: Matt York/AP

What Hudson and the U.S. didn’t want Wednesday night was to offer Mexico any momentum heading into those games—any oxygen, relief or sense that the advantage seized so emphatically by the Americans two years ago was weakening. The U.S. beat El Tri in the Nations League and Gold Cup deciders in 2021 and in a World Cup qualifier later that year. In March ’22, the U.S. earned a draw at the Estadio Azteca. It then escaped its group at the Qatar World Cup, while Mexico stumbled in the group stage for the first time since missing out entirely in 1990.

Wednesday’s performance and result, while not impressive, at least prevented that streak, and the associated pressure and conversation surrounding Cocca and Mexico, from ending. El Tri will enter the Nations League semis 0-3-2 against the U.S. since the summer of 2019. The Americans’ five-game unbeaten run is their second longest in the history of the rivalry and best since a 3-0-3 stretch in 2011–15 that included four friendlies.

The way the Continental Clásico unfolded may have mattered as well. After a dull first hour, El Tri capitalized on a U.S. error (a bad pass by midfielder Kellyn Acosta and a bad touch by center back Aaron Long) and took the lead on a breakaway goal from Cruz Azul’s Uriel Antuna, one of five World Cup players in Cocca’s starting lineup (Hudson fielded eight).

Watch soccer with fuboTV. Start your free trial today.

It's El Tri that finally breaks through against the USMNT! 🇲🇽

A mistake at the back for the U.S. allows Mexico to grab a second-half lead pic.twitter.com/PCYdrUw0O7

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) April 20, 2023

The Americans responded. Hudson made a couple of substitutes and shifted his 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-4-3, an unconventional look for a team that relied so heavily on a back four under former coach Gregg Berhalter. That changed the spacing in midfield, and Hudson said it allowed the U.S. to put a bit more pressure on the opposition. The game sped up and became more feisty and transitional. Three Americans earned yellow cards in the final 20-plus minutes.

Although El Tri nearly doubled their lead when Carlos Rodríguez hit the crossbar in the 81st, the U.S. capitalized on the counter seconds later. Sergiño Dest, whose career is in such a state that AC Milan let him fly across the Atlantic for a friendly as the club was playing in the Champions League quarterfinals, was having a forgettable evening before deftly dribbling through three Mexicans and slipping the ball to Alan Soñora. He found a sprinting Jordan Morris, who hit an outside-of-the-foot cross that reached Jesús Ferreira for a tap-in.

Jesus Ferreira equalizes late on!

The FC Dallas man finishes off a slick counter to draw the U.S. level with Mexico in the 82nd minutepic.twitter.com/B6V50Ucedq

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) April 20, 2023

And so Mexico was denied its first win over the U.S. in nearly three years before a very pro-Mexico crowd.

“It shows that we believe. The team’s mentality was strong,” Ferreira told TBS on the field following the game. “In these type of games you can’t just keep your head on what you did wrong. You just have to flip it and keep working.”

In 2012, the U.S. traveled to Mexico City for a rare Azteca friendly. There were no stakes attached to the game until Michael Orozco scored in the 80th minute, and then suddenly the match was meaningful. El Tri had been 9-0-1 against the U.S. at the imposing arena. Since that day in August, 2012, the U.S. hasn’t lost there, earning three World Cup qualifying draws. The spell was weakened, if not broken.

So would a Mexico victory Wednesday, in that meaningless, ad hoc, branded friendly wedged into a busy domestic schedule, give El Tri, its new coach or their fans even the smallest, slightest boost of confidence heading into June? Would it have quieted even a sliver of the noise? Now they’ll never know.

“We got a lot of competitions coming up against them, so it’s something that will stay in the back of their head,” U.S. defender DeAndre Yedlin said about the unbeaten run.

Julián Araujo (right) faced off with the U.S. after switching allegiances to Mexico in 2021.  :: Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

If that’s true, then maybe it was worth the effort, the sweat, a U.S. starting lineup that was heavy on experience and light on youth and experimentation. USA-Mexico is USA-Mexico.

“Any time you play against your biggest rival you want to win the game,” Hudson said during the buildup.

El Tri feels the same, and they’ll be desperate to end their slide in Vegas.

“I think the five-game unbeaten streak is nice,” Hudson said in Glendale. “It’s obviously very nice. But the next time we play Mexico again, all of that goes out the window.”