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19 min: I have no memory of the USA bringing the ball into the Mexican penalty area. The goal came off a free kick that found Richards’ head in the area, but there has been no possession there.
We have a plea for a penalty from Mexico, but it was closer to a dive than a foul.
16 min: Mauricio Pochettino is livid on the sideline, probably flirting with a yellow card, as another foul goes uncalled.
In the mid-1990s, the USISL experimented with a rule in which the seventh team foul would result in a “shootout” opportunity in which an attacking player could start with the ball 35 yards from goal and go one on one against the keeper. Gimmicky, but the intentions were good.
15 min: That could’ve been disastrous for the USA, as a cross deflects, but Freese has time to reset his feet and collect cleanly.
That’ll give the USA a chance to break the pressure.
Mexico responds with … a foul.
13 min: Shot on goal for Mexico, but it’s a tame one. The xG on that should be about 0.001. They say 0.04. I don’t get it.
12 min: Mexico take some time to build patiently.
Concacaf is tracking xG (expected goals). The USA lead 0.04-0.00. Not sure why Richards’ shot would only merit 0.04, though there’s an argument that the pass never should’ve gotten through.
Now we have fouls each way going uncalled.
11 min: Sustained possession for the USA. More surprisingly, we’ve gone three minutes without a foul.
9 min: Credit to our referee for trying to put a stop to the nonsense early in the game.
Mexico, meanwhile, have stepped up the urgency since conceding. They didn’t really start passively by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re aggressively seeking a way through the stacked US midfield and defense.
6 min: Now two fouls each way. At this pace, that would be more than 30 fouls per team.
And another, as Vasquez bear-hugs Agyemang from behind at midfield and wrestles him down.
Goooooaaaalll! USA 1-0 Mexico (Richards 4)
Well now. That looked too easy.
Berhalter floats the free kick into the penalty area, and Richards ducks to get his head on the ball. It clangs off the underside of the bar, and in shades of the 1966 World Cup, there’s some debate over whether the whole ball crossed the line.
Oddly, there’s no goal-line technology here. Will we have a review? We will not. It stands.
4 min: More fouls, and the USA will have a free kick from about 45 yards out.
Joe Pearson asks if the roof is closed given the heat in Houston. It is indeed.
1 min: The US go direct right from the kickoff. Mexico takes it the other way but Jimenez bundles over Berhalter to give it right back. Agyemang answers at the other end, fouling Montes.
So … end to end action. Of sorts.
Kickoff: The smoke has not cleared from the pregame. Cough.
Judging by the volume of singing of the Mexican national anthem, it would appear that Mexican fans are in the majority here.
We’re getting a stock recording of the US national anthem, which means it’s moving far more briskly than the typical melismatic ordeal that live singers enjoy.
The pregame entertainment is a bit like the dancing fountains at Bellagio, but with fire.
Now both teams are taking the field as the Guns and Roses classic Welcome to the Jungle plays. I think it’s an improvement over the Champions League theme, but tastes may differ.
Before the game … the supporters’ costume contest.
First up, from the USA …
And from Mexico …
USA-Mexico Gold Cup history
Finals involving the two giants of Concacaf …
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1993: Mexico 4-0 in Mexico City.
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1998: Mexico 1-0 in Los Angeles.
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2007: USA 2-1 in Chicago.
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2009: One of the darker days for the US team – Mexico 5-0 in Chicago.
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2011: Also a dark day for the US, which led 2-0 before Mexico rallied. Mexico 4-2 in Pasadena (Rose Bowl).
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2019: Mexico 1-0 in Chicago.
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2021: USA 1-0 in Las Vegas.
The USA also won the 2024 Concacaf Nations League final in The Giant Jerry Jones Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas. So they’re 1-0 against Mexico in Concacaf finals in Texas.
Lineups
USA will have no changes from the starting XI that beat Guatemala in the semifinals: Freese; Arfsten, Ream, Richards, Freeman; de la Torre, Adams; Luna, Tillman, Berhalter; Agyemang
Mexico: Malagon; Gallardo, Vasquez, Montes, Sanchez; Ruiz, Alvarez, Mora; Vega, Jimenez, Alvarado. Gallardo returns from a suspension that caused him to miss the semifinal.
The venue is the massive NRG Stadium in Houston, and it’s sold out. We’ll see the composition of that crowd at kickoff.
The referee is Mario Escobar of Guatemala. He also had the whistle for the 2019 final between these same teams, which Mexico won 1-0.
Preamble
Welcome to one of the great rivalries in sports.
We’ll forget all the people who are not here at this point. We’ll forget about the fact that this final is the conclusion of a “regional championship” that included Saudi Arabia. Someone’s going to get a trophy here. And a lot of players will be trying to make their mark in a meaningful game, hoping for a good impression that will last until the World Cup rosters are made next year.
Comments are welcome and encouraged as always.
Beau will be here shortly.
Until then, read up on The US’s path to the final with Leander Schaerlaeckens:
