Jaime Lozano: “USMNT has become the owner of the Nations League”

The CONCACAF Nations League returns later this month with two semi-final fixtures. The United States host Jamaica in the first of the games, with Panama taking on Mexico in the second.

USMNT and Mexico are heavy favourites to progress, setting up an exciting final between the two strongest rosters in CONCACAF. However, while Mexico have enjoyed more success historically, the United States may have usurped them as the best in the continent.

Ahead of the upcoming fixtures Mexico head coach Jaime Lozano admitted that the USMNT may have overtaken El Tri, and should now be considered “the owners” of the CONCACAF Nations League.

“Historically, Mexico was one of the candidates to win any tournament in the area. There has been a growth of some teams, such as United States which has become the owner of this tournament, but we still have the hope of lifting this trophy,” Lozano said.

“We want to finish each tournament with the best possible outcome. There are four very strong teams; [Jamaica and Panama] have improved and the US that has been a big player for a long time. We have lost both of our last meetings with them. I don’t know if it’s an obligation, but our goal is to win the title, first beating Panama,” the Mexico boss added.

Mexico face Panama test in Nations League

Mexico will be targeting first place in the Nations League but have the Canaleros to contend with first. The transcontinental country has traditionally struggled to compete with the bigger names in Northern and Central America but a marked improvement in recent decades has ushered in a new era of Panamanian soccer.

The team qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in its history in 2018 and has enjoyed greater success in CONCACAF competitions. Panama finished as runners-up in the 2013 and 2023 editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and they beat Costa Rica in the quarter-finals of this year’s Nations League.

Panama head coach Thomas Christensen has extensive top flight experience as a player in Spain and Germany and knows the scale of the challenge that his side face. However, as they prepare to take on Mexico in the Nations League, he is confident that his side can put up a fight.

“We have the lost final in our memory from the Gold Cup. I have not beaten Mexico [as Panama manager] and the match is important, the good thing is that we come with a learning experience,” Christensen explained. “We are going to play away from home, in stadium full of Mexicans, as we had it in Los Angeles in front of 80,000 people. It will be a litmus test [for us] and a good game.”