USMNT 3-0 MEXICO
USMNT 3-0 Mexico: El Tri’s heaviest CONCACAF defeat since early 1970s
Diego Cocca’s Mexico were dumped out of the Nations League on Thursday, suffering their biggest defeat in a competitive CONCACAF match since 1973.
Mexico missed out on a ticket to the CONCACAF Nations League final on Thursday, going down 3-0 to the United States in Las Vegas. It was a game which began scrappily, before the USMNT took charge and eased to a dominant win, Ricardo Pepi scoring either side of a Christian Pulisic double as the Stars and Stripes extended their unbeaten run against the Mexicans to six games.
Such was the USMNT’s superiority that, in the closing stages at Allegiant Stadium, Mexico’s frustrations boiled over, leading to on-field altercations that resulted in two sendings-off for each team.
Mexico’s worst CONCACAF result in nearly 50 years
There can be no excusing such actions, not least because the bad behaviour spilled over into the stands, where discriminatory chanting forced the referee to temporarily halt the match; however, the Mexicans’ feelings of impotence can be understood, particularly as it’s just under half a century since El Tri suffered a heavier defeat in a competitive CONCACAF fixture.
You have to go back to the 1970s to find the last time that Mexico lost by a wider margin in an official match against a nation from the North America, Central America and Caribbean region. It came in December 1973, when the Mexicans were thrashed 4-0 by Trinidad and Tobago in qualifying for the following year’s FIFA World Cup.
Pressure now on Cocca at Gold Cup
Having seen his side thumped by fierce rivals USMNT in his first competitive game in charge, new Mexico head coach Diego Cocca has placed himself under immediate pressure, and will now have to deliver an almost perfect performance at the Gold Cup, which kicks off later this month.
Eight-time tournament winners Mexico, who have been drawn in Group B with Haiti, Honduras and Qatar, get their campaign underway against Honduras on 25 June.