CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE
When was the last time that Mexico scored against the United States? Who scored it?
The Mexican men’s national team has really been struggling to make its mark against the Stars and Stripes in an official match, but just how long has it been?
Mexico has once again lost a final against the United States, marking the third consecutive defeat of this nature. This loss also signifies the fifth consecutive defeat in official matches and the seventh match without a victory since September 2019. It was yet another disappointing evening for Mexican football, which has left the leadership of Jaime Lozano’s El Tri process in a precarious state.
USA has Midas touch over Mexico
The downward spiral is becoming increasingly alarming. The last time Mexico defeated the United States, although not a competitive fixture, was on 6 September 2019, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. During that friendly match, the ‘Tata’ Martino-led team secured a 3-0 victory with goals from Javier Hernández (his last goal as a national team player), Erick Gutiérrez, and Uriel Antuna. Since then, there have been seven matches, resulting in five losses and two draws. All these setbacks have occurred in official matches: three in the Nations League Final Four (in 2021, 2023, and 2024), one in the Gold Cup final (in 2021), and one in a World Cup qualifier (in 2021, in Cincinnati).
Even more concerning is the fact that in the last five official matches between both teams, ‘El Tri’ has failed to score in any of them. The last time Mexico managed to breach the American goal in a competitive match was during the final of the inaugural edition of the Nations League, on 6 June 2021. That match, held at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, ended 3-2 in favor of Team USA after 120 minutes of intense play, with Pulisic scoring the decisive penalty in the dying moments of extra time. Jesús ‘Tecatito’ Corona and Diego Lainez were the scorers on that fateful night in Denver, marking the beginning of the current streak. Lainez, in fact, was the last Mexican player to find the net against the USMNT in an official match.
Mexico’s losing streak against USMNT
Since that match on June 6 in Denver, the results have been as follows: a 1-0 defeat in the final of the 2021 Gold Cup, a 2-0 loss in the first leg of the World Cup qualifying playoff for Qatar 2022, a goalless draw in the return leg at the Estadio Azteca, and a 0-3 defeat in the semifinal of the 2023-2024 Nations League. This is now compounded by the recent 0-2 loss in Arlington, in yet another CNL final.
This streak has persisted across three managerial tenures within the ‘Tri’: Gerardo Martino, Diego Cocca, and Jaime Lozano. Conversely, in the United States, the coach has remained unchanged since 2019, with Gregg Berhalter at the helm. In between these results, there was a 1-1 draw in Glendale on April 19, 2023, but it is not included in the sequence as it was a friendly match.