USA and Mexico Prepare for Next Round of Rivalry

By Todd McClamroch in News on Jun 22, 2007 1:21PM

The United States and Mexico advanced out of the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup Thursday night. The United States started off the night defeating our neighbors to the north, Canada, 2-1. The United States received goals from Frankie Hejduk in the 39th minute and a penalty kick goal by Landon Donovan in the 45th minute that was awarded when DaMarcus Beasley was taken down inside the Canadian box. In the waning minutes of the game, the United States had troubles closing out the Canadians. Canada scored a goal in the 76th minute and nearly tied it when they scored in extra time only to have the goal called off due to a player being offsides, a call that after review might have been incorrect.

In the second match of the night the Mexican National Team defeated Guadeloupe 1-0 in a game that could easily have seen more goals for Mexico if it were not for Guadeloupe netminder Franck Grandel who made several great saves.

The Mexican fans were out in full force on Thursday night and will likely be the majority of fans on Sunday. The United States will be playing on home soil where they have gone 7-0-1 and outscored the Mexican national team 13-0 since 2000, though the atmosphere might make them feel like they are playing in Mexico City. The rivalry dates back to 1934 and Mexico holds the edge 12-29-10 although the United States have faired the best in the past 25 matches going 11-7-7. The two clubs account for seven of the eight Gold Cup titles with Mexico wining four previously, the United States three and Canada one. The rivalry has been more heated since the United States beat Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup giving the United States its first World Cup Quarterfinal birth in over 70 years.

Chicagoist suggests you jump over to Ticketmaster and grab a ticket to what will surely be an exciting event on Sunday. Check out some of our photos from the semi-finals.