The Mexican team chained this Thursday a new and painful disappointment against USA and suffered a 3-0 win in the semifinals of the Concacaf Nations League in Las Vegas (USA).
The ‘curse’ against the US continues for Mexicowho signed a sad performance this Thursday and who has not beaten his great rival for almost four years since in his last six clashes he accumulates a depressing balance of two draws and four defeats (including the lost 2021 Gold Cup finals and the League of Nations).
USA will defend the Nations League title on Sunday against Canadawho defeated Panama 0-2, after a very heated semifinal in which both teams ended up with nine players due to the direct red card of Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest for the Americans and César Montes and Gerardo Arteaga for the Mexicans.
USA
30
Mexico
USA: Matt Turner; Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson (Walker Zimmerman, m.81), Antonee Robinson; Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie; Christian Pulisic (Joe Scally, m.89), Gio Reyna, Tim Weah (Brenden Aaronson, m.82); Folarin Balogun.
Selector: BJ Callaghan (interim manager).
Mexico: Guillermo Ochoa; Jorge Sánchez, Israel Reyes, César Montes, Víctor Guzmán, Jesús Gallardo (Ozziel Herrera, m. 54); Uriel Antuna (Gerardo Arteaga, m. 77), Edson Álvarez, Luis Chávez, Orbelín Pineda (Sebastián Córdova, m. 83); Henry Martín (Santiago Giménez, d. 54).
Selector: Diego Coca.
Goals: 1-0, m. 37: Christian Pulisic; 2-0, m. 46: Christian Pulisic; 3-0, m. 78: Ricardo Pepi.
Referee: Ivan Barton (El Salvador). He booked Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Richards and Pulisic of the USA and Antuna, Reyes, Giménez, Álvarez and Ochoa of Mexico. He sent off McKennie and Dest in the US and Montes and Arteaga in Mexico with direct reds.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions League played at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (USA). The match was suspended when there were still a few minutes to play in second half discount due to the protocol against discriminatory shouting from the stands.
see match sheet
Those four red ones came in one controversial second half between the players and in which they were also repeatedly heard homophobic shouts from the standswhich led, following the established protocol, first to the momentary suspension of the match in the 90th minute by the referee and to the end of the duel shortly after when there were still a few minutes of discount.
That unfortunate ending closed a heavy defeat for Mexico that left the project of Argentine Diego Cocca very touched, who took over the Mexican bench in February, replacing his compatriot Gerardo Martino.
Pulisic double
Christian Pulisicwith a double, and Ricardo Pepi scored all three goals for the US against a Mexican team without personality or ability to react and whose only shot on goal of the evening came in the 76th minute.
Pulisic was the benchmark for the forceful offensive of the USA and once again sentenced the Mexican team, which precisely lost the final of the League of Nations in 2021 3-2 with a penalty and in extra time from the Chelsea attacker .
With the Gold Cup also at stake this summer, CONCACAF dominance is especially coveted by Mexico, the US and Canada on the way to the next World Cup, which will be organized jointly by these three countries in 2026.
With a great atmosphere in the Las Vegas Raiders stadium of the NFL (61,000 spectators, according to the television broadcast, with an evident Mexican majority), the duel began at a hectic pace, so much so that Pulisic for the US and Uriel Antuna for the Tri narrowly opened the scoring when not even five minutes had been played.
Neither team hesitated to go on the attack, especially with quick transitions and taking advantage of spaces.
In one of those furious counterattacks, Pulisic signed a masterful run down the left flank at minute 23, reached the area and cut ‘Memo’ Ochoa but missed when he had everything in his favor to score.
The American captain missed that clear opportunity but did not forgive in the next one he had.
Thus, Pulisic was the smartest in a divided ball on the edge of the Mexican area and crossed the ball against Ochoa to put forward some sharper attacking Americans.
The Mexican team went from more to less in the first half and, although they had some danger on the flanks, they went into the break without shooting once on goal.
Worse still was their start to the second half, as Tim Weah stabbed down the right flank and served up a perfect cross in the 46th minute for Pulisic to seal his brace.
Expulsions and shameful homophobia
With the Mexican team between frustrated and disoriented, the game lost its way and both teams got bogged down in a very thick second half, without football and with constant fights.
So, mountains he went to the street in 69 after an ugly kick from behind to Folarin Balogun, who was making his debut as a striker for the USA.
In the massive tangana between both teams he also saw the red mckenniewho left one of the images of the night with a torn shirt and kissing the American shield.
Just fifteen minutes later, arteaga -who had only been on the pitch for eight minutes- and Dest They also went to the shower due to a new scuffle when the Salvadoran referee Iván Barton had lost control of a match that ended with nine yellow cards and four red ones.
Shortly before, Pepi had scored the third, but it was hardly an anecdote in a turbulent second half that had 12 minutes to spare and in which the game was finally suspended early due to the shameful homophobic shouts that were heard in the Allegiant stands Stadium.
