For the first time in eight tries, Mexico finally got the better of the U.S. men’s national team, beating its biggest rival 2-0 in Tuesday’s friendly match in Guadalajara.
Raúl Jiménez’s sensational first half free kick was the difference between the squads, which met for the second and final time this year in a rare exhibition match south of the border. Cesar Huerta doubled El Tri’s advantage early in the second half, and the hosts never looked back against an American side missing star forward Christian Pulisic and several other starters.
El Tri’s triumph over the USMNT was the first since 2019, the longest winless streak in the series’ 87-year history. The loss was the first for new U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino in his second game at the helm. It came three days after the Argentine coach won his debut over Panama in Austin, Texas.
Here are a few quick takeaways from Tuesday’s contest.
The U.S. back line knew Jiménez intimately; the veteran target striker plays with Antonee "Jedi" Robinson at Premier League Fulham. American captain Tim Ream was a teammate of both there last year.
But Ream and Robinson were powerless to stop the 33-year-old’s curling screamer, which came after what U.S. players contended was a soft foul by Aidan Morris on Mexican winger Roberto Alvarado. Either way, there was no arguing with the quality of Jiménez’s 30-yard effort that beat Matt Turner clean and settled into the top corner of the U.S. keeper's net.
Even with almost an entire half of the match still to play, Huerta’s strike effectively killed the game off then and there:
Truth be told though, the odds were always stacked against the Americans in this one. Their historic unbeaten streak was never going to last forever, least of all in
Sporting
curling
record
STARS
MET
Target
Christian Pulisic
Mauricio Pochettino
El Tri
Tim Ream