USA-MEX: I Love the 00's

After last night's Gold Cup semis, two tense affairs featuring questionable calls that put CONCACAF big boys US and Mexico into the final (Sunday, 2pm et, FSC) , I thought it'd be worthwhile to take a look at the decade where the US absolutely owned the Tricolores. You know the story...since 2000, the Yanks have a 7-2-1 record vs. the Sombreros. In the US, the Yanks have a dominant 6-0-1 record. South of the border, Mexico is 2-0-0 (both in WC quallies), and on that neutral field in Jeonju, the score was dos a cero to the EEUU.

Here's a look at the matches:

Date, Classification, Location, Result, US Goals
6/11/00, US Cup, East Rutherford, 3-0, Hejduk, McBride, Razov
10/25/00, Friendly, Los Angeles, 2-0, Donovan, Wolff
2/21/01, WCQ, Columbus, 2-0, Wolff, Stewart
7/1/01, WCQ, Mexico City, 0-1
6/16/02, World Cup 2002, Jeonju, KOR, 2-0, McBride, Donovan
5/8/03, Friendly, Houston, 0-0
4/28/04, Friendly, Dallas, 1-0, Pope
3/27/05, WCQ, Mexico City, 1-2, Lewis
9/3/05, WCQ, Columbus, 2-0, Ralston, Beasley
2/7/07, Friendly, Glendale, AZ, 2-0, Conrad, Donovan

The US leads the goal parade 15-3 since the turn of the century, with Gringo Horrible Landon Donovan netting three in the series. Wolff and McBride have two, and Hejduk, Razov, Pope, Lewis, Ralston, Beasley, and Conrad have a single tally each.

Mexico has looked awful during the three-week tournament, with a 2-1 win over Cuba, a 2-1 loss to Honduras, a 1-0 win vs. Panama, a 1-0 OT win vs. an 8-man Costa Rica, and last night's 1-0 victory over regional powerhouse Guadeloupe.

While the US has gotten the results, the Yanks have been playing far from attractive football and have suffered from horrendous finishing. The Gold Cup for the Yanks: a 1-0 win vs. Guatemala, a 2-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago, the 4-0 thrashing of El Salvador, and 2-1 wins over Panama and Canada.

Sunday will won't have the cozy, US-friendly feel of Crew Stadium, but rather the Solider Field will be pulling 80/20 for the Mexicans. Can the domination by the US continue? In order for a real rivalry to exist, Mexico's going to have to win a match (hey, just score) on US soil sometime soon. Would I be shocked if that happened on Sunday? No. Will the either team deliver some attractive, proficient finishing? Perhaps. Let's just hope that the two great sides play a match worthy of a continental final. Enjoy.