LAS VEGAS, Nevada – One of the most storied rivalries in world football will be renewed on Sunday with the United States and Mexico squaring off in the Final of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
It will be the seventh Gold Cup final between the two sides, with Mexico owning a 5W-1L advantage against their North American neighbors, outscoring them 16-4.
When it comes to supplying goals in Gold Cup Finals, Mexico and the U.S. have also cornered that market, with 31 of the 35 goals scored in the Final by the two nations.
Landon Donovan is the all-time leader in goals scored against Mexico in Gold Cup Finals with two, while three Mexico players – Giovani dos Santos, Pablo Barrera and Andres Guardado – head up the table of Mexican goalscorers against the U.S. in Gold Cup Finals (2).
Guardado is the Mexico player who has faced the U.S. most in the Gold Cup, in 2007, 2011 and 2017, while former FW Eric Wynalda is the U.S. player who has the most Gold Cup appearances against Mexico, with three as well.
One could say that youth is served when it comes to Gold Cup matches between the U.S. and Mexico. The youngest goalscorer for the U.S. against Mexico is Benny Feilhaber in the 2007 Final (22 years, 5 months), while at the age of 20 years and 2 months, Giovani dos Santos, scored against the U.S. in the 2009 Final.
Each team also has a history of scoring early in games between the two. The fastest was Michael Bradley for the U.S. in the eighth minute in the 2011 Final, while Ignacio Ambriz scored on 12 minutes for El Tricolor in the 1993 Final.
There is of course a long history between the two sides apart from Gold Cup play, with 64 previous matches coming in the FIFA World Cup, Concacaf Nations League Finals, Conmebol Copa America, FIFA Confederations Cup, Concacaf Championship, Concacaf World Cup Qualifying and international friendlies along with seven total Gold Cup encounters.
While Mexico lead the all-time series of 71 matches with 36 wins, 15 draws and 20 defeats, the U.S. emerged victorious in their last meeting, a thrilling 3-2 extra time win in the Final of the 2021 Concacaf Nations League Finals.
Meanwhile, the last time the U.S. and Mexico met in a Gold Cup Final, the spoils went to Mexico thanks to a second half goal from Jonathan dos Santos in a 1-0 final.
With so much history between these two sides in the Gold Cup, more records are sure to be broken in the latest installment of this rivalry.
