MIAMI, Florida – One of Concacaf’s most storied rivalries returns to the field of play on Thursday at Mexico City’s famed Estadio Azteca, as Mexico host northern neighbors the United States in the 74th all-time meeting between these two decorated sides.
A look at the numbers behind this great rivalry offers a possible glimpse into what viewers may see on Thursday night.
Perhaps the statistic that stands out the most is Mexico’s dominance at home in this series in Concacaf World Cup Qualifying.
Overall, El Tricolor boast a record of 12W-3D-0L against the U.S. in home qualifiers, outscoring them 41-8 in the process.
In fact, two of Mexico’s most lopsided wins against the U.S. have come in home qualifiers when they defeated the U.S. 6-0 and 7-2 in qualifying for Sweden 1958.
In their previous 73 meetings across all competitions and friendlies, Mexico lead the series versus the U.S. with 36 victories, 22 defeats and 15 draws, scoring 144 goals while allowing just 86.
Yet in a curious twist, the last two qualifiers at the Estadio Azteca have yielded positive results for the visitors, as the U.S. earned a 0-0 draw in 2013 and a 1-1 final in 2017 in which Michael Bradley scored from 40 yards out for the U.S.
Ernie Stewart left of the United States (I) and Ramon Ramirez of Mexico battle for the possession in the 1998 France Concacaf World Cup qualifier at Foxboro, Massachussets.
There was also a 1-0 win for the U.S. in a friendly at the Estadio Azteca in August 2012, making it a three-match unbeaten streak for the U.S. going into Thursday’s contest. The last Mexico victory was in August 2009 in a qualifier in which El Tricolor rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to down the U.S., 2-1, on goals from Israel Castro and Miguel Sabah.
The lone U.S. goal in that game came from Charlie Davies, but one has to go back to a 1949 qualifier to find the last time the U.S. scored more than one goal in a qualifier in Mexico, as John Souza and Benjamin Wattman found the back of the net in a 6-2 defeat in the run-up to Brazil 1950.
One of the interesting wrinkles in this week’s match-up will be the youthful attacks on both sides. Usually a Mexico-U.S. qualifier features proven Concacaf WCQ goalscorers, yet a glance at both sides’ top five Concacaf WCQ scorers shows that Thursday will bring something different.
Jared Borgetti (23 goals), Carlos Hermosillo (15), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (12), Oribe Peralta (11), Jaime Lozano (11) and Francisco Fonseca (10) have all hung up their boots. Meanwhile, four of the top five U.S. WCQ scorers are no longer active: Clint Dempsey (18 goals), Landon Donovan (13), Eddie Johnson (12) and Brian McBride (10). Only Jozy Altidore (18 goals) remains currently active, but will not feature against Mexico.
With that in mind, perhaps things could come down to the teams’ respective goalkeepers. All signs point toward Guillermo Ochoa starting for Mexico and Zack Steffen for the U.S.
Both have been very impressive in the Final Round of WCQ, with Ochoa amassing 20 saves in 1,068 minutes, with five clean sheets and just eight goals allowed in 11 games.
Steffen has been just as good in his time on the field, with seven saves in three games and one clean sheet, which came in last November’s 2-0 win versus Mexico.
If history is any indication, more notable stats are sure to come from what should be a memorable affair on Thursday.
