There has been plenty of chatter in the build-up to Thursday night that the match between the U.S. men’s national team and Mexico was the last World Cup qualifier between the two. If that’s the case, then on the field it wound up going down with the trademark intensity that has marked the rivalry—and it yielded a point apiece that should help both on their quest to reach the 2022 World Cup.
The U.S. and Mexico played to a 0-0 draw at Estadio Azteca Thursday night, with the U.S. having multiple chances thwarted by Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and missing one golden opportunity through substitute forward Jordan Pefok. The result ended the U.S.’s three-game winning streak against Mexico, but serves both teams well after Panama’s draw vs. Honduras earlier in the night. It also marks the third straight World Cup qualifier at the Azteca in which the U.S. has taken a point off Mexico. With the nations co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada, and with the expanded World Cup field making future head-to-head U.S.-Mexico qualifying matchups unlikely, this could have been the last dance for the two teams on this stage.
The U.S. was shorthanded for that dance, with Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie, Brenden Aaronson and Matt Turner all ruled out through injury. Four more key U.S. players—Tyler Adams, Tim Weah, Zack Steffen and DeAndre Yedlin—carried yellow cards into the match, which put them at risk of missing Sunday’s home match vs. Panama if they were to pick up another card. That was of no mind to Gregg Berhalter: all four got the start Thursday night. Problem is, two of them—Yedlin and Weah—saw yellow, so they’ll miss the next game.
