USMNT keeps unbeaten streak vs. Mexico alive

Jesus Ferreira‘s goal in the 81st minute led the United States to a come-from-behind 1-1 tie against Mexico in Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday.

The match was a “friendly,” but pride was at stake as always is the case when the CONCACAF rivals play. The United States extended its unbeaten streak to five (3-0-2) vs. Mexico since El Tri’s last victory in the series in September of 2019.

FC Dallas striker Ferreira scored on a breakout after a pass to the middle of the box by Jordan Morris.

“Jesus is always making good runs in the box and I just tried to put it out there for him,” Morris said.

The sequence began with Mexico’s Carlos Rodriguez nearly making it 2-0, only to have his shot hit the bar and rebound to the United States, which went the other way.

“There’s no friendlies against Mexico. It’s always a battle,” Ferreira said.

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The goal was the only shot on target in the game for the United States, while Diego Cocca’s Mexico had three.

“It’s important,” U.S. interim coach Anthony Hudson said of the draw. “It allows us to go into the summer with a much better understanding of what we’re going to face and also a better idea of the players.”

Uriel Antuna gave Mexico the lead in the 55th minute when U.S. defender Aaron Long couldn’t corral a pass at midfield. Antuna picked it off in full stride and had a clear path to goal, where he slotted his shot past a diving Sean Johnson at the near post.

In the 74th minute, Johnson made a diving save to his left on Roberto de La Rosa’s shot off a counter-attack.

Since the game was outside of the FIFA international window, club teams from around the world were not obligated to release their players for the match. As such, neither team was at a level that might be expected when they next play June 15 in a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Las Vegas.

Major League Soccer players took 19 of 22 spots on the U.S. roster, with Sergino Dest the only European-based player. He has not played for Italy‘s AC Milan since Jan. 24. The other two non-MLS players were Alan Sonora, of FC Juarez, in Mexico and Joshua Wynder, who plays for Louisville City in the second-tier USL Championship.

Caleb Wiley, an 18-year-old defender, entered in the 90th minute for his international debut. Matt Miazga replaced Long in the 70th minute, his first international appearance since June 2021.

There were still nine players on the roster who represented the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup, including Walker Zimmerman, Morris and DeAndre Yedlin.

The U.S. has 22 wins, 36 losses and 17 draws against Mexico all time. Interim coach Anthony Hudson, who took over from Gregg Berhalter in January, has led the Americans to two wins, one loss and two draws.

A crowd of 55,730 attended the 75th match between the rivals.

Mexico started just three World Cup regulars; left back Jesus Gallardo and midfielders Luis Chavez and Alexis Vega. Defender Victor Guzman and forward Roberto de la Rosa started in El Tri debuts, and Ozziel Herrera made his debut in the 87th minute.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this story.