Mexico defeated the USMNT 2–1 to secure back-to-back Gold Cup titles, re-establishing their dominance over the region.
The USMNT struck four minutes into the match, Sebastian Berhalter sent in a deadly cross the Chris Richards got on the end of. The header from the Crystal Palace defender hit the crossbar and barely bounced in to put the U.S. ahead.
The early goal stunned Mexico, but El Tri grew into the match and slowly began dominating, forcing the USMNT to fall back close to its own goal. Eventually, Marcel Ruiz played in a beautiful through-ball for Raúl Jiménez and the Fulham striker fired an absolute rocket into the roof of the net to bring El Tri level in the 27th minute.
El Tri remained the better side in the second half but couldn't generate clear chances. That all changed with yet another Mexican set-piece goal in the Gold Cup. Johan Vásquez won in the air and flicked the ball towards the back-post, where Edson Álvarez appeared unmarked to head-in the ball. The goal was originally waved off for offsides, but after a VAR check, the goal was given and Mexico completed the comeback in the 77th minute.
Mexico defended with poise during the final minutes, as the USMNT couldn't generate any clear chances to try and equalize.
In the last official match both teams will play before the start of the 2026 World Cup, El Tri completed its Gold Cup title defense and defeated the USMNT in an competitive match for the first time since 2019.
Player ratings from the game below.
USMNT Player Ratings vs. Mexico (4-2-3-1)
Mexico Player Ratings vs. USMNT (4-3-3)
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT 1-2 Mexico: Player Ratings as El Tri Become 2025 Gold Cup Champions.
