The U.S. men’s national soccer team throttled arch-rival Mexico 3-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League Semifinal.
The chaotic rivalry saw four players, Cesar Montes, Weston McKinnie, Sergino Dest and Gerardo Arteaga, all get handed red cards for two separate incidents. Star Christian Pulisic rose to the occasion and scored two goals en route to the victory.
The game at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas ended prematurely due to homophobic chants from the Mexico fans.
Early on in the match, Mexico and America traded blows and kept things tied at zero until the 39’ minute, where Christian Pulisic fired a shot from inside the box that blazed past Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to give America the lead. From there, neither Pulisic nor the USA looked back.
America had dominated the possession up until this point and continued to do so up until the second half. Early in the second half, Pulisic struck again, this time in the 46’ minute. Winger Timothy Weah drove down the pitch and placed a perfect cross in the box for Pulisic to capitalize off of. Before Mexico could even blink, America had doubled its lead.
Later on, tempers began to flare, as multiple fights and skirmishes broke out among the players, starting in the 69’ minute, as Cesar Montes of Mexico swiped Folarin Balogun’s legs and minorly injured the American striker. Teammate Weston McKinnie didn’t take very kindly to the action and began pushing and shoving Montes. A fight ensued between players, and finished with both players being ejected, leaving a 10 vs 10 matchup on the pitch for the remainder of the match. McKinnie walked out of the battle with his jersey ripped up. He kissed the USA patch attached to the jersey while exiting, showing his love and dedication to the team.
The US scored a third time in the 78’ minute, this time from Ricardo Pepi. Pepi had entered the game just a few minutes before, replacing new star Folarin Balogun. Fullback Sergino Dest found Pepi while driving in the box to score, and almost certainly win the game for the U.S. However, Sergino Dest’s night would end soon, as he got into a brawl with Mexican back Gerardo Arteaga. Both received red cards, which left both teams with nine men on the pitch for the final few minutes of the game. Both Dest and McKinnie will not be available for the CONCACAF Nations League Final vs Canada due to suspension from the red cards.
Things did not get much better from there, as fans began to throw trash onto the field, which became an issue for the referees. The game didn’t feature any more goals, but it was not short of insane moments. Mexican fans began to slur homophobic chants, which forced some stoppage time. Mexico had been warned prior in the game about these chants, however, they continued. The referees did not like the disrespectful comments and chants and proceeded to end the game early, eight minutes into the planned 12 minutes of extra time.
Mexico’s night ended as a disaster, as this is their sixth straight game vs the US without a victory. Mexico finished the night with one singular shot on target. Despite winning the possession battle 53/47, Mexico was dominated in all facets of this game, and their fans were an embarrassment to “The Beautiful Game.”
America will prepare for the CONCACAF Nations League Championship vs Canada on Sunday, June 18th. Canada defeated Panama 2-0 in the semifinals on Thursday and set up what should be a great battle for supremacy.
In regards to the red cards and suspensions for the final, Pulisic stated after the game, “I’m upset, the game did not need to turn into this. They really need to control the game much more. It’s sad. Now we are missing two good players for the final.”
American goalie Matt Turner wasn’t pleased with Mexico’s fans and their homophobic antics, saying, “It goes against everything that we stand for on our side… maybe the play sort of set off the flares in the stands, but it has no place in the game.”
America dominated their rivals on a big stage, but they must keep their eyes open and pealed on the bigger prize of winning it all versus Canada. The game will begin to establish early CONCACAF supremacy between the two squads. Both nations will be hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup and have automatic bids into the tournament. Sunday’s game could be a sneak peek at the next great rivalry in CONCACAF, as Mexico has been on the decline, while Canada has been improving year after year.
America must stay on the attack as they did versus Mexico and avoid tempers flaring if they want to lift up the CONCACAF Nations League Trophy and repeat as champions while bringing home the bragging rights against the rest of North America.
