Soccer <\/p>\n
To make it this far, the US men\u2019s national team<\/a> were pushed to the limit in knockout-round triumphs over Costa Rica<\/a> and Guatemala<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Now they\u2019ll face a challenge multiple orders of magnitude more difficult in Sunday evening\u2019s 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup<\/a> final: A fired-up, in-form Mexico eager to defend their title against their border rivals on hospitable turf at NRG Stadium in Houston (7 pm ET | FOX, Univision, TUDN).<\/p>\n It\u2019s a showdown the Yanks say they\u2019ve been hoping for.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>We owe \u2019em a little something from October (when the US lost 3-0 to El Tri in a friendly in Guadalajara),\u201d defender Chris Richards told Yahoo! Sports\u2019 Henry Bushnell<\/a> after Wednesday\u2019s narrow victory over Guatemala in St. Louis, as Mexico dueled and eventually edged Honduras 1-0 at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California in the tournament\u2019s other semifinal.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>We’ll do it by winning a trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Mexico are not only reigning Gold Cup champions, but also possess the 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League<\/a> title, after the US won the first three editions of that competition. El Tri didn\u2019t even have to beat the Yanks to accomplish that: Thanks to an upset loss to Panama<\/a>, the US didn\u2019t reach the final.<\/p>\n For a variety of reasons, and for better or worse, plenty of the program\u2019s established stars aren\u2019t part of Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s current group. Sunday\u2019s final will be the first direct experience of the storied rivalry for many among this relatively inexperienced roster. Yet it\u2019s safe to assume all have watched these clashes for many years, and dreamed of taking part.<\/p>\n Perhaps none more so than Diego Luna<\/a>, the hero of Wednesday\u2019s win and a Mexican-American talent who was eligible to play for both countries before committing his international allegiance to the land of his birth.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud to be Mexican-American, my family\u2019s heritage and stuff like that, my parents,\u201d the Real Salt Lake<\/a> player explained during a Thursday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show<\/a>. \u201cBut I was born in the United States, I\u2019ve played here all my life, and they\u2019ve given me everything I\u2019ve had, and I\u2019ve been able to perform for them. They\u2019ve given me the opportunity to do what I do and have supported me.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no better feeling than to give back to the country that has supported me and allowed me to be where I am today. And then going into Sunday, it\u2019s going to be an awesome game. There’s definitely going to be some emotions \u2013 it\u2019s going to be cool to play against Mexico. My family\u2019s going to be there. But it doesn\u2019t change that I\u2019m going all-in for the USA, and I\u2019m going to give it my all to bring us the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Legend of Luna continues on Sunday in the Gold Cup Final ???????? @USMNT<\/a> | @MLS<\/a> | @realsaltlake<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/c4fc2fcqAs<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n These North American giants have faced off in this situation seven times over the decades, Mexico winning five of them, and the odds-makers have marked them as the favorites on this occasion, too. Veteran manager Javier Aguirre arguably has more first-choice talent at his disposal than Mauricio Pochettino, particularly in a sturdy spine featuring European-based mainstays Raul Jim\u00e9nez, Edson \u00c1lvarez and C\u00e9sar Montes, and his side have posted four consecutive clean sheets after leaking two goals against Caribbean Cinderellas the Dominican Republic in their opening Gold Cup match.<\/p>\n The Yanks might counter that they have the quality and tenacity of Luna, standout playmaker Malik Tillman and an increasingly tight-knit collective spirit that\u2019s crystallized over an eventful month together.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>I think about Malik in previous years, and he\u2019s \u2013 I don’t even recognize him,\u201d veteran center back Tim Ream<\/a> said in remarks from Wednesday\u2019s postgame mixed zone distributed by U.S. Soccer, calling the attacking duo \u201csuch a joy to play with and watch\u201d as they each totaled a team-leading five goal contributions in the first five games of this tournament. \u201cHe\u2019s all over the place in such a good way, with and without the ball, physically strong, working for the team.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Diego’s not fazed by anything. He wants to get on the ball and make things happen,\u201d Ream continued. \u201cHe just has that something about him, that chip on his shoulder that\u2019s like, \u2018you know what? This is me, unapologetically me. Get me the ball, I’m going to make things happen, and let’s drag the rest of us into the fight and get after it.’\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\nFirst taste<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Underdog Yanks<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n