Fresh off its dramatic 3-1 win over Jamaica on Thursday, the US men’s national team meets a familiar foe in Sunday’s Concacaf Nations League final against Mexico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
For nearly 95 minutes in Thursday’s semifinal the USMNT trailed the Reggae Boyz 1-0 after Greg Leigh’s opening-minute goal stunned the Americans and killed any momentum they had heading into the match as the favorites on home soil. But then, in the final minute of regular time, Christian Pulisic sailed a corner kick into the box that Miles Robinson was able to flick towards Jamaica’s Cory Burke, who, unfortunately for the visiting squad and fans, redirected it into the net for an equalizer . Thirty minutes of extra time later, the USMNT was up 3-1 — thanks to some late magic from Gio Reyna and Haji Wright — and headed to Sunday’s final.
El Tri had no such problems in their semifinal match and cruised to a 3-0 victory over Panama thanks to goals from Edson Álvarez, Julián Quiñones and Orbelín Pineda.
Last year, the USMNT defeated Mexico 3-0 in the Nations League semifinals before taking down Canada in the final for the trophy. But the semifinal against Mexico was memorable for how heated the North American rivalry unfolded. The match became an intense battle marked by physical play and unruly behavior from both sides. Pulisic netted the first two goals, however, sealing the most lopsided victory for the USMNT against its main rival to date.
Will Sunday be a repeat of that ugly semifinal? Yahoo Sports senior soccer reporter Henry Bushnell is on the scene and will provide updates and analysis in our live blog below. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:15 pm ET and the match will be broadcast on Paramount+.
Concacaf Nations League final live tracker: USMNT vs. Mexico odds, lineup, highlights
Live3 updates
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Mon, March 25, 2024 at 1:17 AM GMT+1
Big USMNT lineup decisions
Between fitness concerns, minute restrictions, disparate club form, Thursday struggles, and a short turnaround after a 120-minute grind, this had to be one of the most difficult USMNT lineups for Gregg Berhalter to select.
His big calls:
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Haji Wright over Folarin Balogun up front
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Gio Reyna. Can he go 90, or even 75, after going 75 on Thursday? He hasn’t started a soccer game of any kind, for club or country, since Nov. 1, 2023. (And before Thursday, he hadn’t played more than 45 minutes since then either.)
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Tyler Adams over Yunus Musah. Adams hasn’t started a competitive game in over a year. His stated capacity, as of Monday, was “45-60 minutes.” He played a little less than 45 on Thursday.
(Tim Ream over Miles Robinson at center back was the easy call, and likely always the plan.)
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Mon, March 25, 2024 at 1:10 AM GMT+1
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Mon, March 25, 2024 at 1:02 AM GMT+1
USMNT Lineup vs. Mexico
1-Matt Turner
2-Sergiño Dest
3-Chris Richards
4-Tyler Adams
5-Antonee Robinson
7-Gio Reyna
8-Weston McKennie
10-Christian Pulisic
13-Tim Ream
14-Haji Wright
21-Tim Weah
Tags: Concacaf Nations League final live updates USMNT Mexico odds lineup highlights
