As we mused a few posts ago, there’s been a slew of world class soccer being contested all across our steamy country of late. Tonight, in arguably one of the most humid environments of all–but fortunately a stadium with a roof–the tournament that allows true patriots and more normal fans to come together comes to a predictable conclusion. NRG Stadium in Houston will have the U.S. men’s national team hosting Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final. And if you had placed a bet on that happening before this started, you probably would have more chalk than a schoolyard shuffleboard court.
This is the 18th installment of a tournament that features the nations that contest in the Western Hemisphere, which by conventional soccer standards is the equivalent of a second division. Mexico has nine titles so far, the U.S. seven (Canada snuck in in 2000–the only year where neither El Tri or USMNT made it into the Final Four.)
So these are most familiar foes, and as SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FC’s Max Mallow explained in his preview dropped last night, there’s an appropriate level of actual pressure involved:
Mauricio Pochettino was under immense pressure after two friendly losses coming into the tournament. Since then, the USMNT have strung together five straight wins to get themselves into a final. Performances have featured moments of brilliance, but there’s plenty to improve on. Given the amount of absences, young players had the opportunity this summer to impress the head coach and throw their hat into the ring for a 2026 World Cup spot. Players like Malik Tillman, Diego Luna and Matt Freese have done just that.
For El Tri, it’s an opportunity for their second Gold Cup in a row and their second trophy in 2025. Javier Aguirre’s side last won the Concacaf Nations League earlier this year marking the first time a team other than the USMNT won the trophy. El Tri has also shown sides of vulnerability, but anything goes in a cup final between two major rivals.
And per Mallow, you should keep your eye on someone in particular who might actually be able to carry this team far come next summer’s actual World Cup:
Pochettino might have his new starting goalkeeper if Matt Freese caps off his tournament run with a strong performance against Mexico. The New York City FC keeper has been solid in place of Matt Turner who has struggled for consistent time at the club level.
Freese was absolutely riveting a week ago, as AP’s Dave Campbell explained:
After losing a second-half lead to Costa Rica, this young U.S. side was forced into a shootout with the daunting task of facing goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Matt Freese studied for this. Literally.
The late-blooming national team rookie, who made a costly mistake in the previous match, actually conducted an in-depth research project in college at Harvard about penalty kicks.
The USMNT moved on against a most competitive Costa Rica squad to set up this showdown, so please give Freese an A.
Sure, it’s not the absolute pinnacle of global soccer. It’s arguably a preview to what will go down a year from now. Consider it a dress rehearsal if you must. But it’s a damn good precursor at that.
Courage…