Mexico and the United States will renew one of international soccer’s fiercest rivalries Oct. 3 in Glendale, Ariz., in the first meeting between the neighbors after they co-hosted the 2026 World Cup.
The friendly at State Farm Stadium — home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals — will provide the first major test for former Mexican star Rafael Márquez, who was elevated from Javier Aguirre’s assistant to head coach as part of an “orderly transition” following Mexico’s World Cup exit.
An active player from 1996 to 2018, Márquez is widely regarded as one of Mexico’s all-time greatest defenders.
Márquez, 47, takes over the reins from Aguirre, 67, whose third tenure as national team head coach ended with a 3-2 loss to England at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in the Round of 16.
Like the Mexicans, the Americans had a strong World Cup group stage, only to bow out in the next round, falling 4-1 to Belgium in Seattle. In the latest world rankings, Mexico has moved up four places to No. 10 and Team USA is 16th.
Mexico will arrive in Arizona in the midst of a four-match U.S. tour: Sept. 26 vs. Colombia at the home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens; Sept. 29 vs. Peru at the home of the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, N.J.; and Oct. 6 vs. Chile at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The U.S.-Mexico matchup in Arizona will be the 80th meeting in a series that dates to 1934.
Mexico leads with 38 wins, 24 losses and 17 draws, but the U.S. has tilted recent momentum, going 19-8-11 against El Tri since 2000 and 5-2-2 since 2021, including Nations League and Gold Cup finals.
Mexico edged the United States 2-1 in the 2025 Gold Cup final and also won a 2024 friendly in Guadalajara to snap a five-year winless streak against Team USA.
The U.S. and Mexico have played twice in Glendale, both friendlies. The U.S. won 2-0 in 2007 in front of 62,462 fans and the squads tied 1-1 in 2023 with 55,730 fans on hand.
The 2-0 game fell into the “dos a cero” pattern — namely, the 11 times Mexico has fallen “two to zero” to the U.S. since the early 1990s.
The first was in 1991, but the trend didn’t take root until Mexico’s 2-0 loss in a World Cup qualifier in 2001 in Columbus, Ohio. That began an uncanny run of 2-0 Mexico losses to the U.S. in World Cup qualifiers in Columbus in 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013 — a time frame that also included Mexico’s 2-0 loss to the U.S. in the Round of 16 in Jeonju, South Korea, at the 2002 World Cup.
Tickets for the Mexico-USA match will go on sale to the general public Friday at 11 a.m. Mexico City time, following presales that began Wednesday.
With reports from Sin Embargo, Associated Press, U.S. Soccer, Soy Futbol and SeatPick
