Mexico, U.S. set to meet in Gold Cup Final
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Ángel Cantú, Contributor
- July 3, 2025
Diego Luna's brace leads U.S.
Youngster Diego Luna did his part for the United States. Veteran forward Raul Jimenez scored the only goal Mexico needed, and now the region’s soccer powers are set to meet at Houston’s NRG Stadium for the Concacaf Gold Cup Final.
A large magnitude of fans is expected to storm to NRG Stadium to witness the epic rivalry between North America’s two soccer powers. Mexico and the U.S. It traditionally doesn’t get much better than that in this region. The two nations will square off in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup final on Sunday evening.
Fans are expected to flood Houston streets with green and white jerseys. Outside NRG Stadium, raucous horns, grills with carne asada, and Mexican and American flags will soon be spotted. Both national teams have experience playing in Houston, which plays like a neutral site when Mexico and the U.S. meet.
North America’s biggest rivals will meet for the 79th time overall and eighth in the Gold Cup Final. Mexico leads the all-time series with 37 wins, 17 draws, and 24 losses. El Tri has won five of the previous seven meetings against the U.S. in the Gold Cup Final. The U.S., however, has had recent success against Mexico.
The U.S. has won five of eight meetings between the two countries with two ties since 2021. Mexico stopped the American’s run in an friendly last October..
Diego Luna shines
The U.S. has gone undefeated in this Gold Cup. Luna and Co. strolled through the group stage by beating Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti. In the quarterfinals, the U.S. won a thriller against Costa Rica.
The U.S. outlasted Costa Rica in a penalty kick shootout 4-3. In their 17th Gold Cup semifinal, the U.S. beat Guatemala 2-1 behind Luna’s brace. The young midfielder has carried the U.S. through the quarterfinals and semifinals.
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The Sunnyvale, Calif., native, scored his first international goal against Costa Rica in his 10th cap. Luna, 21, is the second youngest player to score two goals in the Gold Cup semifinal since Christian Pulisic did it against Jamaica in 2019.
“He’s improving,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said of Luna. “He’s improving in international games. Playing in international games is completely different from playing in your domestic league. He’s getting experience.”
Mexico head to 12th Gold Cup Final
Mexico defeated Honduras 1-0 on Wednesday night. Raul Jimenez’s goal led El Tri to its 30th win against Los Catrachos. Mexico has gone undefeated in the Gold Cup. El Tri beat the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and had a scoreless draw against Costa Rica in the group stage.
El Tri walked through Saudi Arabia with a 2-0 victory. Behind Johan Vasquez’s stellar defense, Mexico has allowed only one goal in the Gold Cup.
“It will give this team strength to finish with a title,” Mexico manager Javier Aguirre said. “It’ll be good for us on Sunday to be good in each box and keep defending the ball. Winning a title will show our hard work won’t be in vain.”
Aguirre claimed that facing the U.S. is just another ordinary game. He says El Tri treats every opponent with respect. For thousands if not a few million of patrons, though, this is the Gold Cup Final they wanted to see. Like many Mexico and U.S. encounters, this game is surely to be an intense one. Houstonians are likely to have another epic Gold Cup Final on their hands.
Ángel Cantú
Contributor
Our Esquina contributor Ángel Cantú is a co-host for the Full Seam Ahead podcast. He joined Teach for America after graduating from Texas A&M University. He is currently a fourth grade teacher at KIPP Public Schools in Houston.
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