The U.S. national team and Mexico will renew their rivalry on Sunday in the Concacaf Gold Cup final, facing off in the regional championship game for the first time since 2011. The allure of lifting a trophy will only serve to add more spice to a rivalry that doesn't need much help delivering the drama over the years.
The first time the USMNT faced Mexico was way back in 1934 and it didn't take place in North America, but rather in Rome, where the United States defeated Mexico at the World Cup. That win would be the only one the Americans would record against El Tri for 46 years. For the better part of 65 years, the rivalry was so one-sided it was tough to call it much of a rivalry.
Things started changing around 2000, when the United States started beating Mexico with regularity, and in the past two decades the neighbors have forged a rivalry that has blossomed into a real battle for CONCACAF supremacy.
The United States holds a 14-9-6 advantage in the past 20 years, but Mexico has turned things around, boasting a 5-4-4 edge on the Americans in the past 13 meetings. El Tri has also gotten the better of their rivals in recent title games, having won the past three matches where a cup was on the line.
The next chapter of the rivalry will take place on Sunday in Soldier Field, a venue with its own special place in the rivalry. It was in Soldier Field where Benny Feilhaber's wonder goal helped the Americans defeat Mexico in front of a packed pro-Mexico crowd in the 2007 Gold Cup final.
Sunday's final has the makings of a special match, but it will need to deliver some magic to crack Goal's list of the best USA-Mexico matches of the past 20 years.
Here is a look at the 10 best:
