The border war begins as the United States and Mexico add another chapter to their rivalry

United States midfielder Clint Dempsey isn't thinking about rivalries. Whether his team was facing Mexico or any other squad, he understands the difficult task ahead.

"We know it’s going to be a tough game no matter what when we find ourselves in a final," Dempsey said of the upcoming Gold Cup championship game. "We’ve just got to make sure we go out and give our best game, and hopefully we can get the job done."

The U.S. will face El Tri Saturday evening in Pasadena, Calif., to claim the best team in the CONCACAF region. It's the final that most people wanted to see and had predicted before the tournament kicked off at the beginning of the month.

"These are the two best teams in the Gold Cup," Mexico midfielder Rafa Marquez said. "We will see what will happen."

It wasn't always easy for both sides. Mexico cruised through the first round before finding life a bit tougher against Guatemala and Honduras in the knockout stages. The U.S., meanwhile, has had its struggles throughout, including an embarrassing loss to Panama. But the final is set, and for the 10th time in 11 tournaments either Mexico or the USA will claim the Gold Cup crown.

There are certain things that make a rivalry great - contrasting styles, cultural differences and location, just to name a few - but great rivalries can't exist until both teams truly believe the other is a threat.

That's why this rivalry never existed prior to 1990. Before that time Mexico had dominated the series, winning 22 times in 27 matches with three draws. The series has evened out since. In 30 matches over the last two decades Mexico has won only nine times, losing on 13 occasions and walking away with eight draws.

Team	Overall Record	Prior to 1990	Post 1990
	15 wins, 11 draws, 31 losses	2 wins, 3 draws, 22 losses	13 wins, 8 draws, 9 losses
	31 wins, 11 draws, 15 losses	22 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses	9 wins, 8 draws, 13 losses

Other recent results favor the U.S., which has topped CONCACAF's World Cup qualifying for the last two cycles - though Mexico and the U.S. both finished the Hexagonal with 22 points heading into the 2006 tournament - and claimed a win in the last Gold Cup (2007) that qualified the winner for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

In other words, there is plenty of reason for fans on either side of the divide to claim dominance. But this weekend, only one team can walk away as CONCACAF's best.

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