USA vs Mexico history head to head in men's soccer: H2H results and finals between USMNT and El Tri

There is no question that the most heated men's soccer rivalry in North America is the one between the USA and Mexico.

The two border rivals have a long and storied history, with both sides always desperate to outdo the other for the title of top team in the CONCACAF region (Confederation of North, Central America & Caribbean Association Football).

With the two countries most recently facing off at the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, it was the United States that emerged victorious en route to their eventual title defense. Meanwhile, Mexico was relegated to a third-place match, licking their wounds from a rivalry defeat and eventually firing manager Diego Cocca.

The USA are currently riding a seven-match unbeaten run against Mexico, a stretch which features five competitive matches, including two finals and two World Cup qualifiers.

The Sporting News brings you a full overview of the history between the two sides, including their all-time record against one another, plus historic matchups in knockout finals, World Cup qualifying, and penalty shootouts.

MORE: What is the USA's record against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City?

USA vs Mexico history head to head

Mexico still commands the all-time head-to-head results between the two nations, thanks to a long period of dominance in the early days of the rivalry.

While the USA won the very first meeting between the two nations in 1934, they would go a full 46 years without another victory until a World Cup qualifying victory in 1980. That stopped a run of 24 winless matches against Mexico across all competitions, including 21 defeats at the hands of El Tri. 

Since that 1980 result, the United States has grown its soccer program and built themselves into a true CONCACAF regional power, creating a tense rivalry between the two nations that has become one of the most enjoyable matchups around the world.

• All-time results: Mexico 36 wins, USA 24 wins, 17 draws
• Since 1980: Mexico 12 wins, USA 23 wins, 14 draws
• Since 2000: Mexico 9 wins, USA 19 wins, 8 draws
• Since 2010: Mexico 5 wins, USA 9 wins, 6 draws

Recent results

The USA has had strong success over Mexico in the past decade.

They currently sit on a five-match unbeaten run heading into the 2023 Nations League semifinals. Since 2010, the USA have won eight and drawn five against Mexico, defeated just four times in that span.

However, the competitive matches have been slightly more evenly split.

Mexico won the 2019 Gold Cup and 2015 CONCACAF Cup against the USA, and El Tri also snatched a World Cup qualifying win in the United States in 2016.

Among the recent results, seven of the last eight have been part of official competitions, including a hard-fought World Cup qualifying draw at the Estadio Azteca in March 2022, and U.S. victories in the 2021 Gold Cup, 2021 Nations League finals, and 2024 Nations League finals.

* After extra time
** Penalty shootout

USA vs Mexico in finals

While the USA has won two straight finals against Mexico, the overall history remains quite lopsided between the two teams.

In fact, prior to the 2021 Nations League and Gold Cup finals, which both took place in the summer of 2021, the United States had only ever beaten Mexico in a one-off final one time previously (2007 Gold Cup final).

Mexico, meanwhile, had won six times in finals since cup competitions in the CONCACAF region began in 1993.

USA vs Mexico all-time results in finals

* After extra time
** Penalty shootout

USA vs Mexico in World Cup qualifying

The richest history between the two rivals in any competition is undoubtedly in World Cup qualification, which dates back to 1934 and has resulted in by far the most meetings of any competitive environment.

While the U.S. won the first-ever World Cup qualifier between the two, that lone win predated a period of utter dominance for Mexico which saw them go unbeaten through 15 straight qualifiers, often winning by exorbitant margins.

Since the U.S. finally ended that streak in 1980, the results have been much more even, with six U.S. wins, four Mexico wins, and five draws in that time. The only quirk here is that the United States still has never won a World Cup qualifying match on Mexico soil.

These two won't play a World Cup qualifier for some time, since both have automatically gained entry into the 2026 FIFA World Cup as hosts and therefore do not need to contest the qualification tournament.

USA vs Mexico all-time results in FIFA World Cup qualifying

* Matches were held as part of the NAFC Championship, which then doubled as World Cup qualifying

USA vs Mexico in FIFA World Cup

The USA has played Mexico at the FIFA World Cup just once, and came away with a famous victory.

In the 2002 World Cup, joint-hosted by Japan and South Korea, the U.S. and Mexico clashed in the Round of 16, after Mexico won Group G and the United States finished second in Group D.

The USA came away with a monster 2-0 victory in Jeonju, which to this day remains their only time advancing to the quarterfinal in the modern history of the men's program. Brian McBride and Landon Donovan scored the goals, one in each half, while goalkeeper Brad Friedel managed to keep a clean sheet on the other end.

Since teams from the same regional confederation cannot be drawn into the same World Cup group (except for Europe, which can see two teams from the continent drawn into a group), it's extremely rare for the USA and Mexico to meet in a World Cup tournament.

USA vs Mexico penalty shootouts

The United States and Mexico have only ever gone to a penalty shootout one time in their entire history, which seems incredible given how often the two sides have played.

However, the knockout style format in CONCACAF competitions is only relatively new, meaning the two sides have met in an environment where penalties are possible on only a handful of occasions.

The USA and Mexico have met in cup competitions just 13 times, and have gone to extra-time on five of those occasions. However, they reached the end of extra-time level on goals just once: in the 1995 Copa America quarterfinal, which finished 0-0.

In the ensuing penalty kick shootout, the USA advanced 4-1 on penalties, with Eric Wynalda, Joe-Max Moore, Paul Caligiuri, and Frank Klopas all netting for the USMNT. Mexico only made it through three spot-kicks: Luis Postigo scored his to start, but Carlos Hermosillo and Hector Coyote both missed, seeing the U.S. through to the semifinals and Mexico eliminated.