Mauricio Pochettino gets his first taste of the biggest CONCACAF rivalry as the United States men head to Guadalajara to face Mexico in a friendly on Tuesday night.
The U.S. is riding a lengthy seven-match unbeaten streak against their southern rivals, but have only won on Mexican soil once in the national team's history.
In truth, this will be one of the lowest leverage matches between these two sides in some time, with no competitive stakes and a number of stars from both sides left out, but it still presents a chance for Pochettino to judge the grit of the remaining players within his squad after beating Panama 2-0 on home soil in his USMNT debut on Saturday.
Mexico only have one main friendly scheduled for this October international break, but played a hastily organized match against Spanish side Valencia on Saturday in which they played to a 2-2 draw.
Mexico vs. USA live stream, TV channel
- TV Channel (English): TNT
- Streaming (English): Sling, MAX
- TV Channel (Spanish): Univision, TUDN
- Streaming (Spanish): Fubo, Univision NOW, TUDN app/website
As with all USMNT friendlies in the foreseeable future, this match will be televised in English on TNT, which can be streamed on Max and Sling.
Check out our full guide and what sports Sling has to offer here.
The match is also televised in Spanish on Univision and TUDN, which are both available to stream on Fubo in the United States.
What time is Mexico vs. USA kickoff?
This international friendly kicks off from Estadio Akron on Tuesday, October 15 at 8:30 p.m. local time in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Here's how that time translates across the time zones in North America:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| Eastern Time | Tue, Oct. 15 | 10:30 p.m. |
| Central Time | Tue, Oct. 15 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Mountain Time | Tue, Oct. 15 | 8:30 p.m. |
| Pacific Time | Tue, Oct. 15 | 7:30 p.m. |
MORE: Find out which games are streaming free on MLS Season pass from Apple TV each week
Mexico vs. USA lineups & team news
Mexico are weak up front, without striker Henry Martin and Santiago Jimenez who are both dealing with muscle injuries. That could lead Raul Jimenez to see the field, having somewhat of a revival this season at Fulham. Hirving Lozano is still frozen out of the squad, while Jesus Gallardo, Uriel Antuna, Luis Chavez, and Gerardo Arteaga were left off the roster.
Legendary goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and midfielder Andres Guardado have been called back into the squad, but it's hard to see either playing a big role. Santiago Jimenez is the regular striker for El Tri, but boss Javier Aguirre could think about giving Raul Jimenez a go given his return to goal scoring form at Fulham this season.
Mexico projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Malagon (GK) — J. Sanchez, Montes, J. Vazquez, Angulo — Romo, E. Alvarez — Quinones, C. Rodriguez, Huerta — Jimenez.
There are a host of USMNT regulars absent for this October international break, making life difficult on Mauricio Pochettino in his first camp. Sergino Dest continues to recover from his ACL tear just before the summer, and Tyler Adams will return soon from his back injury but isn't quite ready for international duty yet.
Chris Richards suffered a hamstring injury suffered days before the roster release, Gio Reyna has yet to return from his latest muscle injury picked up in USMNT training last month, and Cameron Carter-Vickers picked up a slight injury just before the break.
Tim Weah withdrew from the squad as he's not quite ready to return from his hamstring injury yet, while Folarin Balogun and Johnny Cardoso were both pulled as well after suffering new injuries, with Balogun dislocating his shoulder just before leaving for camp.
Add in that Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi and Marlon Fossey all returned to their European clubs for load management, while Zack Steffen left with a minor injury, and the squad is extremely thin heading to Mexico.
USA projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Turner (GK) — Scally, M. Robinson, Ream, A. Robinson — Musah, Tessmann, M. Tillman — Zendejas, Vazquez, Wright.
Mexico vs. USA prediction, betting odds & lines
- Score prediction: Mexico 0-0 USA
There's very little riding on this match, but both teams are hoping to put some history to bed with a positive result. Mexico are mired in the midst of a long winless streak against the United States, while the USMNT has won just once ever on Mexican soil.
Ultimately, this will be a chance for Pochettino to test his side's pragmatism in a hostile environment after letting them free against Panama. The U.S. should do a lot of defending, and Mexico has been thwarted by low blocks in the recent past. This will be a low-scoring grinder as the visitors look to counter in the absence of many big-name players. A 0-0 or 1-1 stalemate is likely, although Mexico could be primed for a win if they can take advantage of the thin USMNT squad lacking its regular stars.
| BetMGM (USA) | |
| Mexico win | +115 |
| Draw | +220 |
| USA win | +240 |
| Both teams to score | Y: +100 N: -145 |
| Over / Under 2.5 goals | O: +125 U: -175 |
| Mexico -0.5 goals | +105 |
| USA +0.5 goals | -150 |
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