Border rivals USA and Mexico will once again meet for the continental title as the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup nears a conclusion.
It will mark the eighth all-time meeting between these two countries in the Gold Cup final, with Mexico having won five of the seven previous matchups at this stage.
Mexico, who are reigning champions of this competition having triumphed over Panama in last year’s edition, are hoping to defend their title and reestablish themselves as the preeminent power in the CONCACAF region. The United States has gone six straight unbeaten against Mexico in competitive action, with five wins in that span.
Mexico brought essentially their best roster to this tournament, while the United States have a number of first-team players missing due to injury, selection, or fitness.
The Sporting News runs through the latest team news and injury updates for both sides as the match draws nearer.
MORE: List of all-time Gold Cup finals and champions | USA vs. Mexico history all-time
USA vs. Mexico predicted lineups, team news
At this point, there’s very little reason for Mauricio Pochettino to make many, if any changes to his starting lineup throughout the tournament. The only plausible alteration that could come to pass is bringing in John Tolkin to replace attacking-minded left-back Max Arfsten, who has struggled defensively this tournament.
Johnny Cardoso picked up an ankle injury and has missed the last two matches, while Haji Wright‘s Gold Cup is over due to an Achilles injury. Injured players cannot be replaced on Gold Cup rosters in this year’s edition of the competition.
The U.S. are without injured regulars Sergino Dest, Antonee Robinson, Ricardo Pepi, and Folarin Balogun for this tournament, while Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Gio Reyna are unavailable as they are participating in the Club World Cup. Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah requested to have the summer off and are not with the side.
MORE: Player ratings for USA semifinal win over Guatemala | Pochettino makes glaring error
USA predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Freese (GK) — Freeman, Richards, Ream, Arfsten — Adams, de la Torre — Berhalter, Tillman, Luna — Agyemang.
Injured: Cardoso (ankle, doubt), Wright (Achilles), Pepi (knee), Steffen (knee), Dest (fitness/knee), A. Robinson (knee), Balogun (ankle).
Suspended: None.
Full USA squad
Goalkeepers: Chris Brady, Matt Freese, Matt Turner.
Defenders: Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman, Nathan Harriel, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, John Tolkin, Walker Zimmerman.
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson, Paxten Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Luca de la Torre, Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan, Malik Tillman.
Forwards: Patrick Agyemang, Damion Downs, Brian White, Haji Wright.
Mexico lost Dynamo Moscow midfielder Luis Chavez to a torn ACL, which he suffered in training ahead of the Saudi Arabia match. That could see Marcel Ruiz and Erik Lira get more time, as both newcomers have impressed.
Cesar Montes will return from his suspension for yellow card accumulation, but Jesus Gallardo is out of this game for the same reason. Nobody else is at risk of suspension from here on out as the card count is wiped for the semifinal.
The biggest winner of the Gold Cup for Mexico has been winger Alexis Vega who has snatched the starting spot on the left from Orbelin Pineda. On the right, Julian Quinones, Roberto Alvarado, and Cesar Huerta have all been handed time but none have gained hold of the position.
Aguirre’s biggest call will be at striker, where he has tinkered with starting Raul Jimenez and Santiago Gimenez together as well as selecting one or the other.
Mexico predicted XI (4-3-3, right to left): Malagon (GK) — Araujo, Montes, Reyes, Vasquez — Ruiz, Alvarez, Lira — Alvarado, Jimenez, Vega.
Injured: Chavez (ACL), Angulo (undisclosed).
Suspended: None.
Full Mexico squad
Goalkeepers: Luis Malagon, Guillermo Ochoa, Raul Rangel
Defenders: Julian Araujo, Mateo Chavez, Jesus Gallardo, Cesar Montes, Jesus Orozco, Jorge Sanchez, Israel Reyes, Johan Vazquez
Midfielders: Roberto Alvarado, Edson Alvarez, Efrain Alvarez, Luis Chavez, Erik Lira, Gilberto Mora, Orbelin Pineda, Carlos “Charly” Rodriguez, Marcel Ruiz
Forwards: Santiago Gimenez, Cesar Huerta, Raul Jimenez, Julian Quinones, Angel Sepulveda, Alexis Vega.
USA vs. Mexico score prediction
The United States has restored some faith in the side through their Gold Cup journey, but in truth, the level of competition has been exceedingly low. They were pummeled by a pair of mid-tier European sides in their pre-tournament friendlies, and even the games against Gold Cup opposition has been closer than it should have been.
Mexico, meanwhile, have been dominant and resolute throughout the Gold Cup. They have been especially good at the back, which is an area they have largely struggled over the last few years. They have kept four straight clean sheets, not conceding a goal since a 3-2 win over Dominican Republic to begin the group stage.
In the end, this first-choice Mexico side should be able to dominate the match and keep a lid on the piecemeal U.S. squad to win their second straight Gold Cup title.
Prediction: USA 0-1 Mexico
How to watch USA vs. Mexico: Live stream, TV channel
- Date: Saturday, June 28, 2025
- Time (ET): 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
- TV channel (English): FS1
- Streaming (English): Fubo, Fox Sports app, ViX
- TV channel (Spanish): TUDN, Galavision, Univision
- Streaming (Spanish): Fubo, TUDN.com, Universo NOW
The entirety of the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup was broadcast in English by Fox Sports, with the final televised on FOX network channel.
In addition, there are Spanish-language options on TUDN, Univision, and Galavision.
All games on Fox’s family of channels, as well as all Spanish-language options, will be available to stream on Fubo, who are offering a free trial for new users.
