United States

Despite critics, USMNT says Continental Clásico vs. Mexico is 'a huge game'

Published Apr. 18, 2023 9:45 p.m. ET

Wednesday's co-called friendly match between the United States men's national team and its main rival Mexico has been derided in some places as "El Cashico," a meaningless exhibition/cynical money grab designed primarily to sell tens of thousands of tickets — mostly to fans of El Tri — at 63,000-seat State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

There is no trophy on the line, despite the promise that this inaugural Continental Clásico will become an annual event pitting the USMNT and "a top-tier opponent from North, Central or South America." The best players from both sides of the border — think Christian Pulisic of the U.S. and Chucky Lozano of Mexico — won't participate because of European club duty, as Wednesday's match falls outside an official FIFA window designated for international play. If you think the skeptics have a point, try to tell that to the players, coaches — and yes, supporters — on both sides who are looking at Wednesday's contest in a vastly different light.

"It's a huge game, it's gonna be in front of a massive crowd," interim U.S. coach Anthony Hudson, who was still able to summon 10 of the 26 players from the American roster at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, said during a news conference last week. "These games are so special to be involved in."

Of course there's no such thing has a meaningless meeting between the Americans and their southern neighbors. Both teams compete like their lives depend on it. Whatever the stakes, neither side will want to give an inch on any play or walk into the Arizona night with anything less than a resounding victory.

Even without its top stars, the Mexican program has plenty to prove after failing to reach the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time in decades last year. Much of the almost all-Liga MX contingent that new El Tri coach Diego Cocca has assembled this week is desperate to prove that they deserve to stick on the squad when Lozano & Co. return for the Nations League semifinal against a similarly full-strength U.S. in mid-June.

That match in Las Vegas also raises the intrigue level of this one. Pulisic memorably helped the U.S. defeat El Tri in extra time of the 2021 final. Several Americans will be hoping to use Wednesday's tune-up as an audition for the one that really matters — FC Cincinnati striker Brandon Vázquez chief among them.

While Mexican-American Vázquez remains eligible to represent either country, the California native seems committed to sticking with the red, white and blue despite U.S. Soccer's pursuit of Folarin Balogun, another dual-national forward. The hosts need all the help they can up front and Vázquez, who enjoyed a breakout season in MLS last year but still didn't make the World Cup cut, scored against Serbia in January on his senior international debut. Every opportunity counts for the 24-year-old. That this one is against El Tri makes it more special.

"This game is huge, especially for me coming up in a Mexican household, watching the Mexican national team play every time there was a game," Vázquez told reporters on Monday. "The respect is there for them but at the same time I want to step on the field and beat whoever I'm playing.

"I grew up playing with the U.S. youth national team and for me the decision was where I'd fit best," he continued. "For me, that's the United States."

How much of a choice Vázquez actually has is debatable; when asked by FOX Sports, he said he's "heard absolutely nothing" from Cocca or anyone within Mexico's program about switching allegiances. That no doubt provides even more motivation to score.

Other U.S. players are also vying for regular roles with the varsity. Veteran Walker Zimmerman started three of the Americans' four games at the World Cup but still figures to face stiff competition this summer from fellow central defenders Chris Richards and Miles Robinson. Both Richards and Robinson have recovered from the injuries that prevented them from traveling to Qatar.

"It's a super competitive group," Zimmerman said of this MLS heavy U.S. team. "We have a lot of guys fighting for spots, so it's going to be no different than it has been the last couple years. And that's not just for center backs — that's for every position. We're constantly increasing our depth across the board."

For those on the fringes of both fully stocked squads, Wednesday's match means everything. "I don't see an A and a B team and players needing to do well tomorrow to make another roster," Hudson said Tuesday. "Every single time we get together, players need to prove and perform to make sure that they they're there in the next camp."

"We'll have a group of players going out [there] representing the badge, giving everything they've got, making the fans proud," he added. "That's the bottom line for us."

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.