'They want to copy us' - Mexico & USMNT rivalry gains steam as war of words erupts over World Cup qualifying

As if there wasn't enough on the line already, a war of words has broken out between Mexico and the U.S. men's national team.

It hasn't been about this summer's clashes, which went to the USMNT with trophies on the line. It hasn't been about specific personal grudges or even World Cup qualifying in general.

Instead, it's been about something a bit more primal, but perhaps even more important: respect.

Despite taking down their bitter rivals twice over the summer, lifting the Nations League and Gold Cup with two entirely different squads, the USMNT enter Friday's clash in Cincinnati feeling disrespected. Gregg Berhalter's men consider themselves overlooked and insulted, even as a team that, as things stand, seemingly has a leg up in this rivalry.

Because of that, Friday's meeting won't just be about World Cup qualifying, even if a winner will feel very, very good about its path to Qatar with three more points in the back pocket. And it certainly won't be about the USMNT's two summer trophies, because those have physically and emotionally been locked away.

This game will be about proving superiority. And it will be old school, even if many players on the field are still learning what this rivalry is all about.

As things stand, Mexico sits atop the table and, if all goes as expected, will cruise to another World Cup spot. El Tri have earned 14 points from six games and with a point or three on Friday would reach the halfway point of the Octagonal in a very good spot.

The USMNT, meanwhile, is second in CONCACAF despite a few hiccups, having done well to bounce back from some frustrating performances. The back half of its schedule is tough, with trips to Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada still to come, but, should the group take down Mexico on Friday, it would feel very good about its own chances of making it to Qatar.

The fact that the U.S. missed out on the 2018 tournament still looms large over this game, with Mexico veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa starting the week off with a jab towards the U.S.

“In Gold Cups, Mexico is also there. In World Cup qualifications and FIFA competitions, Mexico has been there," Ochoa told TUDN. "There has been Confederations Cup, I think Mexico has played in more World Cups. 

"So it is a rivalry and Mexico has been that mirror in which they want to see themselves. They want to reflect and they want to copy us."

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On Thursday, as part of his pre-match press conference, Berhalter fired back.

"When you hear things coming out from their camp, that we want to be [Mexico], where, when we're looking at some mirror, that's Mexico and we want to see ourselves or something like that, it shows that we have a long way to go to get the respect of Mexico," Berhalter said.

"The two victories in the summer I guess didn't do a lot to get that. We're going to have to do it [on Friday] by our play on the field."

In an interview with TUDN, Berhalter was even more straight-forward: "I don’t think that Mexico gives us the respect we deserve and the respect we give them."

And so Berhalter and the USMNT feel aggrieved, even after a wildly successful summer that began with a win over Mexico in the Nations League, with Christian Pulisic's late goal and Ethan Horvath's stunning save shocking El Tri.

Pulisic won't be in the USMNT XI on Friday as he recovers from an ankle injury, but many of the USMNT's stars from that night will be.

The U.S. then continued on to win a second trophy, with an MLS-heavy Gold Cup team triumphing over a close-to-full-strength Mexico. That win came through a late Miles Robinson goal as an unheralded U.S. team put together a stunning performance against a heavyweight Mexico side.

That loss, in particular, stung for El Tri as it showed that the U.S. has both the quality and the depth to remain in the conversation for Kings of CONCACAF. But despite feeling the pressure from fans and media following that loss, Mexico manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino says he has long since moved past the summertime.

“I don't take things personally," said Martino when asked about this summer's setbacks. "My role is to lead a team and what I have to watch out for is the well-being of the players and the team, and make good decisions. When you take it personally, you run the risk of not making good decisions."

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But those conversations continue on, whether the two sides respect each other or not. It won't necessarily be proven on Friday and it won't be proven at the Azteca next year. These games are just two steps out of the 14 on the road to Qatar, and it's there that the U.S. and Mexico can truly claim their bragging rights.

With both the U.S. and Mexico already qualified as hosts for the 2026 World Cup and with the tournament set to expand going forward, these games will be different in the years to come.

Until then, the war of words continues, both in press conferences and on the field as CONCACAF's most famous rivalry is set to reignited for perhaps one of the last times in its current iteration.

"I think that the experience that we gained from playing in those tournaments over the summer gave a lot of different players the opportunity to play in big games," said USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams. "The big takeaways, obviously, from that were raising two trophies at the end of and that was our goal in the summer.

"But, at the end of the day, those trophies don't mean anything to us now moving forward into this game, because we have a World Cup on the line. We've progressed well in the past couple of games. We've had a lot of different learning experiences, but a lot of different guys are going to be ready to go for this opportunity."