Gold Cup Final: Mexico vs USA preview

The 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup will have its winner decided on Sunday night, when title holders USA take on pre-tournament favourites Mexico in the final at Soldier Field in Chicago. The two teams have met in a friendly match last year and the USA won it 1-0, but Mexico had the better in the World Cup qualification campaign, they won 2-1 on US soil and drew 1-1 at home. Overall, Mexico won 37 times against the USA in all competitions, while the Americans collected 20 wins. 

Mexico have been completely dominant in the group stage at the 2019 Gold Cup, but then seemed to lose a bit of steam in the knockout rounds. In the group stage they recorded three wins out of three matches, including a 7-0 over Cuba, and finished at the top of the group table. However, in the quarter-finals they only managed to get past Costa Rica after a penalty shoot-out, while the semi-final against Haiti was decided by an extra-time goal from Raul Jimenez. Mexico are the most successful team in the history of this tournament as they have won it seven times. 

Defending champions USA have done very well to reach the final once again, they never seemed in danger of being eliminated. In the group stage they won all their three matches with an impressive eleven goals scored and none conceded. Then they grabbed a 1-0 win over Curacao in the quarter-finals, while in the last four they defeated Jamaica 3-1 with a double from Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic. Two years ago they defeated Jamaica in the final to capture their sixth Gold Cup title, if they win on Sunday they will equal Mexico's record of seven crowns. 

Probable line-ups: 

Mexico: Ochoa - Rodriguez, Salcedo, Alvarez, Moreno - Dos Santos, Guardado, Gallardo, Alvarado - Pizarro, Jimenez

USA: Steffen - Long, Ream, Cannon, Miazga - Bradley, Pulisic, McKennie, Arriola - Morris, Altidore

My prediction: 

I expect a fierce match between these two teams and even though Mexico seem better overall, I think the Americans will grab the trophy. That said, I expect their triumph to happen on penalties, after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes. 

Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: 

Mexico win - 2.10

Draw - 3.25

USA win - 3.50