The first 45 ends with the US up 1-0, Julian Hall pouncing on an error from Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel.
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Mexico had a similar opportunity, but Santiago Giménez flubbed his attempt from five yards out.
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The friendly got mildly less friendly towards the end, but this is far from the fieriest USA v Mexico game in recent memory. Maybe that will change in the second half.
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States v Mexico – International FriendlyJulian Hall #19 of United States celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the international friendly match between United States and Mexico at State Farm Stadium on October 03, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona.”,”caption”:”Julian Hall scored for the United States v Mexico. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Taylor Banner/USSF/Getty Images”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Julian Hall cleans up the mess on the doorstep of goal after some nice play between Berhalter and Gio Reyna, and the US take the lead completely against the run of play!
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The biggest surprise here might be that Rafa Márquez elected not to start Mexico’s own 17-year-old wunderkind, Gilberto Mora. It’s still a big spot for the likes of 19-year-old Santiago Sandoval in midfield and 24-year-old newcomer Diego Campillo at center back. Both will be facing the US for the first time.
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Mexico’s starters (4-3-3):
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Raúl Rangel; Jesús Gallardo, Johan Vásquez, Diego Campillo, Israel Reyes; Érick Lira, Luís Romo, Santiago Sandoval; Orbelín Pineda; Santiago Giménez, Roberto Alvarado
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The lineup is out, and there are two big calls that immediately jump out to me. One is Diego Kochen in goal – the on-loan Barcelona goalkeeper’s first start in the USMNT shirt. The other is Cavan Sullivan getting a start – giving the 17-year-old a chance to further fuel his meteoric rise.
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Tyler Adams will captain the group, as Mauricio Pochettino announced would be his permanent role yesterday.
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The lineup:
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Diego Kochen; Antonee Robinson, Auston Trusty, Chris Richards, Alex Freeman; Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Malik Tillman; Gio Reyna, Cavan Sullivan; Julian Hall
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lineup v Mexico 3 October 2026″,”caption”:”USA lineup v Mexico 3 October 2026″,”credit”:”Photograph: US Soccer”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1791075337000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”01.55 BST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1791075844000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”02.04 BST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1791075844000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”02.04 BST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”02.04″,”title”:”The US starting XI”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 4 Oct 2026 04.29 BST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 4 Oct 2026 01.24 BST”},{“id”:”6abc36ab8f0885b09eae1f50″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of USA v Mexico, kicking off at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona at 10pm ET. Alexander will be along shortly.
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Key events
59 min: Another minor scuffle among US and Mexico players, after an incident away from the ball involving Santiago Giménez and Chris Richards. These two things have seemed to change the mood in the pro-Mexico crowd, who can sense that their side may have something brewing here.
58 min: BIG SAVE Diego Kochen. After a freekick in the left half-space was headed out, Roberto Alvarado latched on to the rebound to fire the ball into the upper 90, but Kochen got there with an acrobatic stop.
56 min: Malik Tillman goes through Santi Giménez, creating a free kick in a dangerous position for Mexico…it comes to nothing, floating harmlessly over the crowd in the box.
55 min: Another good free kick service from Sebastian Berhalter fell invitingly for Chris Richards but Raul Rangel was there first to gather the ball.
A great note from US soccer stat man extraordinaire Paul Carr: Julian Hall is the third USMNT player to score in each of his first three caps (Eddie Johnson in 2004-05, Alexander Rae in 1937).
Always good when you have to go back to the 30s to find a matching record!
Reader Scott writes in:
Mexico were far better in that half but around the 20 minute mark, it seems Pochettino switched from a 4-4-2 with Hall & Tillman up top to have Tillman drop into midfield to staunch the bleeding. Still, if the US don’t get more control of that midfield, I can’t see them walking out with all three points. Not sure what tactical changes or subs he could pull, but he needs something here, surely?
It definitely did seem like Tillman dropped a bit deeper as the half went on. I’m not seeing any really substantive tactical changes beyond that though to start the second half.
49 min: The US are looking very confident coming out of the break, with Sullivan, Adams, Tillman, and Berhalter all combining for a dangerous spell of possession where the final ball just wasn’t quite on point.
Second half is underway!
One change for Mexico, as Luis Chavez comes on in place of Luis Romo in midfield
Pochettino just now on TNT admits that his side were second-best in the early going: “It’s a good lesson for us. We grow [into the game] after 15 minutes, we matched the intensity of Mexico. It’s this type of game we need to use as a team to learn.”
And here is Julian Hall’s opportunistic goal that separates the sides, for viewers in the US:
That Giménez miss
This is probably way, way harder to finish than it looks, and he deserves some credit for even reacting fast enough to get a foot on it. But still!
Miss of the year contender from Santi Gimenez
— Charles Boehm ⚽️ (@cboehm.bsky.social) October 3, 2026 at 10:58 PM
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Halftime!
The first 45 ends with the US up 1-0, Julian Hall pouncing on an error from Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel.
Mexico had a similar opportunity, but Santiago Giménez flubbed his attempt from five yards out.
The friendly got mildly less friendly towards the end, but this is far from the fieriest USA v Mexico game in recent memory. Maybe that will change in the second half.
44 min: WOW. What a missed opportunity for Mexico!. Luis Romo latches on to a loose ball in the box and plays it across goal. Diego Kochen dives and slaps the ball right into the path of Mexico forward Santi Giménez, who is caught flat-footed and somehow puts it wide from five yards out. Incredible.
40 min: Mexico has responded fairly well to the goal, continuing their man marking and trying to beat the US with combination play out wide. The challenges, though, undoubtedly have a bit more vigor in them.
35 min: Yellow card for Luís Romo – a tactical foul as the US looked to break after a Mexico corner.
33 min: We have our first minor fisticuffs of the night, as Gio Reyna fouls Santi Giménez in Mexico’s attacking half. Some pushing and shoving ensues, with US defender Chris Richards in the middle of it.
The referee cam was built for moments like this.
That makes it three goals in three starts for Julian Hall — albeit this one was aided by a sloppy bit of goalkeeping from Raúl Rangel. His mishandling of Reyna’s cross allowed Hall to finish off what might be the easiest goal he’ll ever score in what is looking like will be a long career.
GOAL! USA 1-0 Mexico (Hall, 27)
Julian Hall cleans up the mess on the doorstep of goal after some nice play between Berhalter and Gio Reyna, and the US take the lead completely against the run of play!
26 min: Orbelín Pineda with some fantastic skill to get past two US defenders on the sideline, drawing the biggest cheers of the night.
25 min: We have our first Mexican Wave of the night. I have never understood people who hate this thing. It’s harmless and it’s fun. Let people have fun, I say.
24 min: The US are having some real problems playing through Mexico’s press, almost like the opposition are pressuring the US in ways they might not have expected. The few chances the Americans have had have come from dispossessions in Mexico’s own half, like Sullivan managed a couple minutes ago.
23 min: Another warning shot from Mexico, as Santi Giménez is sent through on goal. He puts his effort wide and is called offside anyway.
19 min: Cavan Sullivan misreads a ball deflected out from a US corner, allowing Mexico a breakaway stopped by Malik Tillman with a tactical foul. Mexico players and coaches wanted a card, but none is coming.
17 min: A half chance for the US through Malik Tillman, who earns a corner. Sebastian Berhalter’s typically excellent delivery forces a tap over the line from Raul Rangel.
12 min: Chance for Mexico! Luis Romo fires high and wide after some nice work from Santiago Sandoval, who found space behind the US backline.
11 min: An extended sequence of US possession sees the team go backwards to Kochen in slow motion. Good thing he’s good with his feet!
9 min: The early minutes have mostly favored Mexico, as the US have found it hard to pick the right passes when building out from the back. Tyler Adams is dropping very deep to get on the ball.
5 min: Some nice combination play from Mexico, working the US side-to-side and attempting a cross that is well defended by Antonee Robinson.
4 min: An early chance for Mexico! A ball over the top catches the defense out, and Antonee Robinson’s attempted clearance goes straight to a Mexico player. Luckily for the US, it all comes to nothing.
2 min: Are the filed markings looking faint for anyone else? I’m sure they’re fine in person but the 18-yard boxes in particular look like they’re barely there.
Players of United States huddle prior to the international friendly match between United States and Mexico at State Farm Stadium on October 03, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. Photograph: Taylor Banner/USSF/Getty Images
1 min: We are under way in Glendale, Arizona!
American Idol winner Jordin Sparks sings the Star-Spangled Banner. And, in my opinion, does a very nice job of it. Avoids the pitfalls that trap so many others by trying to be too ornate.
I believe now is the time to play some soccer.
The in-stadium PA announcer says the match is between Mexico, “and YOUR United States Men’s national team!”
The Mexican anthem then plays, clearly belted out by the majority of those in attendance.
It should be noted that, as the players are mere moments from walking out on to the pitch, the thing playing on TNT, English-language broadcast partner of US Soccer, is the end of All Elite Wrestling.
Props to Telemundo, Spanish-language partner of US Soccer, who have had a full crew on the field and broadcasting for a couple hours already. They got a nice little interview with Pochettino and time for some cool features on individual players & moments.
The players are in the tunnel. The lights are flashing. The little kids are getting high fives. It must nearly be kickoff time.
A really interesting note from Pardeep Cattry at CBS Sports: This will be the first time Gio Reyna has started six consecutive matches for club or country since 2020.
Jeff Rueter
In terms of warm-up watchers, this is already a 4:1 split of Mexico fans to US fans.
At yesterday’s press conference, Mauricio Pochettino responded to a question about the atmosphere by saying it could be close to a 50/50 crowd. A US media officer seated next to him chuckled with bemusement, unable to stifle a laugh as he questioned “50/50” before saying it was unlikely. At this point, even a 70/30 split looks like a long shot – green shirts already planted in every section of State Farm Stadium.
The Mexico Starting XI
The biggest surprise here might be that Rafa Márquez elected not to start Mexico’s own 17-year-old wunderkind, Gilberto Mora. It’s still a big spot for the likes of 19-year-old Santiago Sandoval in midfield and 24-year-old newcomer Diego Campillo at center back. Both will be facing the US for the first time.
Mexico’s starters (4-3-3):
Raúl Rangel; Jesús Gallardo, Johan Vásquez, Diego Campillo, Israel Reyes; Érick Lira, Luís Romo, Santiago Sandoval; Orbelín Pineda; Santiago Giménez, Roberto Alvarado
Jeff Rueter
As promised by Mauricio Pochettino in yesterday’s availability, today’s US lineup balances experience and his baker’s dozen of newcomers – an ideal time for the next generation to get their first experience in one of global soccer’s biggest rivalries. It’s a very fun lineup, too.
Cavan Sullivan gets the start in the first of what could be many matchups with Mexico, while Diego Kochen makes his first start for the US to build his case as not just the program’s goalkeeper of the future, but of their present. First-choice full backs Alex Freeman and Antonee Robinson flank Chris Richards and Auston Trusty to give Kochen a strong backline to work with for the occasion, with newly minted US captain Tyler Adams and Sebastian Berhalter tasked with keeping the midfield tidy.
Gio Reyna makes a third start of this camp, the only player to make all three XIs in this extended window. He’ll work with Malik Tillman and Sullivan to pull the strings, while Julian Hall will look to build off of having scored in his first two US caps.
The US starting XI
The lineup is out, and there are two big calls that immediately jump out to me. One is Diego Kochen in goal – the on-loan Barcelona goalkeeper’s first start in the USMNT shirt. The other is Cavan Sullivan getting a start – giving the 17-year-old a chance to further fuel his meteoric rise.
Tyler Adams will captain the group, as Mauricio Pochettino announced would be his permanent role yesterday.
The lineup:
Diego Kochen; Antonee Robinson, Auston Trusty, Chris Richards, Alex Freeman; Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Malik Tillman; Gio Reyna, Cavan Sullivan; Julian Hall
Every time we get USA v Mexico, it’s a good excuse to dig back in the archives for some of the best moments of this insane rivalry.
I was recently reminded by a friend of Weston McKennie’s ripped shirt. Shame he won’t be here this time to repeat it.
Jeff Rueter
Research informed me that the first soccer game here at State Farm Stadium was the time Oswaldo Sánchez tried to trip Eddie Johnson after a stoppage time goal:
The United States looked quite good indeed in their last runout, a 4-1 win over Peru that had all the hallmarks of a youthful side finding their stride.
Pablo Iglesias Maurer’s feature:
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of USA v Mexico, kicking off at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona at 10pm ET. Alexander will be along shortly.
