They meet again. USA vs México. Nations League final. Sunday, March 24th. 80,000 seater AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas. 

It’s going to be another exciting meeting between these two rivals, and this will be the first time they meet each other since Jimmy Lozano took over as México coach last summer.

Since the two last met in the 2023 Nations League final, there is an argument to be made that both teams are trending in opposite directions. 

Under Lozano’s charge, México have only lost twice in 13 games so far, while winning the Gold Cup in the process. Although there were some bad performances like the draw against Uzbekistan and the loss to Honduras, there are also impressive ones like their draw against Germany and a comfortable win over Panamá on Thursday night.

On the other hand, the USMNT have yet to look impressive since the return of Gregg Berhalter, and the game against Jamaica raised more questions instead of making fans feel confident ahead of this summer’s Copa América.

The Americans struggled against a weakened Jamaica missing several key players, and needed a last-minute own goal to force an extra time.

Berhalter, who was sacked a decade ago in the Swedish second division for the lack of attacking ideas, is struggling to make use of a striker like Folarin Balgoun. The team also looks lifeless without Gio Reyna in the middle pulling strings.

The coach didn’t exactly win anyone over either in the post-match press conference, when he decided to take a shot at people who questioned Reyna’s inclusion in the squad. It seemed like it was a direct shot at Jesse Marsch, which surprised a lot of fans because this isn’t like Berhalter to call out people in press conferences.

Is the pressure getting to him? Former USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola believes it was a deflection tactic to spin things after an awful performance against Jamaica.

“What the hell is he addressing this for?,” Meola asked during Call It What You Want podcast on Friday.

“Your team, I’m sorry, performed pretty poorly for 90 plus minutes. This is a deflection.” 

“You [Marsch] did him a favor if he’s talking to you because this is a deflection. I don’t understand how you can address this when they almost got knocked out against a weakened Jamaica.”

Berhalter is very unlikely to get the sack before the 2026 World Cup, considering the U.S. Soccer Federation did a six-month “thorough search” just to re-appoint him last summer. However, it seems like he is losing most of the fan support and more importantly, the media support.

CBS pundits like Marsch, Clint Dempsey, and Charlie Davies, just like Meola, weren’t exactly singing his praises after the game against Jamaica. 

Dempsey even said “Gio Reyna saved Berhalter’s butt” live on air, complimenting the young midfielder while questioning Berhalter’s performance against a much inferior opponent. 

Despite all this though, it seems like the players have Berhalter’s back. The most recent player to come out with his support for the coach is Yunus Musah— who played on Thursday night while fasting as he is a Muslim. 

“The group loves Gregg {Berhalter] because Gregg loves the group,” Musah told TUDN reporter Michele Giannone earlier this week.

“He helps us a lot outside of the field, and that’s key, the treatment of people first. We give everything for him on the field.”

It’s no surprising that most players love Berhalter as a person. In Musah’s case, Berhalter and the staff fully support his choice to practice his faith by fasting and waking up at five to pray every morning.

Although Musah may be missing team meals, Berhalter is making sure he’s still feeling comfortable in the camp, being involved with the group, and being able to perform at his best.

Games against México are never easy, and this one will be very tough considering how both teams are coming into the final.

México haven’t been able to beat the USMNT since 2019, which seems like such a long time ago considering how much the world has changed since then. But under Lozano, this may be the best time for them to play the Americans and come out on top.

With the game being in Texas, it will be about 95% Mexican fans, so they will be feeling like the home team and feed off the energy from the crowd. They have to be considered slight favorites because of all these factors.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of USMNT fans and the media if they end up losing.