Sports
Column: Mexico scored a 'historic' Gold Cup win over U.S. women. How we got to this point
For years the dominant U.S. women’s soccer team has been warning anyone who would listen that the rest of the world was catching up.
On Monday, the Americans finally got caught, with Mexico pushing the four-time world champions all over the field in a 2-0 win that was more historic than it was surprising.
“Over the last five years or so you’ve just seen it,” striker Alex Morgan said. “Ten years ago, 15 years ago was way different with the scorelines than it is today. Teams are continuing to improve and evolve and can compete at the highest level.
“From the bottom to the top, there’s just not that much of a gap anymore.”
Whatever gap remained closed with a thud in a CONCACAF W Gold Cup group-play game at Dignity Health Sports Park, with Mexico outhustling, outrunning, outshooting and completely outplaying a U.S. team that has clearly lost its swagger.
“Mexico was a better team,” Morgan said. “Mexico just beat us all around with their aggression, with getting to the first and second balls, with executing set pieces, throws-ins, restarts. Whatever it was, they did that very well.”
And as a result, the Americans’ lost for the first time in 56 games in California, for the first time in 22 games anywhere and for the just the second time ever to Mexico.
Before Monday it had been 16 months since the U.S. had given up two goals in the same game and 23 years since it had lost to a CONCACAF opponent at home.
All that is gone now.
“It’s a historic victory,” midfielder Jacqueline Ovalle, whose goal in the 38th minute put Mexico ahead to stay, said in Spanish. “I think this is the start of a new era. Women’s football in Mexico is growing little by little. We’re making giant strides. We’re competing with the best players in the world.”
The seeds for Monday’s win, Mexico’s first over the U.S. since 2010, were planted in the summer of 2022 when its soccer federation fired women’s coach Monica Vergara after a disastrous performance in qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2024 Olympics. A month later Pedro López, who helped build Spain’s world championship roster while coaching four junior national teams there, was named Vergara’s replacement.
Mexico hasn’t lost since.
“The obvious thing is the change in leadership,” forward Diana Ordóñez said “We’re not afraid. We went into this game to win. What happened was no surprise. Mexican football has changed a lot.”
Coming into the tournament López hinted that his team was ready for big things, calling Mexico a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“Clearly that wolf was seen today,” he said afterward.
For the U.S., meanwhile, the result set alarm bells ringing. Whether it’s because the U.S. is declining or the rest of the world is advancing, the fact is the Americans, after reaching the finals of the five Olympic tournaments, have just one bronze medal to show for their two most recent trips. And last summer they exited the World Cup in the round of 16, their worst performance ever.
On Monday, the U.S. was dominated in the midfield and mounted little in the way of offense, testing Esthefanny Barreras — the first Mexican keeper to shut out the U.S. — just once. And the longer the U.S. chased the game, the more its poise turned to panic.
The first score came after a free kick, with Karla Nieto lobbing a ball forward for Ovalle. The Mexico attacker surprised U.S. defender Becky Sauerbrunn and took her attempted clearance off her chest, then raced into the penalty area to send a soft left-footed chip over goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and under the crossbar.
Mayra Pelayo, who came on in the 81st minute, put the game out of reach in stoppage time, driving a right-footed shot from distance over Naeher into the upper right corner of the goal.
The victory was something of an inside job though. Eleven of the 15 players Mexico used were either born in the U.S. or played there, including Ordóñez, who was born in Riverside; Pelayo, a Florida native; and Barreras, who is from Phoenix.
Ordóñez and Pelayo were both called up to U.S. age-group national teams but chose to leave and play for Mexico at the senior level.
“Beating the U.S. for the first time on their turf is a special feeling,” Ordóñez said, switching to English. “Since I was a kid I played for the United States. Then I changed shirts and now I represent Mexico. To beat the United States is something unforgettable.”
Mexico, which recruits heavily in the U.S., has proved wildly successful at coaxing dual nationals to play for a senior team that has improved dramatically from the days when its roster was filled with dual nationals who spoke no Spanish and didn’t know the words to the national anthem.
Mexico has also benefited from the investment made in its domestic league. The team it brought to the W Gold Cup featured 20 players from the Liga MX Femenil and just three from NWSL. Compare that to the roster Mexico used in Olympic qualifying in 2016, the year before the Liga MX began play. That team featured seven players from American colleges, five who had no team affiliation and one who played for an amateur youth club in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Women’s football in Mexico is growing,” said midfielder María Sánchez, another dual national who was born in Idaho and has played professionally in both the U.S. and Mexico. “We have a league. We have more players in leagues like the NWSL. We can compete against the best in the world like the United States.”
Mexico (2-0-1) still has a long way to go to win the Gold Cup, although Monday’s victory means it won its group, giving it a better seed in the field for this weekend’s quarterfinals, while the U.S. (2-1-0) advanced as the group runner-up. The pairings for the knockout rounds will be determined when group play in the 12-team tournament concludes Wednesday.
Mexico, López promised, won’t be resting on its laurels regardless of who it faces next.
“If we lose in the quarterfinals, then the beautiful win of today is useless,” he said. “We go down in history as the team that only beat the United States one day.”
Maybe. But they could also go down in history as the team that proved the U.S. is no longer invincible.
“It just shows how far the game is coming and there’s no easy games anymore,” interim U.S. coach Twila Kilgore said. “If we don’t take care of business and we don’t execute, this is to be expected.”
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On Friday, Argentina looked to continue its quest for back-to-back World Cup titles, and to do it, they had to get through one of the darlings of this year’s tournament, Cape Verde.
The small island nation off the coast of West Africa came into the match as the No. 64-ranked team in the world, and they managed to hold Argentina — the No. 2 team behind France at the moment — scoreless for almost thirty minutes.
But in the 29th minute, Lionel Messi scored to give Argentina the lead.
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That was the 20th World Cup goal of his career, and it also made him the first player to score seven or more goals in multiple World Cups, having done it in Qatar as well.
It was also Messi’s eighth-straight World Cup match with a goal.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi scored in his eight-straight World Cup match and potted the 20th World Cup goal of his career. (Photo by Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images))
Well, typically when Argentina takes the lead, they don’t cough it up, but early in the second half, Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte pulled off a stunner and tied the game at 1-1.
HARRY KANE RESCUES ENGLAND FROM SHOCK WORLD CUP EXIT WITH TWO GOALS IN 11 MINUTES AGAINST DR CONGO
While there was some late pressure from Argentina, that included an always-dangerous Messi free kick from just outside the box that Cape Verde managed to stop.
And with that, it was off to extra time.
Cape Verde celebrates after scoring one of their two tying goals against Argentina. (Photo by Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
However, it only took moments for Cape Verde to find themselves once again battling from behind.
Lisandro Martinez found the twine in the 92nd minute to give Argentina the lead.
It looked like that would be all she wrote… but Cape Verde had other plans.
They stuck with the defending World Cup champs, and in the 103rd minute, Sidny Lopes Cabral scored an unbelievable goal to tie the game again.
Coming into this game, Argentina had given up just two goals in their ten-match World Cup winning streak.
Cape Verde did that in one match.
Argentina’s Cristian Romero gets his head on what proved ot be the game-winning goal. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
But in the 111th minute, Messi took an Argentina corner kick and put it in the perfect spot for Cristian Romero to head it to the back post and into the back of the net.
This was eventually updated to an own-goal, as it went off the Cape Verde defender’s arm, but it counts the same on the scoreboard.
Despite a late flurry of chances, Argentina held on to avoid what would have been potentially the biggest upset in World Cup history.
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What a match, and what a run Cape Verde had in the tournament.
Argentina will now have to recompose and get ready for a tough Round of 16 match against Egypt, which will take place on Tuesday in Atlanta.
Like a good striker, Folarin Balogun never loses sight of the goal. And the goal for the U.S. team in this summer’s World Cup hasn’t been just to win, which they’ve done, but to inspire.
And that’s how Balogun found himself on the field, shaking hands with Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, about 45 minutes after Claus gave him a controversial red card in Wednesday’s win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, a red card that will keep him out of Monday’s round-of-16 game with Belgium.
“Little kids are watching, and we have to show them the correct way to handle things, even when you think it’s unjust,” Balogun said Friday.
“It’s not an excuse to be disrespectful, to not do the right thing. I’m aware that the World Cup might be the first time a lot of American viewers are tuning in. So it’s important, whether things happen to you good or bad, just to continue to be yourself.”
That doesn’t mean Balogun didn’t think the red card was unjust. He does. And he definitely thinks something bad happened to him and his team since Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer with three goals in as many games, will have to sit out the team’s most important game in a generation.
It’s just means that Balogun, who celebrated his 25th birthday Friday, is also mature enough to understand a game — even a World Cup elimination game — is just a game.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” he said before the team’s training session at the University of Washington. “There’s been lots of different emotions. I’ve been upset, I’ve been happy. But for me, it was just important to stay calm. I never want to react out of anger and out of emotion.”
Balogun, who had given his team a 1-0 lead in the waning seconds of the first half, collided with Tarik Muharemovic 16 minutes into the second half, and when the Bosnian defender planted his right leg below Balogun’s right foot, the American inadvertently stomped on his right ankle, twisting it awkwardly.
U.S. forward Folarin Balogun steps on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic’s foot and received a red card.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Both players went down and Claus did not signal a foul or pull card. But after the video assistant referee urged him to watch a replay, Claus walked away from the monitor and flashed the red card. That left the U.S. to finish Wednesday’s game with just 10 men and disqualified Balogun for Monday’s game. U.S. Soccer said Friday FIFA’s disciplinary committee did not add any games to Balogun’s suspension.
“There’s the scenarios that you simply can’t avoid,” he said, “and it has to be taken into context when it’s being reviewed. I felt it wasn’t on this occasion. There’s nowhere else to put your leg. It’s going to be unavoidable.
“I think a yellow card would have been fair. [But] it’s something that’s happened, so we have to move forward, and I have to accept it. The most important thing is just to focus on the bigger picture, which is Belgium.”
Replacing Balogun won’t be easy since he’s emerged as one of the team’s most effective and creative players, either scoring of setting up the go-ahead goal in all three of the U.S. wins.
“We’ve got guys that can fill in and have to be ready for the opportunity to step up,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “When you miss a player like Balo, obviously things change a little bit. But we’ve been flexible. Guys have shown that they’re ready to play.”
The most likely replacements are Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright. Pepi, who scored 16 goals for PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie this season, played 90 minutes in place of Balogun in the U.S. loss to Turkey in the final group-stage match. Wright, who had 17 goals for Coventry City in the English Championship, played in all four U.S. games in the 2022 World Cup, scoring once, but he has made just one appearance in this summer’s tournament.
“Balo is an important part of our team, and it’s a disappointing way for him to miss the next game,” said Wright, who grew up in Culver City and spent three years in the Galaxy academy. “But, I’ll always be ready and prepared for whatever comes.”
A victory over Belgium would send the U.S. to the quarterfinals of a World Cup for just the second time. It would also give it four wins in the tournament, double the number of victories in any previous World Cup and marking the first time the Americans have won twice in the knockout stages in the same tournament.
U.S. forward Ricardo Pepi pursues the ball during a World Cup match against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara , Calif., on Wednesday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
It’s a moment, Adams acknowledged Friday, many players have waited for their whole lives.
“You need to embrace the moment, that’s for sure,” he said. “To have the opportunity to play in a round-of-16 game — which, obviously, last World Cup we did, but it was the first knockout game, not the second — it’s exciting. It was nice to get a little bit of a taste of what it feels like to play with something a little bit more on the line in the last game. I think that’s good preparation.
“Advancing and taking this thing as far as we can is the most important thing. We have a good opportunity here to do so.”
Sports
Knicks champion says he hopes ‘truth comes out’ after leaving team for Eastern Conference rival
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The New York Knicks’ first championship team in 53 years is now starting to look a little bit different.
They were able to hang on to Jose Alvarado, but the first domino to fall was defensive big man Mitchell Robinson, who signed a three-year deal with the Boston Celtics.
Several of Robinson’s now-former teammates, including Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, commented on his farewell post on Instagram, but Robinson’s response to Anunoby was rather telling.
Mitchell Robinson is seen outside City Hall at the New York Knicks ticker-tape parade on June 18, 2026 in New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)
Anunoby commented with a sad emoji, and Robinson said he “tried” to get back with the Knicks, hinting the feeling was not mutual.
“I tried brother I didn’t want this to happen hopefully the truth comes out at some point. I’m gonna miss you big dawg! Keep being great,” Robinson replied.
Team owner James Dolan said almost immediately after the Knicks won the title that he had no interest in going into the NBA’s second apron of payroll, calling it “suicidal.”
Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks celebrates after winning the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs during Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images)
KNICKS OWNER APPEARS TO TAKE SWIPE AT MAMDANI AT NBA CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION, STIFFS PHOTO OP WITH HIM
That alone was enough to tell fans that a roster reconstruction was en route, especially with Brunson eventually set to make up for the massive pay cut he took to help the Knicks win it all.
Robinson grabbed the final offensive rebound off a missed free throw that all but clinched the Knicks’ title against the San Antonio Spurs last month.
Robinson saw both the good and the bad with the Knicks as a second-round draft pick in 2018; in his first season, they were 17-65.
Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks talks to the media after the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Jacob Gonzalez/NBAE via Getty Images)
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But now, he will head to an apparent re-tooling Celtics team as a champion.
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