USMNT outplayed by Mexico in Gold Cup final; Spain the team to beat at Euro 2025?
Hello and welcome to the start of another week, James Benge here to guide you through it (at least from a soccer perspective). We might be at the height of summer, but football isn't finished with us just yet. We've got Women's Euro, Club World Cup, a transfer window that's heating up, and a USMNT defeat in the Gold Cup final to chew on. Let's get into it!
📺 Footy fixAll times U.S./Eastern
Monday, July 7🇪🇺 Women's Euro: Spain vs. Belgium, 12 p.m. ➡️ FS1🇪🇺 Women's Euro: Portugal vs. Italy, 3 p.m. ➡️ Fox
Tuesday, July 8🇪🇺 Women's Euro: Germany vs. Denmark, 12 p.m. ➡️ FS1🇪🇺 Women's Euro: Poland vs. Sweden, 3 p.m. ➡️ Fox🏆 CWC: Fluminense vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. ➡️ DAZN
⚽ The Forward Line🇺🇸 USMNT outplayed by Mexico in Gold Cup finalThe next time the U.S. men's national team play a competitive match, it will be on June 12, 2026, at SoFi Stadium. Their home World Cup campaign, eight years in the making, will be underway. Yikes. Life comes at you pretty quickly, no? From a morale perspective, it certainly would have been nice to end this cycle of meaningful games on a high, but that was not to be. Despite a bright start capped by a fourth-minute goal from Chris Richards, the U.S. fell to a 2-1 defeat to Mexico, who added the Gold Cup to their Nations League crown in a year that has seen them reassert themselves at the top of the CONCACAF pyramid.
Mauricio Pochettino could have few complaints about the result, Richards' shot the first of just six shots the U.S. would manage to the 16 of their visitors in Houston. Having said that, he did have one issue -- a controversial no-penalty call when Jorge Sanchez planted his hand on the ball, not the turf, in the 67th minute, which enraged Pochettino. Even in suggesting it would have been called on the other end, this was not a game they did enough to win.
After Raul Jimenez had drawn Mexico level, El Tri made all the running at NRG Stadium, outshooting USMNT 12-5, completing 65 more passes in the opposition half than their opponents 96 and registering 34 penalty box touches to 14. Edson Alvarez's 77th-minute winner was coming, and it would have been a case of extreme good fortune if a penalty had changed the run of the game. As Charlie Davies noted on Call It What You Want, this was not a winning USA display.
- Davies: "Overall, this was a terrible performance. This was difficult to watch. They brought the fight, they got the early goal, we're all hyped but they weren't connecting passes after that. Mexico woke up, they started keeping possession. Any time we did win the ball, we gave it right back. Sloppy passes, miscalculated passes, long balls when they should be short, short when they should be long. Ultimately, that was not a great game to watch."
There is, of course, one quite significant mitigating factor here, the same one we've been reminding you of all summer long. This was nothing like the USMNT A Team. No Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun ... we could go on to Wednesday. In such circumstances, the primary aim for Pochettino was surely to better understand the depths of his talent pool. Over the course of the summer, he has gotten a clear sense of talent that could make a meaningful impact next summer. This has been the summer of Diego Luna, Malik Tillman and Matt Freese. They had done enough before Sunday to make you suspect that at least one of them will be in the XI at SoFi Stadium.
It might have been quelled somewhat by the disappointment of a defeat to a great rival, but there is momentum to be built on when the U.S. face South Korea and Japan in September. As Pardeep Cattry said, it has become more apparent what needs to improve in this setup.
- Cattry: "The USMNT managed to complete a redemption arc of sorts at the Gold Cup, complicated as it may be. Pessimism is no longer the prevailing sentiment but the onus is still on Pochettino and company to get the balance right ...The fact that the USMNT exit the Gold Cup with several standouts may not have answered the question of if they can live up to the hype next year, but it likely gives this group a better chance to actually realize their potential – even if tempering expectations may still be required."
Of course, what the U.S. would like from here on out is more time, more seriously competitive tests. Welcome to life as a World Cup host. It's America's party (and Canada's and Mexico's), and so, of course, they don't need to earn their place there. The competitive games are over and they have ended on something of a down note. It is to be hoped that the value of this summer comes from experiences rather than silverware.
Streaming nowTruly, there is nothing better than a 16-team summer international tournament. Gargantuan World Cups might give every nation a chance to dream through qualifying, but when we get to next summer's competition, you can guarantee the group stages alone will feel like an almighty slog. No such trouble at the European Championships this summer, which are positively flying by. The tournament only began on Wednesday, but we already have our first side through to the knockout stages, Norway winning 2-1 over Finland and then seeing their spot confirmed when Switzerland eliminated Iceland from contention.
They could soon be joined by Spain, who smashed five past Portugal on Thursday and will be strong favorites to overcome Belgium in Thun. On a six-game winning streak, the world champions began this tournament at their devastating best, but they might be able to go even better if they welcome Aitana Bonmati back into the XI, the Ballon d'Or holder having overcome a bout of viral meningitis in time for the journey to Switzerland. For as impressive as Spain look so far, they don't appear to be taking anything for granted, at least according to Olga Carmona.
- Carmona: "We have to keep our feet on the ground despite the great result the other day. We can't make the mistake of being overconfident. We know Belgium are a great team, we've played against them a lot and we know they're going to make it very difficult for us, so we have to stay very alert, go out there giving 100%, and we want to win."
What of Spain's rivals? Germany started impressively enough and will hope to use Wednesday's game against Denmark to adjust to life without injured captain Giulia Gwinn, who suffered a serious knee injury in the 2-0 win over Poland. Meanwhile, Saturday's battle between two of the other favorites went decisively in France's way, their 2-1 win meaning England face an almighty test against the Netherlands to even qualify for the quarterfinals. Sandy Baltimore was outstanding for Les Bleues, Elisa de Almeida no less effective on the opposite flank.
It may well be that Laurent Bonadei's side are the dark horses who land on the bottom side of the bracket, but one suspects that this afternoon will begin with nothing more than a robust reminder of Spain's quality. They are still the team to beat and by a long way at that.
🔗 Top Stories🇺🇸 USMNT breakdown: So where do the USMNT stand at the end of this international season? Pardeep Cattry assesses what can be learned from the Gold Cup.
❤️ Jimenez pays tribute to Jota: A touching moment in the Gold Cup final as Raul Jimenez paid tribute to Diogo Jota, who died with his brother on Thursday in a car wreck. The two had spent a thoroughly successful season together at Wolves in 2018-19.
💷 Arsenal splash the cash: A busy weekend on the market for Arsenal. They've signed Martin Zubimendi for $76.5 million, a deal we love, and are closing in on Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres.
🤔 Alonso's lineup troubles: Real Madrid are through to the semifinals of the Club World Cup, but their setup should be giving Xabi Alonso all sorts of headaches.
🏥 Musiala suffers leg break: Horrible news from the Club World Cup quarterfinals, where Jamal Musiala suffered what Bayern subsequently confirmed was a broken fibula.
💰 The Back Line💵 Best bets- Club World Cup: Fluminense vs. Chelsea, Tuesday, 3 p.m.💰 THE PICK: Chelsea to win to nil (+175) -- The experience of the Club World Cup as a whole suggests that discounting Brazilian sides can come back to bite you, particularly when they've performed as obdurately as Fluminense have in knocking out Inter and Al-Hilal. Still, the Tricolor attack has been running a little hot in terms of expected goals during this tournament and might just find it hard to break down a conservative, organized Chelsea.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.
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