USA vs Mexico tonight

Mexico-U.S. soccer match anything but friendly in the Chron

Once upon a time, the United States was the laughingstock of the regional soccer landscape. Once upon a time, Americans couldn't care less.

And once upon a time, Mexico didn't give its soccer-playing neighbors to the north a second look.

Oh, how times have changed.

Tonight's 54th meeting between the United States and Mexico at Reliant Stadium is being billed as a friendly for competition purposes. But when the teams step onto the field, they will renew a rivalry that transcends players and statistics.

Everything, from the expected sellout crowd — less than 3,000 tickets remained as of Tuesday evening — to the electric atmosphere that is a staple of international matches to the insane amount of media on the sidelines, points to the event's significance.

. . .

Mexico leads the all-time series 29-14-10 dating to 1934. But the Americans have had the upper hand of late, compiling a 9-2-1 record since 2000 that includes being undefeated at home, a statistic that burns in the minds of fans of El Tri.

It is the reason, after nearly 60 years of dominance by Mexico, a rivalry has been born. Americans love a winning team; Mexicans hate losing to the United States.

The game is at 8pm central time. I predict a US victory. 2-1.