United States national team manager Gregg Berhalter believes Mexico are "slightly ahead" of his squad, but says his squad remain in a position to battle them for Concacaf supremacy.
The Americans face their biggest rival in a Friday friendly, the first game for either national team since El Tri topped the USMNT 1-0 in the Gold Cup final.
The victory for El Tri in Chicago continued a recent spell of dominance in Concacaf since the fall of 2017, when Mexico qualified top of the region in World Cup qualifying while the USMNT missed out on the 2018 tournament.