The uniforms proved it was the U.S. versus Mexico. So did the excitable crowd of 40,194 at Nissan Stadium.
But for the first hour, Tuesday’s friendly between the two neighbors lacked the bite that has made their rivalry one of the fiercest in international soccer. Then American defender Matt Miazga stepped forward to show Mexico it wasn’t quite measuring up, setting off a series of events that ended in a 1-0 U.S. win.
Tyler Adams got the game’s only goal in the 71st minute, four minutes after Mexico’s Angel Zaldivar was sent off for rough play. And though the assist on the score went to defender Antonee Robinson, Adams argued that Miazga deserved one too for squaring off with Mexican midfielder Diego Lainez.