Press release via Concacaf.

His international career might have come to a disappointing end, but for more than a decade, Carlos Bocanegra was a stalwart at both the international and club level. Playing in MLS, England, France, Scotland, and Spain, the defender played almost 450 professional games throughout his career. He captained his country at the 2010 World Cup, and earned 110 caps with the national team, filling in at both center back and left back.

Small-town Texan. Bass fisherman. Rapper. Premier League star. World Cup hero.

“El Kaiser.”

Historically, this point in time in the international cycle is interminable, meaningless, and grueling. In years past the gap between the end of a Gold Cup and the beginning of the World Cup qualifiers always seemed like an insurmountable gulf. 

Canada came into the 2019 Gold Cup with high expectations, and rightfully so considering the talent they’ve produced in recent years — Alphonso Davies, Mark-Anthony Kaye, and Cyle Larin, to name a few. 

"Raúl is our most important forward. I'm talking about Mexican football, not just this competition, but overall."

Throughout the decades of ups and downs in U.S. Soccer, there has always been one thing that fans of the men’s national team have been able to count on: a good goalie between the sticks. Tim Howard, Kasey Keller, and Tony Meola each earned at least 100 caps since 1988, and a host of dependable reserve keepers since that year has kept the position completely solid. 

The dust has settled following the 2019 Gold Cup final, a fierce affair in which the U.S. men’s national team failed to defend their regional crown. Tournament surprises Curacao and Haiti both narrowly lost in the knockout rounds and offered evidence that power may indeed be shifting away from Central America to the Caribbean nations, but, in the end, it was perennial kings Mexico and the U.S. who flexed their muscles and met for the sixth time in the final.

Sunday night didn't quite turn out as hoped for Paul Arriola and the United States men's national team, as they came up just short to Mexico in the Gold Cup final. The U.S. squandered a couple of chances in the first half, and Arriola — one of D.C. United's standout players — went just wide in taking advantage of a misplay in the back by Mexico's defense. 

Mexico claimed their eighth Gold Cup title on Sunday evening, defeating the USA 1-0 at Solider Field in Chicago. LA Galaxy midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos scored the game's only goal in the 73rd minute, denying the U.S.' quest to repeat as champions of the regional tournament. The final was the first matchup between the two giants of Concacaf since 2011, when Mexico won 4-2 at the Rose Bowl. 

Regional dominance all comes down to this.

Morale may have been at a premium heading into the tournament, but the U.S. men’s national team have been able to keep the naysayers at an arm’s length in marching to the 2019 Gold Cup final, all the while conceding a solitary goal. While there have been several bright spots through five matches, Sunday’s date with Mexico will provide an unparalleled litmus test for Gregg Berhalter’s squad since he took the helm in December.

A 90-minute weather delay threw a wrench in a fast start for the United States, but Gregg Berhalter's side advanced to the Gold Cup Final with a 3-1 win over Jamaica on Wednesday night in Nashville. Weston McKennie scored before the delay that started in the 16th minute and Christian Pulisic took advantage of two rebounds in the second half to ensure the first U.S.-Mexico final since 2011. 

“Survive and advance,” so the saying goes.