It is considered as one of the greatest rivalries in international soccer for its incidents involving fans, team brawls, and competitiveness, which is exemplified by political issues surrounding Mexico–U.S.
The U.S. would not record its second victory over its southern neighbor until 46 years later in 1980, when they won a 1982 World Cup qualifier 2–1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In 2001, the U.S. and Mexico faced off in a 2002 World Cup qualifier at Columbus Crew Stadium, which saw the U.S. defeat their archrivals 2–0 in a match dubbed La Guerra Fria ("The Cold War") by Mexican media due to the sub-freezing temperatures it was contested in.
The United States would continue their dominance throughout the rest of the decade and into the first half of the next, with three more 2–0 victories in home World Cup qualifiers at Crew Stadium.
The penchant for the U.S. to defeat Mexico by that particular score line led to U.S. fans taunting their rivals by chanting dos a cero ("two to zero").
With El Tri trailing in their match against Costa Rica and Panama holding a 2–1 lead over the United States, Mexico had found themselves in 5th place and were minutes away from failing to qualify for the World Cup.
However, in stoppage time, an equalizing goal from American Graham Zusi saved Mexico, vaulting them past Panama and into 4th place in the table, ensuring their qualification to the intercontinental playoff, where they would defeat New Zealand to qualify for the World Cup.
In 2018 World Cup qualifying, Mexico finally broke the Dos A Cero streak with a 2–1 win, their first triumph over the U.S. in Crew Stadium.
Following the United States' failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the two 2019 defeats, the U.S. revamped their lineup, fielding a roster composed of younger players competing in top European leagues.
This saw the tide turn once again in their favor, starting in 2021 with the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League final, one of the most thrilling matches in the rivalry's history, which the U.S. won 3–2 after extra time after a late penalty goal from Christian Pulisic.
On October 15, 2024, Mexico finally put an end to their losing streak and defeated the U.S. 2-0 in a friendly at Estadio Akron, albeit with both teams fielding a roster without many of their regular starters.
As of October 19th, 2024, five players; Martín Vásquez, Edgar Castillo, Julián Araujo, Jonathan Gómez and Alejandro Zendejas have played senior level matches for both nations.
Other cases include William Yarbrough, Isaác Brizuela, Miguel Ponce, Jonathan González, Efraín Álvarez, David Ochoa, Julián Araujo, and most recently Obed Vargas, who was capped by Mexico and became the first Alaskan to ever play for a senior national team.
[11] In a friendly held in Glendale, Arizona on February 7, 2007, Landon Donovan scored in injury time to give the U.S. a 2–0 lead and win over Mexico.
After the game, as both teams headed through the tunnels to the locker room, Mexican assistant coach Francisco "Paco" Javier Ramírez slapped Frankie Hejduk in the face.
On June 6, 2021, in the first CONCACAF Nations League final at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, the game between the two rivals was marred by several incidents of overly physical play and team brawls.