ARLINGTON, Texas — From 41 Concacaf nations down to the final four, United States, Mexico, Panama and Jamaica will duke it out in AT&T Stadium for the Concacaf Nations League Finals trophy.
This is the third iteration of the tournament, starting in 2019-20 and held again in 2022-23, the United States is the two-time defending champion. The USMNT defeated Mexico in the inaugural tournament, 3-2 in extra time. The inaugural tournament in 2019 was set to play its final match in April 2020 at AT&T Stadium, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. The US-Mexico final wasn't played until June 2021 and the venue was moved to Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo.
The USMNT then became back-to-back champs after beating Canada, 2-0, in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final.
It's no secret the favorites to meet in the 2024 Concacaf Nations League final on Sunday, March 24 are bitter rivals Mexico and United States. The two sides are in their own respective semi-final matches against the lower-ranked FIFA sides, Panama (No. 44) and Jamaica (No. 57).
The United States leads all four squads in the FIFA rankings, coming in at No. 13 in the world. Right on their heels, comes Mexico at No. 15.
Watch the full Concacaf Nations League Finals press conference here:
At the coaches press conference Tuesday, Panama's Thomas Christiansen and Jamaica's Heimir Hallgrímsson both noted the uphill battle they face against their finalist counterparts.
“There is a huge difference between the quality of players and the infrastructure of Mexico, the United States and the rest of Concacaf,” Hallgrímsson said. “For us, winning the Nations League would be a historic achievement and would make many people turn their heads to see us and attract investments that would boost Jamaican soccer."
“I envy the quantity and quality of players that Mexico and the United States can count on to form their national teams,” Christiansen said. “We have grown a lot and we are convinced we can beat any rival in the area, otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
El Tri at AT&T Stadium
AT&T Stadium has served as an American fortress for "El Tri," hosting numerous friendlies over the years and a boasting fanbase in Texas. Mexico's semi-final match against Panama will mark the team's 13th appearance in AT&T Stadium since 2009 (five when it was called Cowboys Stadium).
We know what this means to our country. We are practically locals to this stadium, and we have to keep up with the positive energy," Lozano said. "I mean, there will be so much positive energy here even before the game starts and players have to project that energy back to the people so we can keep up with the good energy. We just have to give our everything, make good soccer and win games."
Lozano was asked if he felt any obligation to win this next game against Panama.
"If you ask fans, I’m sure they will say yes, or even the media, but we want to go to each tournament to compete the best we can evidently with the hope to win and be champions," Lozano said. "But as everyone else said, there are four teams that are very strong, the two that have grown the most and that’s why they are here ... the US for a long time have had huge growth and have been the protagonist, and sadly for us, we have lost the last encounters with them. So, I don’t know if it is our obligation, but I can assure you that our mentality is to advance over Panama and later see what’s to come.
U.S. coach Berhalter underscores pressure of winning third straight Concacaf Nations League
Despite their domination in this tournament, U.S. soccer head coach Gregg Berhalter also shot down any idea that his team in under pressure to win the tournament.
“We respect our rivals, and we want to play at our highest level. If we do that, we will have a great chance to win. For us, it’s not about pressure, it’s about performance”, Berhalter said. "For us, it’s not an obligation to win the tournament. We use these opportunities to compete at the highest level, and that is what this tournament is about."
For all, the tournament serves as an opportunity to compete at the highest level with preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind, which will also be played at AT&T Stadium. The Arlington-based venue will host more matches than any other stadium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup: nine, including five group stage matches and one of the two semi-finals.
The Concacaf Nations League Finals will serve as the first of many opportunities to prepare for playing in AT&T Stadium in the lead up to the World Cup. The United States will play at AT&T Stadium again later this summer when they take on Bolivia in Copa América.
Neither Mexico nor the United States will play World Cup group matches in AT&T Stadium. The USMNT will play their opening World Cup match in Los Angeles, followed by a group match in Seattle and another match back in Los Angeles. El Tri will play its group play matches exclusively in its home nation, opening in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
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