The USMNT lost 2-0 in Mexico as their seven-match unbeaten run against El Tri ended.

For the first time in eight tries, Mexico finally defeated the US men’s national team, beating its archrival 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday in Guadalajara.

Raúl Jiménez’s free kick in the first half was the difference between the teams, who met for the second and final time this year in a rare exhibition game south of the border. Cesar Huerta doubled El Tri’s lead early in the second half, and the hosts never looked back against an American side missing striker Christian Pulisic and other starters.

El Tri’s victory over the USMNT was the first since 2019, the longest streak in the 87-year history of the winless streak. The defeat was the first for new American coach Mauricio Pochettino in his second game in charge. It came three days after the Argentine coach won his first game against Panama in Austin, Texas.

Here are a few quick takeaways from Tuesday’s contest.

Playing the game

The US back row knew Jiménez intimately; The veteran-oriented forward plays alongside Antonee “Jedi” Robinson at Premier League side Fulham. American captain Tim Ream was partnering with both of them there last year.

But Ream and Robinson were powerless to stop the screaming 33-year-old, which came after what the Americans argued was Aidan Morris’ soft foul on Mexico midfielder Roberto Alvarado. Either way, there was no disputing the quality of Jiménez’s 30-yard effort that beat Matt Turner clean and settled into the top corner of the US goalkeeper’s net.

A place to change

With almost half of the game still to be played, Huerta’s strike effectively killed the game at that point:

Truth be told though, the odds were always stacked against the Americans this time. Their undefeated streak will never last forever, least of all in Mexico, where the US now has an all-time record of 1W-24L-4T.

And it was always impossible to continue with more than half of Pochettino’s strongest line-up missing due to injury or, in Pulisic’s case, load management. Besides Pulisic, the Americans were also absent Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Sergiño Dest, Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie, Mark McKenzie (who was injured in the warm-up and replaced by Miles Robinson) Chris Richards and Tim Weah.

Key statistics

Mexico dominated from start to finish. But the USMNT’s worst stat isn’t that they gave up 15 shots on El Tri, or that the hosts had more of the ball despite leading for 68 of the 90 minutes.

No, the biggest sin was managing zero shots El TriA goal until American striker Brandon Vazquez forced a good save from home goalkeeper Luis Malagón in the 79th minute.

What’s next for Mexico?

On November 14 and 18 El Tri will play an opponent to be determined – possibly Honduras, although they will be relegated to the next level of Concacaf – in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Nations League over two legs, home and home.

What’s next for the United States?

The Americans will be on duty at the Nations next month – the first competitive games under Pochettino – as they begin their quest for a fourth straight title. As it stands today, Jamaica is their biggest enemy.

Doug McIntyre is a football reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered the US men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cup tournaments on five continents. Follow him @by DougMcIntyre.

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