The main course of the Concacaf Nations League semifinals is a battle between Canada and Mexico, who are looking to dethrone the USMNT of their reign over the tournament.
Historically, Mexico have dominated the series with Canada, but present day paints a very different picture. Canada were far-and-away the best Concacaf representative in last summer's Copa América, securing a fourth place finish and remaining unbeaten in their five games since under manager Jesse Marsch.
El Tri's 2020's woes only worsened in the 2024 Copa América. A second straight major tournament group stage exit resulted in the nation appointing Javier Aguirre as their fourth manager since the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
With one nation on the rise and the other struggling to find their footing, Aguirre managed the second game of his third stint with El Tri in a friendly vs. Canada last September. A 0-0 foul-fest at AT&T Stadium where El Tri relied on physicality to compete against a more cohesive unit offered little to no spectacle for those in attendance.
Canada cruised past Suriname in the quarterfinals with a 5–0 aggregate score. Mexico had to come back from a two goal deficit to defeat Honduras 4–0 in the second leg, in what was the team's best performance in years.
With a ticket to Sunday's final on the line, here's everything you need to know ahead of the semifinals clash between Canada and Mexico.
