Few could have predicted the lasting effect of the 2002 World Cup game between Mexico and the US.
The myth surrounding the match seems to have taken on a life of it's own.
The names associated with the match were all legends for club and country and all served witnesses to history Two days after the match, the Los Angeles native and El Tri star would be born, and he would be on the American side.
El Quinto Partido represents Mexico's desire to reach an elusive fifth World Cup game, and Dos a Cero is deeply entrenched with what happened in Jeonju.
The most significant Dos a Cero result to date in favor of the US was the 2-0 win over Mexico. The victory gave the U.S. confidence going into the next match with Mexico and earned the Americans respect from their rivals.
In the first half, Brian McBride put the U.S. up by a goal, and in the 65th minute, the U.S. secured the victory with a headed goal by Bruce Arena
It made us believe in something.
The 2002 World Cup win made the Americans feel like they could beat Mexico anywhere in the world.
The USMNT have won 11 of the 25 head-to-head matches they have played against Mexico. Since the World Cup, the U.S. has six wins over Mexico by a score of 2-0, while Mexico has three Gold Cup wins.
Over the past two decades, Mexico has won a number of titles in youth categories, including gold and bronze at the Olympics.
The recruitment of dual national players eligible to play for Mexico and the United States was revealed in the aftermath of the 2002 World Cup. Prior to the Round of 16 match in South Korea, less than a handful of players had suited up for either team -- in the years since, a plethora of young talents have been pursued by both sides.
It's a turning point.
There was a new era in the rivalry. The U.S. had won four out of five meetings with El Tri before the two sides met.
One of those wins was seated in the front row. He was on the bench for the win in Columbus. The tide was changing in favor of the U.S. before the World Cup, as evidenced by the fact that the U.S. all-time men's scoring record with Clint Dempsey had been equaled.
"It wasn't just that we beat them in Columbus, it was the way we beat them, it was so dominant," said the former executive vice president with the San Diego Loyal of the USL Championship. In the history of the rivalry, it had never happened that way.
After group play ended at Korea-Japan, the US team was excited about playing Mexico in the Round of 16 on a neutral site, stripped of the advantages of a home crowd.
You see each other as a team. They couldn't complain about the weather in Columbus. We didn't have to complain about altitude and pollution. Who is the better team?
The Best Young Player of the tournament was motivated by the fact that he had won. The promising talent knew what was at stake.
It was possible that we wouldn't play them again in a World Cup, even though I was 20. If this was the only time we played them, we wanted to make sure we won.
Bruce Arena and his squad did a good job of absorbing the pressure from Mexico until the final goal was scored by the US player.
The United States, ignored by the soccer world and not taken seriously by Mexico for decades, has found a way to permanently alter the rivalry's narrative.
It made Mexican fans believe that the rivalry was real. They can never take that away from us regardless of what happens. It gave us more credibility and I think it made the rivalry more realistic.
Greg Garza, who has American and Mexican citizenship, was a member of the U.S. senior team for 10 years. Growing up in the U.S., he was heavily influenced by the domestic league across the border as a fan of Mexican side Pumas.
He said the U.S win helped him understand what it meant to be American.
The amount of pressure put on the Mexican national team is huge and it was back then. The country loves soccer. It was the turning point in the rivalry. You know it's going to be a battle when you step on that field. The rivalry is beautiful. The patriotism and passion are two things that unite us.
It earned respect.
Paco de Anda was a defender for el Tri when they played the U.S. in 2002.
De Anda said that it was a harder challenge than they thought. It was a harder challenge than we anticipated, and I think we were done in by our own overconfidence. The first thing that comes to mind is that.
The U.S. went into the 2008 MLS All-Star Game with four wins, two draws and one loss, but a former U.S. player found himself wearing the same jersey as Cuauhtemoc. Six years ago, the World Cup rivals were briefly teammates when the All-Stars defeated the Hammers.
Real Salt Lake's head coach noticed respect for one another when he was with Blanco.
The US won the World Cup.
Mastroeni agreed. The respect from that game was definitely reciprocated.
There was a psychological impact from 2002.
At the time, El Tri lost their grasp on being the kings of the region, and we started to show some real strength and ability to compete with them.
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