The U.S. men’s national soccer team and Mexico will meet for a third consecutive

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COCACAF Gold Cup final, after splitting the previous two. The two sides will be playing for bragging rights as well as a berth into the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup when the action gets started Saturday evening. It will be the first time in nine years that the Gold Cup will be played in Southern California, and the first time in nearly 11 years since the U.S. and Mexico will take the field against one another in the region.

For the U.S. it will be the fourth consecutive appearance in the tournaments title match, a CONCACAF record. Start time from the Rose Bowl is scheduled for 8 o’clock central and will be televised live on FOX Soccer and Univision. A couple quick hits on the U.S. side, all players except for Jozy Altidore will be available for Saturday’s contest, as Altidore is out of commission for the next four to six weeks after suffering a hamstring strain in the early minutes of the U.S. 2-0 win over Jamaica.

No U.S. player faces disciplinary sanctions leading into the final as the Americans made it through the quarterfinal and semifinal picking up only two yellow cards, one by Jermaine Jones against Jamaica and one by Carlos Bocanegra against Panama. Mexico is the only CONCACAF team that has beaten the U.S. in the knockout round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, beating the U.S. in the 1991, 1998 and 2009 tournaments. Brazil eliminated the U.S. two times in the semifinals and Colombia eliminated the U.S. in penalties in the quarterfinals of the 2000 tournament.

The U.S. men’s national team has a 15-31-11 all-time record against Mexico in 57 meetings; however, since 2000 the U.S. owns a 10-4-2 advantage in the series. When first kick gets underway on Saturday it will be the sixth meeting between the two nations in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with Mexico leading the series 3-2-0.

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