The U.S. men’s national team defeated rival Mexico 3-0 in a friendly at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Saturday, a match marked by a second-half brawl that saw a Mexican player sent off after slapping an American opponent.
Midway through the second half, Mexico’s Mateo Chavez fouled USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah. Sebastian Berhalter, son of former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter, confronted Chavez and shoved him. Chavez responded by slapping Berhalter with both hands at the same time.
Berhalter grabbed his face and fell to the ground. The referee rushed over as American defender Alex Freeman shoved Chavez away. Chavez was shown a red card and removed from the game after roughly 20 minutes on the field.
The sending-off set off a chaotic scene between the two teams, with USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his staff running onto the field to help separate players.
On the scoreboard, the Americans controlled the match. Julian Hall opened the scoring in the first half. The U.S. added two more goals in the second half, including a score from 17-year-old Cavan Sullivan that capitalized on an error by Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel. Sullivan intercepted a pass from Rangel and lifted the ball past him from well outside the box. The goal was Sullivan’s first with the national team, making him the youngest goal-scorer in USMNT history. Malik Tillman added the third goal before the final whistle.
Pochettino, who recently signed a contract extension with U.S. Soccer, is rebuilding the squad after a difficult World Cup run that ended in a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16. Saturday’s win was the team’s third in three games during this international window.
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