Mexico not concerned by USMNT task in Gold Cup final, says Aguirre
Mexico qualified for their fourth successive Gold Cup final after beating Honduras, setting up a showpiece against the United States.
Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre insisted the relationship between themselves and the United States will have no additional impact in the Gold Cup final.
Aguirre watched on as his team booked their place in the showpiece match with a 1-0 win over Honduras, with Raul Jimenez netting the deciding goal in the 50th minute.
The 66-year-old is the second Mexico boss to lead the nation to the Gold Cup final on multiple occasions, after Gerardo Martino, who did so in 2019 and 2021.
They will face the United States, who beat Guatemala 2-1 in the other semi-final, in what will be the eighth meeting between the two nations in the tournament's finale.
And despite the rivalry between the two teams, Aguirre does not feel that their next opponents have changed his players' desire to retain their crown.
"I would tell you that the opponent does not matter," said Aguirre. "We respect them, and we will try to win.
"I understand the background, but we will do our job against the United States.
"We played a friendly with Mauricio [Pochettino] on the bench not long ago in Guadalajara, and there were absences, but this is going to be a different story.
"It could have been Guatemala, Canada, Panama, or anyone else in the final four, and we would play with the same intensity and respect for our opponents."
Despite a 6-0 defeat in their opening match, Honduras managed to reach the knockout stages after wins over El Salvador and Curacao in Group B.
They then beat Panama on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time to book their place in the final four.
The 1981 Gold Cup winners reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2013, and head coach Reinaldo Rueda said there was plenty to be happy about that achievement.
"It hurts to lose today," said Rueda. "They are a great rival. Mexico challenged us and we made mistakes. Mistakes are paid for with goals.
"Everything the players did to reach this stage, the emergence of new players, I think it is very gratifying on that note."
