It doesn't take much heat to cause the storied rivalry between the U.S. men's national soccer team and Mexico to boil over.
The running footballing feud between the countries appears set to do so once again after it remained on a high simmer following an eventful and successful summer for the Americans.
The USMNT took two trophies off the Mexicans this past summer, winning dramatically in both the Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup finals in June and August, respectively.
While the meetings between these sides in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches tend to trump all other encounters – friendlies, finals, and otherwise – there's never a throwaway game between them.
More:What you need to know for the U.S. men's national team's match with Mexico at TQL Stadium
That makes high-stakes USMNT-Mexico qualifying match Friday at TQL Stadium (9:10 p.m.) a chance for "El Tri" to claim the grandest form of redemption against its most bitter rival.
Following the second of the USMNT's successful trophy conquests in which it downed Mexico, and with the ongoing World Cup qualifying cycle looming, Mexico was forced to cope with criticism and doubt ahead of its qualifying campaign.
Now, a victory by the Americans would pull them even with Mexico on points in the eight-team, round-robin qualifying group from which the top three teams advance directly to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Conversely, Mexico could go six points clear of the U.S. with a victory, and provide itself with redemption after a summer of perceived failures.
More:USMNT's Brenden Aaronson: FC Cincinnati in good hands with Chris Albright
Mexico head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino was widely viewed to have called upon some of the country's most-trusted, experienced players for November matches against the U.S., as well as Canada (Tuesday, 9:05 p.m.).
Taken together, some view this two-match stretch as Mexico's most difficult in the qualifying process.
More:USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter talks World Cup qualifier vs. Mexico, TQL Stadium
For the Americans' part, head coach Gregg Berhalter assembled a group believed to be talented but still somewhat inexperienced in big matches on the international stage.
However, the American player pool surely gained confidence and experience from its summer successes.
"I think that the experience that we gained from playing in those tournaments over the summer gave a lot of different players the opportunity to play in big games," American midfielder Tyler Adams said during a Thursday news conference. "The big takeaways obviously from that were raising two trophies at the end of them. That was our goal in the summer but at the end of the day, those trophies don't mean anything to us now moving forward into this game because we have a World Cup on the line."
More:Inside the USMNT roster that will take on Mexico at TQL Stadium
How Mexico responds tactically and stylistically to the open, attacking matches of this past summer remains to be seen.
How the young American team responds to Mexico's response could ultimately decide the outcome of the contest. The maturation process could unfold quickly and in real-time on Friday.
What seems certain for Berhalter is that respect from the Mexicans is still lacking, even after back-to-back wins with trophies on the line.
"For us, despite being a young group, we know what this is about," Berhalter said during a Thursday interview. "When you hear things coming out from their camp (like) we want to be them ... it shows that we have a long way to go to get the respect of Mexico and the two victories over the summer, I guess, didn't do a lot to get that so we're going to have to do it (Friday)."
The Game
Kickoff: 9:10 p.m.; Friday at TQL Stadium
TV: ESPN2
Series info: Mexico leads the all-time series with a 36-21-15 record against America.
Cincinnati.com prediction: USMNT 1, Mexico 1.
USMNT
Record in Concacaf World Cup qualifying: 3-1-2, 11 points (second place)
FIFA world ranking: No. 13
Head coach: Gregg Berhalter
USMNT November camp roster -
(club/country; nat'l team appearances/goals):
Goalkeepers: Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 24/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 12/0).
Defenders: Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 22/1), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 8/0), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 4/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 17/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 14/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 0/0), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp/BEL; 8/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 69/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 20/2).
Midfielders: Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 42/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 20/1), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 7/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 33/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 27/7), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 9/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 29/0).
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 13/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 41/8), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 2/2), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; 4/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 40/16), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 16/1).
Mexico
FIFA world ranking: No. 9
Record in Concacaf qualifying: 4-0-2, 14 points (first place)
Head coach: Gerardo "Tata" Martino
Mexico roster:
(club/country)
Goalkeepers (3): Rodolfo Cota (Leon), Guillermo Ochoa (Club America), Alfredo Talavera (Pumas UNAM)
Defenders (9): Nestor Araujo (Celta Vigo/Spain), Jesus Gallardo (Monterrey), Cesar Montes (Monterrey), Julio Cesar Dominguez (Cruz Azul), Hector Moreno (Monterrey), Luis "Chaka" Rodriguez (Tigres), Osvaldo Rodriguez (Leon), Jorge Sanchez (Club America), Johan Vasquez (Genoa/Italy)
Midfielders (9): Edson Alvarez (Ajax/Netherlands), Sebastian Cordova (Club America), Roberto "Piojo" Alvarado (Cruz Azul), Andres Guardado (Real Betis/Spain), Orbelin Pineda (Cruz Azul), Carlos "Charly" Rodriguez (Monterrey), Luis Romo (Cruz Azul), Hector Herrera (Atletico Madrid/Spain), Ricardo "Canelo" Angulo (Chivas)
Forwards (5): Jose Manuel "Tecatito" Corona (Porto/Portugal), Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey), Raul Jimenez (Wolves/England), Henry Martin (Club America), Hirving "Chucky" Lozano (Napoli/Italy)
Noteworthy: Since 2000, the U.S. and Mexico have split their World Cup qualifying contests via a 4-4-2 record.
Roster notes: Gregg Berhalter on Thursday stated that Chelsea FC's (England) Christian Pulisic wouldn't start against Mexico as he's returning to full fitness from an injury. Berhalter also confirmed Zack Steffen would start at goalkeeper for USMNT.
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