Tricolor tune-ups

The U.S. and Mexico will have more than just a common opponent in the upcoming week. The two nations have a similarity when it comes to their summer tournaments.

Mexico will play Paraguay and Ecuador while the U.S. will play Ecuador and Guatemala on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively. For both the U.S. and Mexico, it's a chance to get their teams prepared for Gold Cup and Copa America.

However, Mexico-Ecuador and U.S.-Guatemala will be previews of games that will be played in Copa America and Gold Cup, respectively. Neither team, actually none of the four, will probably tip their hand too much so the squad we see in the respective games will not necessarily be the same one that takes the field later this summer against the same side.

Games like this make the encounters even more meaningless. Results matter little, if anything, in friendlies but now results in these match will only give fans reason to expect wins later this summer.

The U.S. played Korea in the 2002 Gold Cup after having been drawn against them for the World Cup later that summer. Korean media made a big deal about the game and how it would reflect later that summer. I remember in one of the post-match press conferences that the Koreans would not stop asking Bruce Arena about the World Cup match six months before it actually happened and before the US-Korea Gold Cup game was played. Bruce Arena kept saying that what happened at the Rose Bowl would mean nothing when the World Cup rolled around and sure enough it didn't, at least in terms of results. The U.S. beat Korea 2-1 in the Gold Cup but managed a 1-1 draw in the World Cup under far different circumstances.
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