Mexico attendance in the US greater than US teams

US fans who are heavily invested in the US-Mexico rivalry may want to look away. When it comes to soccer in the US, Mexico is, ironically, the United States team. However, this is not particularly groundbreaking news. Mexico’s attendance at games in the US has long dwarfed both the USMNT and USWNT. This past year was no different.

Here’s how Mexico’s attendance for games in the US breaks down.

DateCompetitionMatch-UpStadiumAttendanceApril 27FriendlyMexico vs. GuatemalaCamping World Stadium37,311May 28FriendlyMexico vs. NigeriaAT&T Stadium56,872June 2FriendlyMexico vs. UruguayState Farm Stadium57,735June 5FriendlyMexico vs. EcuadorSoldier Field61,104August 31FriendlyMexico vs. ParaguayMercedes-Benz Stadium51,387September 24FriendlyMexico vs. PeruRose Bowl62,729September 27FriendlyMexico vs. ColombiaLevi’s Stadium67,311

Assistance from Mexico in the US increases since 2021

In 2022, El Tri’s attendance in the US was a total of 394,449 people over the course of seven games, averaging 56,350 fans per game. That’s a 28% jump from 2021 when they averaged 44,213 in 15 games. However, it is a slight drop from the previous World Cup year. They averaged 59,678 fans per game over six games in the US in 2018, making 2022 a 6% drop.

Much more attendance than USMNT and USWNT

Given the large number of people from Mexico living in the US, it’s no surprise that the Mexican national team draws huge crowds. But it’s somewhat surprising that those crowds continue to dwarf the US National Team crowds despite the time and resources invested in the game here.

Mexico’s attendance in 2022 was a staggering 164% higher than the USMNT this year. And, even more shocking, it was 277% higher than the USWNT’s best attendance since 2019.

This is not a new development though. Here’s a look at the last 10 years of attendance for each of the three teams:

YearMexicoUSMNTUSWNT202256,35021,38314,967202144,21325,15512,7032020N/A5,83614,559201957,54623,30625,122201859,67824,16314,064201743,58629,40018,150201651,20029,70715,973201564,14138,76427,766201458, 59734,37410,791201344,32133,80316,479

general conclusion

So, at the end of the day, Mexico is the dominant soccer force in the US and is unlikely to change anytime soon. The Gold Cup is this summer. This puts US games in specific soccer stadiums that are half full. Meanwhile, Mexico games are in sold-out NFL stadiums.

Perhaps the only thing that could change that is if Mexico plays fewer cash friendlies in the US, which even Mexican goalkeeper Memo Ochoa spoke about after El Tri’s elimination from the World Cup in Qatar.

Currently, the Mexicans do not have any games officially scheduled to play in the US for 2022 (USMNT has two and USWNT has three). But history has shown that they draw very well and hope to be back sooner rather than later.

PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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