I am happy and very lucky to say that I photographed the Mexican national football team for the second time this year. This match, however, was more important than a friendly as Mexico faced off against their CONCACAF rival USMNT. At stake was the berth to represent CONCACAF at the FIFA Confederations Cup to be held in Russia 2017.

The weekend began with a visit to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for pre-match day training photos and the press conference on Friday, Oct. 9th. Kickoff was at 6:30pm the following day at the same venue in front of a sold-out crowd of just under 94, 000 fans (75% Mex, 25% USA), many of which arrived nearly five hours earlier for the tailgate parties.

The atmosphere from both sets of fans was incredible and electrifying thanks to both teams providing an entertaining 120 minutes of football. In the end, Mexico sealed the victory at 3 – 2 thanks to a golazo from Paul Aguilar with two minutes left before penalties.

Complete photo album of pre-match day training & press conference for Mexico.

Complete photo album of CONCACAF Cup match day featuring USMNT (2) vs. Mexico (3).

A selection of photos from both albums is below. Enjoy!

Mexico’s pre-match day training and press conference at the Rose Bowl:

Inaugural CONCACAF Cup match between Mexico and USMNT for CONCACAF’s spot at the Confederations Cup in Russia 2017: