Full Description
A captivating examination of the competitive history, drama, and politics behind the storied rivalry between the United States and Mexico—in international soccer and beyond.
Soccer is the most global of pastimes, but no international rivalry carries more cultural and geo-political baggage than the United States vs. Mexico, especially today. With the 2026 World Cup set to be co-hosted by the two nations (along with Canada), it's time to shine a spotlight on this storied continental grudge match.
In Sibling Rivalry: How Mexico and the US Built the Most Contentious, Co-Dependent Feud in World Soccer, Hal Phillips investigates the intense, complex associations between the two countries, both on and off the field. He examines the complicated border dynamics, the countries' economic and cultural realities, and the evolution of what was once a one-sided rivalry into an intensely equal, ever-escalating athletic confrontation. Phillips also draws on the stories of Mexican-American stars who opted to play for the US and those who chose to play for Mexico. Their perspectives breathe life into the story and show the impact of this rivalry on a personal level.
More than a million people and 300,000 goods-bearing vehicles traverse the U.S.-Mexico border every day. The countries and their people are intricately intertwined, whether they want to be or not. That's what makes this centuries-old family drama, played out in fascinating detail in Sibling Rivalry, so complicated and compelling.
Contents
Foreword, by Seamus Malin
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Rivalries Don't Just Happen
Chapter 2: Stuck With Each Other: Rivalry as Codependence
Chapter 3: A Friendly Meditation: Fear, Loathing & Argie Worship in The GDL
Chapter 4: Of Moles & Molé: How Mexico Seized Unlikely Control of the North American Derby
Chapter 5: Envy & Scorn in the Borderlands
Chapter 6: Soccer Made in America (or "How to Wander in the Footballing Desert for a Century")
Chapter 7: The 1990s Changed Everything: The Power & Politics of Identity & Myth
Chapter 8: Veni. Vici. Venue. Where Tribe, Home Ground & Hashtags Collide
Chapter 9: The Accidental Confederation: How Soccer's Best, Brightest & Richest have Come to Covet CONCACAF
Chapter 10: The Unlikely, Once-Marginalized Custodians of a Rivalry Most Fierce
Bibliography
Notes
Index
About the Author
