the 67th minute that could have put the Americans ahead.

The U.S. felt it should have been awarded a penalty kick for a hand ball by Jorge Sánchez, who fell in his own penalty area after colliding with Max Arfsten. Sánchez pushed down on the ball with his left hand as he tried to balance himself. Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar let play continue, failing to award a penalty kick.

Ten minutes later, Mexico benefited from a series of calls on Álvarez’s game-winning goal.

Mexico was awarded a key free kick when Diego Luna was called for fouling Alexis Vega on the flank.

“He slipped and fall down alone,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

Johan Vásquez flicked the restart kick across the goal mouth and Álvarez burst past the defense, redirecting the ball from 3 yards just inside the far post. After the goal initially was disallowed by an offside flag, the decision was reversed by VAR.

Richards faulted the officials assigned to games by CONCACAF. He compared Sánchez’s actions to those of retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and felt defender César Montes should have been called for a foul for blocking him on the free kick.

“I think the thing about CONCACAF is that we’re always one step behind with the referee,” Richards said. “Palmed the ball like Shaq in the box, and then on the other end we had a block that was offsides. Any other week it would be called offsides. But, again, that’s CONCACAF for you. They hate us and we just have to keep moving with it.”

Pochettino said if similar calls went against Mexico, “it would be a fire on the stadium. But for us, it’s like, OK, they are nice guys. It’s not a problem.

“It’s difficult to give the third disallowed goal,” Pochettino added. “I know very well what it is to play football and I know very well everything. Come on. Stop. I think my player doesn’t deserve this. If we lose, we lose. No problem. I am the first to say, hey, we need to improve. But I am not crying, I am saying nothing against Mexico. Nothing. I respect Mexico.”

Patrick Agyemang of the U.S. had a chance two minutes into stoppage time to net the equalizer, but he didn’t make good contact on his short-range shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Luis Malagón.

“We’re disappointed obviously to not come away with a win,” Ream said.

This was the last competitive match for the U.S. and Mexico before co-hosting next year’s World Cup with Canada.

The U.S. will launch its World Cup campaign on June 12 at SoFi Stadium, while Mexico will play in the first match of the tournament a day earlier at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The U.S., which has seven Gold Cup titles but none since 2021, used a starting lineup with only a handful of players currently projected as World Cup starters, missing regulars due to vacation, injuries and the Club World Cup.

Pochettino used their absence to evaluate players who could push for starting jobs during the friendlies this fall and next spring, and Luna, Agyemang and Freese emerged as contenders for World Cup roster spots.

“I think there’s been a lot of success this summer, with how the team’s grown,” Richards said on the eve of the game. “But me personally, I like to win trophies — especially against Mexico.”