A Concacaf Championship trophy is on the line when the USA faces Mexico in Wednesday's Concacaf Under-20 final, but bragging rights mean much more

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After three weeks and seven matches the U.S. Under-20 national team will finally get the chance to play the game its players have spent all of November waiting for.

But it's not the Concacaf Championship final the players are looking forward to.

The showdown with arch-rival is what American players have been hoping for since arriving in Florida, claiming the regional title would just be a bonus.

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“It’s not even about lifting the trophy at the end, it’s about playing Mexico and winning that game,” U.S. Under-20 defender Chris Gloster told Goal. “Everyone is ready for that game. All I’ve been hearing since we got here is 'I want a USA-Mexico final.'

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“As soon as USA-Mexico steps on the field it’s just so much anger and fight and motivation just to beat each other. Forget about the trophy, or first place, it’s just about beating Mexico.”

The rivalry has long been the biggest in Concacaf at the senior level, with the USA and Mexico dominating the region for the last two decades, and the intensity carries down to the younger age groups.

“You see what it means with the first team, and it trickles down to all the age groups,” U.S. defender Chris Richards told Goal. “Everybody wants to beat Mexico, and of course everyone knows Dos a Cero, but it doesn’t matter if it’s 2-0, 3-0, 4-0. We have a special type of hate for Mexico and we have to show them we’re the best team in Concacaf.”

The United States and Mexico came into the Concacaf Under-20 Championships as the two favorites and have lived up to the billing. Neither team has lost any of its seven matches, with the USA winning each of its matches. Mexico showed some vulnerability in a 2-2 draw against on Monday, but will still be considered a very dangerous test for the Americans.

Leading the way for El Tri is Club America sensation Diego Lainez, the same player who showed well against the in the September senior national team friendly between the rivals. Lainez was at the center of controversy in that match after U.S. defender Matt Miazga made fun of his height.

Another New Jersey native and Red Bulls academy product will try to make Lainez’s day a tough one on Wednesday, as Gloster is very likely to be matched up with the speedy Mexican winger.

“I just need to be physical with him,” Gloster said. “If I just keep my head in the game and focus on him and what I need to do, it’s going to be a good matchup. I’m excited for that matchup. I’m not shying away from it just because he’s a good player. I have respect for him, he’s an amazing player, don’t get me wrong, but I’m waiting for the matchup.”

Along with the intriguing individual clashes, the latest USA-Mexico battle has the added subplot of there being several American players with Mexican roots, including Sebastian Soto, Ulysses Llanez and Alex Mendez.

“My Mexican grandparents will be wearing all U.S. gear,’ Soto told Goal. “It’ll mean a lot because you have roots, I still have family living in Mexico, cousins, and even then they’re rooting on the U.S. because I play for them, and that’s a good feeling.”

Mendez has equally strong feelings about facing El Tri.

“I want to play [Mexico] so bad,” he told Goal. “I want to beat them. Diego Lainez, he’s a good player, and he plays for my favorite club in Mexico. I want to give him a little hit and let him know he’s in for a game.”

Wednesday’s final should be a good showcase of attacking soccer, with neither team likely to be content to sit back and defend. Mexico showed in coming back from 2-0 down to tie Panama that its attack can deliver under pressure, while the U.S. attack has been the most dangerous in the tournament.

The match should have its share of goals, but given the added tension provided by the rivalry, the U.S. team is fully expecting the kind of testy and physical match we’re used to seeing from USA and Mexico when they meet on the senior level.

“It’ll be a battle, a lot of fouls, a rough game,” U.S. forward Ayo Akinola told Goal. “I think we’re prepared for anything. At some point it’ll be a back-and-forth game, a track meet, but we’re 100 percent ready for them.”