Not sporting rivalries of domestic teams but international rivalries between different countries,

Like Australia vs NZ in rugby

India vs Pakistan in cricket

50 comments

  2. We really don’t have any. Every four years at the Olympics there will be specific people or teams from other countries that the media hypes up to keep viewership up but other than that we only have domestic rivalries.

    We aren’t great at soccer so world cup matches are luck of the draw and we haven’t played anyone enough to make anything a rivalry.

    Not many Americans watch international basketball competition or inter atonal baseball and football is an almost purely American sport.

    You could maybe argue a few NHL rivalries exist between Canadian and American teams.but hockey is only the 4th most popular sport and some of those Canadian teams are in smaller markets so viewership across the country is relatively low

  3. All of our soccer vs the premier league lol. That is one of the few sporting events in which we just arent even close to being competetive in. No offense to Messi, I know he only came here to fuck shit up rather than retiring, but yeah, definitely soccer. Our top tier 20 year olds cant hold a candle to Messi and Ibrahimovich’s 35-40 year old asses lol.

  6. Since Soviet Hockey times. I don’t think anything is remotely close. On the world stage I would go so far as to say it’s anyone playing against the Team US soccer club but I’m grasping straws here.

  7. The miracle on ice is an iconic call. I also like it when the Soccer team does better than England

  8. I just like owning the NHL with the help of traitorous Canadians. It’s been 30 years since they won even though pretty much every US team is stacked with Canadians.

    But even that isn’t so much a rivalry as just a shared league.

  9. This is another lazy post in AskAnAmerican, where a quick Google search would not only confirm but give you the answer.

    **USA vs. Mexico in soccer**

    This is the ultimate North American soccer rivalry, and it’s one of the most intense in the world. These two teams have faced off *more than 70 times.* Mexico has the upper hand overall, but lately, the USA has been kicking some serious butt.

    These matches are usually super intense and full of drama, with die-hard fans on both sides going wild. Some of the standout games include the 2002 World Cup round of 16, where the USA beat Mexico 2-0 and sent them packing, and the 2019 Gold Cup final, where Mexico squeaked out a 1-0 win.

    https://www.rookieroad.com/soccer/top-10-international-soccer-rivalries-all-time/

    https://blog.mansionbet.com/sports/football/top-5-international-football-rivalries/

    https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37431801/international-football-10-greatest-rivalries

  10. Baseball Japan. Hockey Canada or Russia. Mexico for soccer. Deeper in the weeds for soccer fans is arguing whether our best players should go to europe or stay here and help our domestic league grow.

  13. Possible hot take, but USA vs Canada in women’s hockey. Also, USA/Mexico in men’s soccer.

  14. The only “international” competition that I’ve seen Americans get really passionate about since the fall of the Soviet Union are when US-based NHL teams play a team from Canada. But even here, its only the fans of the team that get excited, not the whole country. As others have pointed out, these affairs mostly involve Canadians playing each other anyway (with a sprinkling of US, Swedish, Finnish and Czech players too).

  15. The gap between the US and Canadian national hockey teams has been closing over the past few decades and the current US team is one of the strongest that has ever existed on paper. The US and Canada will likely be the two favorites at the next World Cup of Hockey

  18. I’d argue there is no international rivalry more relevant to us than internal sports rivalries. Yankees vs Red Socks is more enduring than any country you could name.

    The closest you can come are particular events that related to political tension, eg the Miracle on Ice in hockey vs the USSR or Jesse Owens upstaging Nazi Germany’s athletes at the Olympics. But these aren’t really rivalries that endure when that political scenario fades. In most international events, the measuring stick is “versus the world.” It’s not “us vs China” at the Olympics so much as “we should win more Gold medals than *anyone.*” It’s not “oh there’s our rival, Spain” in basketball, it’s “let’s make a Dream Team, because we have no business losing to anyone.”

  19. USA vs USSR was the rivalry, nothing really comes close.

    USA vs Mexico in soccer is probably the second best.

  21. US vs Mexico in soccer. If you’re not a soccer fan you could care less, but if you are even casually interested, this is the one. This rivalry has only gotten better over the years. What makes this rivalry so intense is that a lot of American soccer fans are of Mexican descent. Living in the US there are a lot of Mexican immigrants and 2nd+ generation Mexican-Americans who support Mexico over the U.S. in soccer.

    There’s a reason why Mexico plays so many games on US soil, they basically become home games. They’re also more lucrative for the Mexican Football Federation than playing matches in Mexico but that’s a whole different discussion.

  22. Now it’s USA/Canada in hockey or US/Jamaica in track. US/Mexico soccer would probably number one if not for the fact that most people can hardly be bothered with soccer. Granted the other 2 sports aren’t exactly the most popular in the US either, but are the main event at least every 4 years for us

  23. I think Europeans forget how large America is. Our states are more like the size of your countries. NFL, NBA, or MLB teams from neighboring states are our rival teams. NHL teams have Canadian team rivalries, not not the country.

    Also, soccer isn’t very popular here. We may have a soccer rivalry with Mexico.. Nobody would know though.

  26. Hockey: USA vs. Canada (formerly vs. USSR)

    Soccer: USA vs. Mexico.

    Neither of us are world powers in soccer, but people all over the world tune in when they play, because it’s 90 minutes of pure, straight hatred…and laughably terrible officiating. If you ever wanna see some real TV Drama, watch a men’s USA vs. Mexico match sometime. It’s like watching a soccer match, and overly-acted/bad reality TV all in one.

  28. Chinese at the Olympics for me. Used to be Soviets. I hate not being ahead in gold medals and overall medals. Thank God for our women’s teams in Tokyo.

  37. USA vs. Canada in hockey is the only one I can think of that even has a pulse as an international rivalry.

  38. Australia vs NZ in rugby

    Australia vs ~~UK~~ England in cricket

    Australia vs US in America’s Cup in the 80-90s???

  39. USA vs Mexico in soccer
    USA vs Canada in hockey

    As the World Baseball Classic gets more popular in the US, then it would be Japan.

  40. USA v Mexico in soccer. Those games are heated, and we’ve played much much better than they have in the recent matchups.

  42. US vs Mexico in soccer probably. US vs Canada for hockey is also pretty big.

    The Soviet Union broke up 30+ years ago and without the Cold War going on in the background, the rivalry with the Russian federation just doesn’t carry the same weight.

  43. USA vs Mexico in soccer is the only correct answer. Tons of Hispanics living in this country make this game always incredibly heated. Recently the US has surpassed Mexico in talent and on field results making their fanbase even more heated about it taking it to new levels. Just watch any of the previous games between the teams on YouTube or something. Almost always fights, red cards, penalties, fans throwing objects (Mexico fans lol), and just pure entertainment from a neutral perspective.

  46. I know soccer isn’t the most popular sport in the US, but it is absolutely US-Mexico in men’s soccer. Those games get incredibly heated. Mexico was traditionally the power in our region, and a measuring stick for the US. The US has steadily improved and now surpassed a stagnant Mexico, going undefeated (4-2-0) in the last six matches between the two. I speak Spanish and have a lot of Mexican and Mexican-American friends, and that absolutely bothers them.

    Add to the fact that we are neighbor countries with a complicated geopolitical relationship, that there are millions of Mexican-American fans who largely support El Tri, and that the two countries regularly compete to recruit Mexican-American players to their teams, and I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a more meaningful rivalry for the US in any sport.

    Anyway, [tres a cero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuZjuJFqEzI) lmao.

    EDIT: As additional context for people who aren’t familiar with the rivalry, one of the best known active Mexican-American players is Ricardo Pepi, who grew up in El Paso and chose to represent the US. Pepi scored against Mexico in our most recent match, [leading to this iconic moment.](https://twitter.com/latinheat/status/1669564456140001280)

  47. Mexico, in soccer.

    Most of the other rivalries are either defunct, or one-sided. Mexico-US soccer is one either side could win, the Mexican fans get livid, and the American fans laugh.

  48. The only correct answer here is the USMNT vs. El Tri. There’s more deep-seated animosity in that rivalry than any hockey rivalry your Boomer parents cared about for one Winter Olympics.

  50. “The American heroes are wearing camo.
    That’s not me.”

    -TJ Oshie in reaction to being a star after beating Russia in hockey in the 2014 Winter Olympics

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