By Dylan Butler

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey - It's been a few years since Kyle Beckerman last faced Mexico. But after taking on El Tri on the youth levels, including the Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand, the United States midfielder has tasted the level of rivalry expected in Sunday's CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

"It's huge," Beckerman said. "I definitely would say it's the biggest rivalry in CONCACAF. We get the best out of each other in games when we play each other. You get this rivalry in the final of the tournament, it's going to be something special."

Indeed, the two perennial powerhouses have had their share of memorable encounters, including the 2007 Gold Cup final at Chicago's Soldier Field where the Americans rallied for a 2-1 win and a second consecutive title.

Forward Brian Ching was a member of that team and will likely be on the squad that heads to Estadio Azteca on August 12 for a World Cup qualifier in Mexico City.

"A game against Mexico is a game against Mexico," Ching said. "There's no real friendlies against these guys. Both teams are going to be out to win this game. We'll approach this game same as we approach (the World Cup qualifier)."

While Ching has long established his spot on the United States team, Stuart Holden, his Houston Dynamo teammate, has come of age in the Gold Cup. It started with a goal in his international debut at Qwest Field in Seattle against Grenada and has continued throughout the United States' run to a third consecutive Gold Cup title game.

Holden's Gold Cup sojourn ends at Giants Stadium in front of a capacity crowd of more than 78,000.

"We're expecting a pro-Mexican crowd," Holden said. "There'll be a lot of emotion flying around on both sides. It's a passionate rivalry. It's a rivalry you get excited for, a rivalry guys get up for, so it'll be important to come out and get off to a good start. It's important for us to get on top of them the first 10, 15 minutes, really put a stamp on the game."

With two goals and three assists, Holden is tied with Mexico's Giovani Dos Santos for the most assists and with Honduras' Walter Martinez for goals produced. But United States coach Bob Bradley isn't surprised at Holden's rise to Gold Cup stardom.

"Stuart's a guy that's shown that he's a good player," Bradley said. "He's one of a number of guys that's taken advantage of the opportunity...Hopefully these experiences help him improve, and he can be a player that plays a role in our team as we move forward."

On Saturday, both teams got to train on the newly laid grass, which has been put over the stadium's usual artificial surface.

"It's a bit slow, but I prefer it more than the turf so it's OK," Beckerman said of the surface.

Added Ching: "I'm definitely happy to be playing on grass. A game of this magnitude should be played on grass."