Cruz Azul Hasn't Beaten America at Estadio Banorte in Seven Matches

Seven matches. That's the number haunting Cruz Azul every time the schedule pits them against America at Estadio Banorte. And it's no small detail for a rivalry that's supposed to be even: the last time La Maquina celebrated there was five years ago, back before anyone was even talking about renovating the stadium for the World Cup.

The Coloso de Santa Ursula, which back then also served as Cruz Azul's administrative headquarters, witnessed a Cruz Azul win that feels distant today. It came on November 1, 2021, with Juan Reynoso still in charge on the Cruz Azul bench and Santiago Solari leading an America side with different plans. Cruz Azul won 2-1: Roberto Alvarado opened the scoring in the 45th minute, Federico Vinas equalized for the Eagles in the 51st, and in stoppage time, Jonathan Rodriguez sealed the win from the penalty spot.

Since that day, nothing. Five years without a Cruz Azul win over America specifically at that stadium, though Cruz Azul has beaten the Eagles at other venues: three times at Estadio Olimpico Universitario and once more at Ciudad de los Deportes, grounds that, along with the Cuauhtemoc, served as temporary homes for La Maquina while the Banorte underwent construction.

A Streak With a Little Bit of Everything, Including a 7-0

The strange thing is that in those seven winless matches, it hasn't all been the same kind of pain. There was a 0-0 draw in the Clausura 2022 that kicked off the run, but it also included the harshest blow in recent memory of this rivalry: that 7-0 in the Apertura 2022 that's still remembered in Coapa as a perfect afternoon and in La Noria as one nobody wants to relive.

More setbacks followed: 3-1 and 3-2 losses in the Clausura and Apertura 2023, and the most painful blow of all, the second leg of the Clausura 2024 final, when America claimed the title with a 1-0 aggregate win after also winning the first leg. That same tournament, just a few weeks earlier, the two sides had already met with the same 1-0 scoreline in America's favor.

It was in 2024 that the Banorte renovation began in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, forcing Cruz Azul to bounce from stadium to stadium: Ciudad de los Deportes, Olimpico Universitario and Cuauhtemoc all served as temporary homes. Meanwhile, America received permission to play as the home team at the Coloso de Santa Ursula before the World Cup kicks off, and that's where the most recent chapter of this story unfolded: a 1-1 draw in Matchday 14 of the Clausura 2026, the seventh straight match without a Cruz Azul win at that stadium.

Will the streak end next time? Recent history doesn't offer much reason to think it'll be easy, but in a rivalry like this, anything can happen.