The Americans almost escaped Estadio Azteca with a point, but Mexico kepts its cool and created the game-winning chance it needed.
Miguel Sabah's 82nd minute goal off a Jay DeMerit deflection gave Mexico a 2-1 victory against the United States and breathed some much-needed life in 'El Tri's' World Cup qualifying hopes.
For the Americans, the result was a disappointment, as was their overall performance. They deserve some credit for keeping it close, but they never looked like a real threat to win the match.
For those of you who haven't read it, here is my ESPN piece on the match, complete with grades.
Here are some more thoughts.
Mexico played the better match, and while it needed a bit of a lucky deflection, the hosts created that chance on a Juarez run and great Sabah finish. The Americans didn't do enough to win, plain and simple.
And the ref? Yes, he was bad. There's no escaping the fact that he didn't call the game the same for the two teams, but the Americans didn't play well enough to really complain about that as the deciding factor in the match.
Who stood out? Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu had great matches and you have to feel good about how much they'll grow after moving to bigger European clubs this summer.
Who disappointed? There are several, but Clint Dempsey was at the bottom of the list. One note I'll make about my player grades is that Carlos Bocanegra deserved a lower grade. I didn't see the replays of the game-winning goal until tonight and seeing how Bocanegra gave up on the play there's no way I wouldn't have given him a three instead of a four. I was also probably a bit harsh on Cherundolo, especially considering the lack of support he got from Dempsey.
And Landon Donovan? He had that great pass on Davies goal, but disappeared for the rest of the match, except for his role in both of Mexico's goals. You can't have a hand in both opponent's goals and not get a low grade.
For those of you who want to watch, here are the highlights from today's match:
I'll offer more insight on Thursday. For now, please feel free to share your own post-match thoughts in the comments section below.
Hi Ives,
I was watching a University of Arizona basketball game a few years ago. Arizona was playing at home and a plastic water bottle was thrown at the other team’s bench. The game was stopped and the Arizona coach got on the microphone and made a comment like “we do not do that here”. The fans around the offender pointed him out and he was taken out of the stadium.
I love the atmosphere at Azteca; the place just rocks. Still, when things are being thrown on the field something is wrong. When Donovan was trying to take the corner, he was being pelted with debris. At what point can a coach just call his team in and move them off the field? Can the USA refuse to play at Azteca so long as the fans throw things at players? Seems to me that nobody should ever have to put up with that.
Best,
Jim
Interesting to see how Mexico dealt with our players staying on the ground . . .telling? Disappointed with our inability to protect a lead/tie. thought we looked horrible after our goal for the rest of the half. Second half was better. Giving up the goal was heartbreaking . . .not an unjust result
Somehow Dempsey is invisible as a midfielder with the USMNT. He should be a forward, paired with Davies. They would be very dangerous. Chris Rolfe is more dangerous than the midfielders I saw yesterday. He should be given a chance.
Posting well after all are gone, but… The US has had trouble with possessing the ball a long time. I say this has to do with the lack of a soccer culture here.
In Guardado’s Adidas commercial he talks about playing in the streets with 2 rocks for goals.
Altidore’s commercial is about adults moving him to another age level in an organized league.
In the US, if you play baseball, the other football, or (especially) basketball, you learn from your brothers, cousins, dads, uncles, and your playing time as a kid on the playground is earned from the toughest critics of all, your peers. Then your game is refined by coaches.
Second, this was a decent result for the US. We added to total goals and didn’t get whacked on goal difference.
Third, we already know we’re weak on the touchline, but who else is gonna play there? I don’t think Holden is ready for 90, Rogers has a way to go, and we really have only one player who is a natural there, Cherundolo. Also, it seems like the distinction between wingers and fullbacks is fairly small nowadays. Both go forward and both have to defend, both need to give good service from the flanks. Wingers have to defend fullbacks when they overlap.
As to Paco Torres, he has played a bit less than a game and a half with Pachuca, and the Concachampions tie with Jalapa was essentially decided. Not much activity. I can see Feilhaber going in over him, you wouldn’t have expected Benny to be off his feed.
This wasn’t a bad result for the US.
For those who want to fire Bob, who do you get to work with the US player pool who would do better?
Maybe Bora, except his success has been with sides that had mostly domestically based players that he could work with over time.
Also, with the limited time the team has to work together, radical changes in the player pool, coach or tactics can cause problems(ES 2-Mexico 1).
I will agree that at times Bradley needs to make changes more quickly, hope he learns from his mistakes on that one.
Watching this game made me realize something: Mexico relies heavily(and I do mean heavily) on “miracles”.
Let’s imagine you’ve been locked into a room with say, 10 people from a rival company hounding you from every direction.You quickly try to open the door to leave, and when you finally do, your boss slams it shut. Continuously. Isn’t he supposed to be on your side?
That’s how the game looked to me. The United States, bad play and all, had not only the entire Azteca against them, but also the referees and the hispanic media. How can you cope with that much hatred?
Let’s go back to the main point here: The Referees. Nery “Borat” Castillo “assaulted”, err…”interfered” with two players that he had nothing to do with. I understand there’s a player on the floor and the play needs to continue; it can, you don’t need to pick the man up, especially if he’s an opponent. The ball went out, and Onyewu caught it. There’s no need to take it from him, as it’s his ball.
On both of these occaisions, a rival player was disturbed, and FIFA ruling suggests that the referee do something about it, whether by warning or card. In those two instances, the ref stood idly by as the aggression unfolded and watched it happen in front of him.
When Torrado assaulted a player, he receieved a yellow. Enough you say? No, not really. It’s a direct aggression and that calls for a red card….but it wouldn’t matter, since that’s what he’s there for; he’s Mexico’s whipping boy. He’s gotten tons of yellows and reds in his lifetime and shrugged all of them off with time. It means nothing to him in the long run, so why not lunge at a rival player? Remember Aguirre’s famous “oops” kick during the Panama game in the Gold Cup? What happened to Aguirre? A slap in the wrist. What happened to the Mexican coaching staff that DID attack the Panamanian player? Nothing, because “no one saw them physically assault the player”…I wonder what match they were watching.
I, for one, don’t care about United States’ gameplay or style – it didn’t matter in this game. I will say that they were sloppy, their defense disorganized, and their skills lacking. But wouldn’t you play the same if the “neutral” Concacaf “staff” were constantly nitpicking your every move and turning a blind eye to the home team?
Wouldn’t you feel isolated from your teammates if half of them have been hurt and mentally reduced to a state of paranoia?
Now let’s look at the Honduras game, shall we? The Mexican referee was handing out yellow cards like business cards, mostly to the best players on the field.
Why would this have anything to do with Mexico?
Simple. Costa Rica is Maxico’s next opponent. With no important players to defend the goal, Mexico’s more than capable of scoring. Let’s not forget, Mexico wants to avenge that win at the Azteca at all costs(according to the hispanic media) and if they have to pull a fast one, they’ll do it.
Now that Honduras has jumped over them to third place, Mexico and their federation will do whatever it takes to have that spot be theirs. Why? because of the many
investors backing them. If they fail, the likes of Home Depot, Budweiser, Pepsi, Sprint, At&t, and Adidas will lose money, and FIFA won’t like their investors unhappy.
Am I saying Mexico cheats? Not necessarily. Do they have good players on their squad?
Yes. Even though most of them aren’t Mexican to begin with; they just play on Mexican teams(and no, Rafael Marques and Nery Castillo aren’t good players; just overhyped ones). Will they make it to the World Cup? Of course. Just not by skill.
Is it a coincidence Concacaf/FIFA appoints “flawed” officials to look over “certain” games? If it is, it’s a pretty good one. Is it mean to label networks like “Telemundo” as “sell-outs” or “biased” foreign agencies? Maybe, but that’s another story.
Mexico won at the Azteca….with a little help from their “friends”.