Top Stories

Miazga, USMNT got in Mexico’s heads during latest rivalry defining moment

2 Shares

The U.S. Men’s National Team’s new generation may have just created its Oguchi Onyewu-Jared Borgetti staredown equivalent.

Mired in a tight rivalry match, Matt Miazga created arguably the most memorable moment of the U.S.’s showdown with Mexico on Tuesday night by taunting Diego Lainez in the 65th minute. The two players battled physically for a ball played down the right side of the penalty area and Miazga took exception to a late bump from Lainez, who was called for a foul.

The 6-foot-4 centerback proceeded to get in the 5-foot-6 attacker’s face, and then delivered some unforgettable trash talk by making an ‘I can’t see you’ gesture to poke fun of Lainez’s smaller height. The American’s mockery of the Mexican prompted a quick skirmish between the teams before Miazga continued to do the taunt for a few more seconds.

“What you guys see is normal,” Miazga said. “We talked a little smack. It’s part of the game. It’s mental warfare. We got in their heads and they got a red card right after.”

You can watch the full sequence here:

Miazga’s taunt did seem to get in the heads of the Mexicans, as they looked to have lost their collective cool in the immediate aftermath and got a red card two minutes later during the run of play when Angel Zaldivar went studs-up on Wil Trapp.

“Typical Miazga. I love that from him,” Adams said. “It gets the guys going. He’s not afraid to not back down against someone like that. At the end of the day, your teammates see that and you want to keep going, you want to back your guy up and the next tackle is obviously going to be a tough one so it’s another one that you want to win.”

“I think that we were aggressive and at the end of the day I think we got in their heads a little bit because for us we kept our composure to the best of our abilities,” Adams said. “No stupid yellows at the end of the day and we moved on from it.”

The U.S. moved on from it all in a great way, with Adams bagging the winner in the 71st minute of the 1-0 victory to hand the Americans their first triumph over Mexico since April 2015.

Still, Miazga’s moment in the friendly may have been the biggest of the night. Even if it wasn’t, it will still go down in history next to the likes of Onyewu’s famous staredown of Borgetti from 2005.

Comments

  1. So over-blown. Folks sure do love to feed drama. Ever competed? S happens. This was nothing more than tame jawing, a little s#it talking between opponents in a competitive match. Me and my brothers best friends done/do each other way worse and are just fine when the game is over. For F sakes… get over yourselves. Even Lainez was smirking as he walked away. Only thing at all worth mention is the leg breaking tackle and that was handled as it should have been. Next!

    Reply
  2. The more emotional you get, the more prone you are to making mistakes. Miazga got in El Tri’s heads and the Nats made them pay for it. Bottom line.

    Besides that, I’m way glad I’m a USMNT supporter because I abhor sometimes how Mexican fans conduct themselves at games and in comments sections like these. All these excuses and insecure blaming just gets tiresome.

    Reply
  3. Ideally these two programs would push each other to compete outside the region. Trying to be the king of Concacaf shows such mediocre mentality.
    The worlds tallest midge.

    Reply
  4. Miazga of course likes to grab player balls.He previously got fined for grabbing an opposing players testicles so for all intents and purposes this was very subdued.

    Reply
  5. Miazga of course likes to grab player balls.He previously got fined for grabbing an opposing players testicles so for all intents and purposes this was very subdued.

    Reply
  6. No issue with Miazga’s gesture. Need US players to stand up for themselves and to play to the conditions of the match. They will face more trying days in CONCACAF qualifying and the US team will need bite. Soccer is a contact sport and rest assured later in qualifying some other opponent will have a tackle similar to the straight red to Angel Zaldivar which will go uncalled. The Mexicans have and continue to prove that they really don’t have any class so they should be treated as so. And the Angel Zaldivar jumping two footed tackle should be a straight red in every match.

    Reply
  7. One of the many things that Jermain Jones brought to the game was a set of balls. If someone fouled one of our players that someone would have to look over their shoulder the rest of the game . Jones was coming after them and usually got them at some point. We missed that, it’s one of the many reasons we didn’t go to the World Cup. And give me a break Mexico hates us and they always will until we give Texas back. Nice urine bag anyone?

    Reply
  8. I felt like the momentum had changed at about 35′ and we owned the second half, but the game amped up from the Miazga Gesture onward, and Mexico lost their composure. Not his biggest fan but to play in CONCACAF I think you actually need that kind of team spirit and fight, which was often lacking last cycle.

    Re people talking sportsmanship, he was rammed twice by the attacker and in fact fouled, and responded with a non-obscene gesture. He didn’t lay hands on the attacker and in the context of what happened for about 5 minutes around the moment it was actually restrained.

    Reply
    • I’m confused by anyone saying it was unsportsmanlike. This isn’t u-10s. A little trash talking should be expected even in a Sunday league game.
      Great point about the attitude being necessary in Concacaf. We need players that can be a little bit of a bastard on the field too. Play with edge and don’t melt under the chippy play we know we will face every game. Every successful team has a few guys who others really can’t stand playing against. For some reason I know i have to idiot proof this post and qualify my statement by saying I’m not advocating dirty play.

      Reply
  9. LMAO at the machismo Mexican fans who got their machismo stuck in their collective faces.

    Know we’re all laughing at you hard this morning.

    Reply
  10. Miazga was like you are a tiny man to me. LOL! Then he gets bumped by Alvarez, and then immediately started snitching to the ref he getting pushed around. LOL!

    Reply
    • One was verbal, one was physical. I see the difference, don’t you? If Alvarez had simply got in his face and did the same thing you would have a point.

      Alvarez came to his defense claiming he was the same height. The shove resulted in the card, not Miazga “snitching”. If that was snitching, both teams were guilty throughout the entire match.

      Reply
      • Not sure if Mysterious is trolling us yanquis or just whining, it’s like, he started one, and then moved to the other.

        You kinda gotta pick a direction and stick with it, or the message gets muddled. Which isn’t mysterious, just kinda…off.

  11. I was in the stands last night. The American fans were out numbered 3 to 1. Believe me there was no sportsmanship at all from the guys in green. One of my friends is Mexican and was translating all of the things the Mexican fans were saying. It was some repugnant stuff. This is a rivalry, if we act like a bunch of wimps on our own turf we will get tourched. Way to go Miazga, that moment gave us the advantage. Adams scored the goal, but Matt won the game.

    Reply
  12. No problem with what Miazga did. The US is routinely on the receiving end of much worse every time they play a regional opponent. In fact, I was happy to see some bite from the team. Since Jones has been gone, we don’t have anyone on the field the other team needs to worry will retaliate with a brutal tackle. I also was glad to see Woods get a late foot in. Again, the type of thing the US backs have gotten used to from Mexico and other regional opponents.

    Reply
  13. I’m baffled by the amount of self-loathing by some of the posters. You want us to feel bad for how Miazga acted, and for him to be more classy, because he called an opponent… “short”? On the spectrum of trash talking in professional soccer, that’s maybe a 2 or 3. How many times did we see Mexican players call an American player’s mother a whore? We can all read lips (and many of us have been recipients of those very words in our playing days).

    That little kid was flopping all night on that right side. For once, the ref called the foul on the right player. If Mexicans have an inferiority complex regarding their height, that’s not on the U.S. This game will be remembered for that 3 minute span when Mexico lost its cool, and they will want this game back.

    Reply
  14. Adams was good, Green and Robinson were pretty good, but Miazga? 6′ 4″ against 5′ 6″? Really? Was he raised in a barn, or has he never heard the saying “Pick on someone your own size”? “They go low, we go …” lower? To me it only showed that Lainez had gotten to him. Point for Lainez. I was ashamed that USA players could not win on merit rather than on bullying. Big guys have to learn how to play fair, and a lot of the time, it means refraining from getting drawn in to a fight with a smaller opponent.
    .
    Moore may have struggled on the night, but he gave a very lucid and self-possessed interview before the game, in pretty good Spanish, apart from dropping his D’s (-ado > -ao). I’d like to give him a point or two for cultural competence. I still think it’s brave of US players to try to break in to European teams, even when they have to serve their apprenticeship in a second division for much longer than they might have thought.
    .
    Should we have ever heard of Oguchi Onyewu? In the end, US players should be remembered for their soccer, not just for their gamesmanship.
    .

    Reply
    • We will accept admonishment for our team’s classless behavior when the Mexican fans cut out that classy kickoff chant of theirs.

      Also, Miazga was within his rights to wind that kid up. He was diving all night and had drawn at least two meritless floppy Hey Ref Lookit The Big Guy Is Bullying Me fouls already, and Miazga was on yellow as a result, which is why Miazga was annoyed at him. Miazga got kicked and he retaliated. If you’re gonna game, don’t be surprised when the guy you’ve been gaming games you back.

      As a Big Guy myself, I HATE yippy small players that flop around and go over if you breathe on them hard…and then kick you at every opportunity. And the idea that you’re supposed to just be a Gentle Giant and not retaliate…grates. Sorry. Small players are not a protected species.

      The sportsmanship gulf is…somewhat larger on the Mexican side of this rivalry, sorry.

      Reply
      • The irony of ironies, being lectured about poor sportsmanship — mind you on Sept. 11 — by supporters of El Tri that once taunted a US Olympic team with chants of Osama, Osama, Osama. A bunch of classless urine bag throwers who still have an infantile and homophobic chant.

    • It’s part of the game. Trash talking is as common in sports as sweating. Miazga has been by far the best player this camp and has solidified himself as a starter IMO… that moment was simply the icing on the cake. Banter between rivals is normal. Let’s get off our high horse and realize that these players are human and take getting clipped, tugged and pulled as well as you or I.

      Anyways, the banter was incredibly mild.

      Reply
    • Mexicans are known for many things, but sportsmanship isn’t one of them.

      Yelling puto after every goal kick, and chanting “Osama, Osama” when we played them in Mexico.

      Reply
    • The US has players on the books of Chelsea, Man City, Dortmund, PSG, Shalke and Bayern Munich, while Mexico has players at none of those clubs so if you want to start a co versation about 2nd division players and conquering Europe just don’t

      Reply
  15. Yeah no. Mexico are one of the dirtier teams in the world Classless and no sportsmanship. Don’t back down because they will take every inch you give them. Mexico has talent, but they also have arrogance and insecurity at the same time. Props, Matt, represent your nation without fear.

    Reply
  16. what are we teaching the kids? we should feel ashamed of ourselves.

    dear oguchi onyewu, if you are listening, please send matt miazga a private message. he looks up to you, admires you, wants to be like you. please tell him that your actions, while they surely made sense in the tense political soccer climate that existed back in 2005 between the usa and mexico, don’t really make sense today in 2018, today’s soccer relations between the usa and mexico are much friendlier; these “stare down” tactics shouldn’t be copied and aren’t necessary these days anymore.

    Reply
    • Every sports rivalry is like this… stuff like this isn’t going away anytime soon. If you can’t accept that this has always been a part of sports I’m not sure what I can say to bring you back to reality.

      Reply
    • Stuff like this will never go away. Rivalries bring out the most competitive nature in all of us, national team players even more so. Trash talk and banter have occurred and will continue to occur, especially when you are constantly clipped, kicked, pulled, and tugged.

      Mexican players did so as well, and rightfully so. They were also clipped, kicked, pulled and tugged throughout the game. This is all part of the game.

      Reply
    • Teaching our “boys” to be MEN! Men fight back, defend their families and country from hateful xenophobic invaders. Stop cucking.

      Reply

Leave a Comment