U.S. Men Survive In Mexico To Get What They Need: A 0-0 Draw

Tonight's game at Estadio Azteca had many things that I hate about soccer (no goals, few scoring chances, tons of fouls, plenty of diving) that won't help it appeal to new audiences but I certainly can't complain about the final result: the U.S. men's national team tied Mexico 0-0. Coupled with Friday's 1-0 win over Costa Rica in the blizzard in Denver, four points in two matches is exactly what the Americans needed.

It was only the second time that the U.S. has earned a point in Mexico during World Cup qualifying, the last time was another scoreless draw on Nov. 2, 1997. The draw in the USA’s third of 10 matches in the final round of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying moved the Americans to 1-1-1 (4 points) in the Hexagonal and into a three-way tie for second place with Honduras and Costa Rica behind Panama (1-0-2, 5 points) at the top of the table. Mexico (0-0-3, 3 points) is in fifth place and Jamaica (0-1-2, 2 points) sits in sixth. The top three finishers qualify directly to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

In other results tonight Panama blanked Honduras 2-0 at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City and Costa Rica moved up from last place with a 2-0 victory against Jamaica at Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Mexico outshot the U.S. 17-1 and had 13 more corner kicks (15-2) as the Americans played in an Italian style defensive shell that for once, I totally understood and agreed with. Backup goalkeeper Brad Guzan picked up his second straight clean sheet with a few solid saves but truthfully, Mexico wasted all their chances including headers that somehow went over the net or wide from a few yards away.

Center backs Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler along with fullbacks Geoff Cameron and DeMarcus Beasley were the real stars as they did their best to stay composed despite the fact that they had to play defense basically the entire match. I can't remember one decent U.S. chance that didn't come off a set piece or corner kick.

Their next 2014 World Cup qualifying games are June 7 in Jamaica and then June 11 vs. Panama in Seattle. Hopefully by then, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra (maybe?), Steve Cherundolo, Timmy Chandler, Fabian Johnson etc. are in form, healthy and in the lineup or at least on the U.S. bench. There are only so many games like this where you can get a result with the MLS All-Star team. Before that, Jurgen Kliinsmann's squad hosts two quality European teams: Belgium on May 29 in Cleveland and his home country-Germany-on June 2 in Washington DC.

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U.S. Men's Roster Set For Costa Rica & Mexico, With A Couple Big Names Left Off

The U.S. men's next World Cup qualifiers are Friday against Costa Rica in Colorado and next Tuesday in Mexico City against Mexico. Today, U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named his 23-man roster which is notable since Tim Howard (back), Steve Cherundolo (knee) and Timmy Chandler (hamstring) are among the eight regulars who were left off due to various injuries and illness.

Friday's match is at sold-out Dick's Sporting Good Park, it is the second game of the Hexagonal will be broadcast live on ESPN (10 p.m. EST). Tuesday (10:30 p.m. EST, ESPN) is at Estadio Azteca, a place where the U.S. has never won a World Cup qualifier although they finally grabbed a win there last summer.

“We know we have a big task ahead of us, and we are confident our group will get the job done,” said Klinsmann in a press release. “Obviously there are many players out with injuries, and that means the next person in line has a chance to step up. Getting points at home in World Cup qualifying is huge, and we are looking forward to having an awesome crowd supporting us in Denver on Friday night.”

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (World Cup qualifying Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa - 5/3 SO), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire – 0/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake – 0/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake – 0/0), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City – 0/0), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City – 6/0), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy – 1/0), Clarence Goodson (Brondby – 5/0), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes – 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla – 26/6), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake – 2/0), Michael Bradley (Roma – 20/5), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana – 1/0), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor – 10/0), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04 – 6/0), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht – 13/0), Brek Shea (Stoke City – 2/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City – 4/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar – 18/6), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna – 2/0), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur – 27/11), Herculez Gomez (Santos – 6/2), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC – 12/10)

The five other Americans that won't be there are Edgar Castillo (facial fractures), Fabian Johnson (hip), Jonathan Spector (ankle), Jose Torres (hamstring) and Danny Williams (illness). Klinsmann and his team won't make excuses, they have more than enough talent remaining to still get some positive results. Friday's game, since it is at home plus they are coming off the 2-1 loss to Honduras means that they need a win pretty badly. I don't expect them to win in Mexico, especially without Howard so it might be the first time in my life that I root for a draw. That would be a solid result for the U.S. First things first, they need to beat Costa Rica and get some confidence back after their awful showing in Honduras (February 6).

UPDATE 3/19: Midfielder Brad Davis was added to the roster.

UPDATE 3/20: With Carlos Bocanegra not on the roster, Klinsmann had to pick a new captain for these two qualifiers. His choice of Dempsey is fine by me, why not go with the best player who must have the respect of his teammates?

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The Streak Is Over, After 75 Years The U.S. Men Finally Win (1-0) In Mexico

It only took 75 years and 25 matches but the U.S. men finally ended the worst streak associated with their national team: they shocked Mexico 1-0 tonight at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in a friendly between the two bitter rivals.

Thanks to substitute Michael Orozo Fiscal's goal in the 80th minute (his first international goal), the U.S. were able to put 0-23-1 (all-time record in Mexico) and 0-19-1 (at Estadio Azteca) behind them. Oh and they were outscored 81-14 in those matches. Nearly a year to the day after Jurgen Klinsmann's debut with the Americans-a 1-1 tie vs. Mexico in Philadelphia-they picked up their most meaningful victory in years; I'd rank it even above the 1-0 win in Italy (their first against them) in February since they rarely meet the Italians.

The funny part about such an important strike is that it came as a direct result from three substitutes: Brek Shea started the play with a run down the left side. He played it into Terrence Boyd in the box who cleverly back-heeled to Fiscal. The defender had made a run forward and he was able to touch it in before the Mexican defense cleared it out.


It's surprising that Mexico agreed to have this friendly at Estadio Azteca since they usually save its mystique and crazy home-field advantage for World Cup qualifiers. From a U.S. perspective, this couldn't have gone any better since not only did they finally earn a win at what had been a house of horrors, but they did it without many of their biggest stars. Now, when they go back next summer in a qualifier with a full squad, they will have that much more confidence in themselves.

This was a game that Mexico let slip away since they dominated possession and had numerous chances offensively. Conversely, the U.S. struggled to string together any passes and therefore they defended almost the entire 94 (4 minutes of added time) minutes. That made for a brutal game to watch, until about the 80th minute or so. The two center backs in the makeshift U.S. backline really stood out: Maurice Edu (he's normally a midfielder) and Geoff Cameron, who was probably the most consistent U.S. player from start to finish.

The first half was devoid of any real notable action as Mexico had the ball but couldn't do anything productive with it. Things opened up in the second half as the U.S. legs looked a little wobbly in the thin air. Cameron headed a cross away from the U.S. box in the 56th minute then Jesus Zavala headed another chance over in the next minute.

The only real chances before Orozco Fiscal's goal were a free kick by Herculez Gomez then Kyle Beckerman's slide tackle which made the ball go barely over the Mexican net. It would have been one of the flukiest goals in the history of U.S. soccer.

It was not Mexico's night as Andres Guardado curled a free kick around the U.S. goal in the 65th minute but the best chance of the match for them came in the 76th minute when Chicharito missed the net on a wide open header.

Of course no special win for the United States would be complete without a pair of absurd saves by Tim Howard. He was able to stop Javier Hernandez's deflected shot in the 85th minute by going from one post to the other. Even more impressive, he stuffed Chicharito on a header in the 89th minute that the Manchester United striker normally buries.

From here, the U.S. goes back into qualifying mode as they travel to Kingston, Jamaica on Friday, September 7 then host Usain Bolt's boys on Tuesday, September 11 (should be a great scene that day) in Columbus, Ohio. The U.S. is 1-0-1 after its first two matches, a 3-1 win vs. Antigua and Barbuda then a 1-1 tie with Guatemala. Four points (two wins) should be expected even though Jamaica also sports a 1-0-1 mark.

It has taken some time, as can be expected, but Klinsmann is really starting to take hold of this team. He improved to 8-5-3 in his U.S. head coaching career while the Italy and Mexico wins show the potential this country has in men's soccer. Outsiders have always felt like the U.S. was a sleeping giant and at last, they are proving that to be true.

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A Squad Lacking Experience & Some Stars Will Try To Be 1st U.S. Men's Team To Win In Mexico

The U.S. men's national team hasn't played in Mexico since 1984 and they have never won there so needless to say, they will have their hands full on Wednesday (8 p.m., ET; ESPN2, ESPN3.com) at Estadio Azteca.

Making things much more difficult (if possible) is the fact that many of its brightest stars (Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, etc.) won't make the trip since their club seasons in Europe are just getting underway. I have no clue why this important friendly was scheduled now but there is no use fretting about that at this point.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to bring this group together and challenge Mexico for a win,” said Klinsmann in a press release. “For every game, we always look at who is in the best form, who is fit and who is ready to go. We have a lot of veteran players and also some new, hungry guys who deserve a chance. Every player in the pool looks forward to an amazing opportunity like this, the chance to take on Mexico in such an historic stadium like Estadio Azteca. With the World Cup qualifiers coming up next month, we can start preparing these players mentally and physically for Jamaica.”

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (6): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steven Beithasour (San Jose Earthquakes), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

There are nine players currently competing in MLS and on top of that, the twist that a whopping six Americans are employed by Mexican clubs. Eight U.S. players were on the roster last time these rivals met on August 10, 2011 in Philadelphia (a 1-1 tie that was Klinsmann's debut). Besler and Beithasour are the two guys that are seeking their first caps with the U.S.

With such a young and inexperienced group, Klinsmann will count on Howard, Beasley, Edu, Jones, Donovan and Gomez to provide even more leadership than normal. In terms of guys that should step up more, be sure to pay attention to how Cameron, Johnson, Torres, Williams and Boyd perform on Wednesday. They have already played for the U.S. and they are on the fringe when the squad is at full strength therefore they'll need to prove their worth when they have bigger roles.

Here is Mexico's roster
Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio, France), Alefredo Talavera (Toluca)
Defenders: Francisco Javier Rodriguez (Stuttgart, Germany), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Severo Meza (Monterrey), Hugo Ayala (UANL Tigres), Jorge Torres Nilo (UANL Tigres), Enrique Perez (Morelia), Adrian Aldrete (Club America)
Midfielders: Jesus Zavala (Monterrey), Manuel Viniegra (UANL Tigres), Edgar Gerardo Lugo (Santos Laguna), Pablo Barrera (Cruz Azul), Andres Guardado (Valencia, Spain), Angel Reyna (Monterrey)
Forwards: Elias Hernandez (UANL Tigres), Aldo de Nigris (Monterrey), Javier Hernandez (Manchester United, England)

Striker Giovani Dos Santos and defender Carlos Salcido, two of Mexico's best players, won't be there since they played for their country at the recently completed London Olympics. Still, with Guardado and especially Chicarito (the best player on either team), it's clear that Mexico isn't using this exhibition just to evaluate its younger players. They always want to beat their most bitter rival.

Any kind of positive result for the U.S., a tie or at least a competitive game would give them some real momentum heading into their 2014 World Cup qualifying games in September with Jamaica (Sept. 7 in Kingston; Sept. 11 in Columbus, Ohio).

UPDATE 8/13: The U.S. added San Jose Earthquakes forward Alan Gordon to the roster so they now are carrying 23 players. He would also be seeking his first cap.

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