Mexico stunned their American hosts on Sunday winning the Gold Cup 5–0 in front of nearly 80,000 at Giants Stadium.
The win marked the first victory on American soil for the Mexicans since 1999.
Mexico reached the final by beating Costa Rica on penalty shots after a 1–1 draw, while the U.S. edged Honduras 1–0 on Thursday.
But the second-string U.S. squad soon found out that there is a gulf in class between them and a legitimate World Cup team like Mexico.
After a scoreless first half, Carlos Vela, who plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League, entered the action. He became the catalyst for Mexico’s attack.
“In the second half, we took advantage of their mistakes,” said Mexican coach Javier Aguirre.
“We also thought they would not be able to maintain the fast rhythm, the physical effort for long.”
The unraveling began when defender Jay Heaps was judged to have pulled down Gio Dos Santos in the penalty area. It was a harsh call as it looked like Dos Santos elbowed Heaps. Midfielder Gerardo Torrado slammed the penalty kick high into the net past a helpless Troy Perkins in the 56th minute.
Then the floodgates opened as MVP Gio Dos Santos poked home a rebound in the 62nd minute and five minutes later, Vela’s tight-angled chip shot found the far side of the net.
“We ran out of gas in the second half,” said U.S. forward Brian Ching who plays for Houston Dynamo in MLS.
“Maybe a little bit of inexperience. When they scored, we let [our guard] down.”
Vela set up Mexico’s fourth goal with a through ball to Jose Antonio Castro. Castro ran onto the ball and delicately deflected it past the U.S. keeper.
And in the 90th minute, Guillermo Franco’s long shot from outside the 18-yard box found the short side of the net to complete the 5–0 rout. It was a great day for the overwhelmingly Mexican crowd in New Jersey.
The Gold Cup victory over the U.S. is a huge confidence booster for the Mexicans. With Aguirre at the helm, Mexico can put behind them the disastrous form shown under the direction of Sven Goran Ericsson.
Gio Dos Santos and Carlos Vela, who both play in Europe, were the stars of the show. But the U.S. also has some big guns.
U.S. coach Bob Bradley will look for revenge in the World Cup qualifier to be played in Mexico City on August 12. Then, the U.S. will have a full-strength squad available. The U.S. team will look a lot more like the one that lost in the Confederations Cup final in South Africa.
In World Cup qualification, Mexico is in fourth place with six points from five games, while the U.S. is comfortably in second place with 10 points from five games. Mexico needs to reach third place to guarantee qualification. A fourth place finish would be almost unheard of for El Tri but they could still reach the World Cup by beating the fifth place team from South America.
The win marked the first victory on American soil for the Mexicans since 1999.
Mexico reached the final by beating Costa Rica on penalty shots after a 1–1 draw, while the U.S. edged Honduras 1–0 on Thursday.
But the second-string U.S. squad soon found out that there is a gulf in class between them and a legitimate World Cup team like Mexico.
After a scoreless first half, Carlos Vela, who plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League, entered the action. He became the catalyst for Mexico’s attack.
“In the second half, we took advantage of their mistakes,” said Mexican coach Javier Aguirre.
“We also thought they would not be able to maintain the fast rhythm, the physical effort for long.”
The unraveling began when defender Jay Heaps was judged to have pulled down Gio Dos Santos in the penalty area. It was a harsh call as it looked like Dos Santos elbowed Heaps. Midfielder Gerardo Torrado slammed the penalty kick high into the net past a helpless Troy Perkins in the 56th minute.
Then the floodgates opened as MVP Gio Dos Santos poked home a rebound in the 62nd minute and five minutes later, Vela’s tight-angled chip shot found the far side of the net.
“We ran out of gas in the second half,” said U.S. forward Brian Ching who plays for Houston Dynamo in MLS.
“Maybe a little bit of inexperience. When they scored, we let [our guard] down.”
Vela set up Mexico’s fourth goal with a through ball to Jose Antonio Castro. Castro ran onto the ball and delicately deflected it past the U.S. keeper.
And in the 90th minute, Guillermo Franco’s long shot from outside the 18-yard box found the short side of the net to complete the 5–0 rout. It was a great day for the overwhelmingly Mexican crowd in New Jersey.
The Gold Cup victory over the U.S. is a huge confidence booster for the Mexicans. With Aguirre at the helm, Mexico can put behind them the disastrous form shown under the direction of Sven Goran Ericsson.
Gio Dos Santos and Carlos Vela, who both play in Europe, were the stars of the show. But the U.S. also has some big guns.
U.S. coach Bob Bradley will look for revenge in the World Cup qualifier to be played in Mexico City on August 12. Then, the U.S. will have a full-strength squad available. The U.S. team will look a lot more like the one that lost in the Confederations Cup final in South Africa.
In World Cup qualification, Mexico is in fourth place with six points from five games, while the U.S. is comfortably in second place with 10 points from five games. Mexico needs to reach third place to guarantee qualification. A fourth place finish would be almost unheard of for El Tri but they could still reach the World Cup by beating the fifth place team from South America.
