The CONCACAF 2010 World Cup Qualifying continued on Wednesday August 12, 2009 with the two biggest nations playing each other. The United States traveled to take on Mexico as the Azteca Stadium as the rivalry continued. Here’s a recap of the match along with video highlights.
Mexico beats the United States 2-1 – Video Highlights
The match started out fairly even as the USA looked confident and optimistic to win their first match at the Azteca. The Americans came out quickly with the speed of Donovan and Davies and had chances. They were able to strike first as Donovan played a great through ball for Davies who got behind the defense and beat Mexican goalkeeper Ochoa for a 1-0 USA lead. It was a stunned crowd at the Azteca and the Americans seemed on track for an upset but Mexico responded. They started getting more possession and would tie it up only 10 minutes later. Israel Macias Castro got the ball with plenty of time just outside the box and scored on a great shot. It hit the crossbar and Tim Howard had little chance to save the shot. The first half would end at 1-1.
The second half was all Mexico as they dominated possession and scoring chances. Similar to the USA-Brazil game at the Confederations Cup, the Americans seemed to get way too defensive after taking a lead. They failed to create many chances and consistently were sitting back while Mexico passed it around. For most of the 2nd half it appeared the Americans would be able to hold out for a draw. However the team showed signs of fatigue and Mexico would take the lead late. A defensive lapse left Miguel Sabah open in the box after three defenders went to mark Juarez who had the ball. Juarez was able to get a pass off before being tackled and Sabah had time to line up a shot and beat Howard who had little chance to make a save. The final minutes saw the US try to get chances but they seemed to run out of legs as Mexico would win 2-1.
