US vs Mexico Perspective
Last Tuesday night, the United States men’s national soccer teamed tied Mexico 0-0 in Mexico City’s infamous Azteca stadium (home to over 105,000 passionate home fans for every qualifying game in the past decades). While the typical American sports fan might look at the score and think it the game was a failure for the Americans, I can assure you it was anything but. A look at the American’s position for qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil paints a picture in which American fans should be excited by the tough-fought tie.
The format for qualifying out of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONFACAF) is simple. Six teams made the final round of qualifying (USA, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Honduras and Jamaica. Each team will play each other twice, once at home and once away. 3 points are earned for a win, 1 for a draw and no points are awarded for a loss. The top three teams in the standing at the end of the games will earn automatic bids to the World Cup. The fourth place team has the opportunity to qualify in a playoff game versus a team from the Oceania region.
The United States opened qualifying with a 2-1 loss in Honduras that put doubts in the minds of many of its fans and players. There was questioning in the media if the new coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, was the right man to be leading the team with his questionable tactics and substitutions. Some of this pressure was relieved when the US defeat Costa Rica 1-0 in Denver (Costa Rica’s appeal to FIFA for a replay due to snowy conditions was denied). Those three points pulled the US out of the basement of the group and put them back on track. However Tuesdays night’s game against Mexico, who many consider to be the most talented team in the group, was a real test to see if the Americans possessed the toughness to put aside all the problems and sour history that American soccer has and qualify for the 2014 World Cup.
So why was this 0-0 draw so impressive? Listed below are what I believe are 5 main points that can be taken away from Tuesday night’s game:
1. Points on the Road - The Azteca is one of the world's best home stadiums and Mexico’s record in qualifying games there reflects this. The Americans team is 0-13-2 in World Cup qualifiers in Mexico. Stealing a point on the road when the American coaching staff had no doubt planned their road to qualification without earning any points in this game is a big victory. It always the US a little more breathing room in their remaining road games. Additionally, the US tie takes away the aura of invincibility that Azteca has always had for visiting teams and gives confidence to other teams in the group to do the same.
2. Mexico only earns one point – Mexico was considered the favorite to finish at the top of the CONFACAF qualifying group and the US’s biggest rival. This was Mexico’s third tie in three qualifying games. It leaves the Mexican team with 3 points and second from the bottom in the group. By the end of the game on Tuesday night, you could hear the Mexican home crowd becoming restless with their team’s performance. No one doubts that Mexico will bounce back from this rough start, but their shuddered confidence at the moment will make that climb to the top of the group that much harder.
3. Establishment of solid defensive discipline – The US was playing without first-choice goalkeeper Tim Howard in a qualifying game for the first time in years. Howard is as a leader on the American team, bringing years of international soccer experience and the knowledge to orchestrate young, inexperienced defensive players. His replacement Brad Guzan and the defense stepped up to the challenge and managed to keep a clean sheet against a very talented Mexican attack. The emergence of center defender Omar Gonzalez as a ball-winner will do wonders for the US defense going forward.
5. Confidence going forward - The tie moved the US (1-1-1) into third place for the region after three of 10 matches, one point behind Panama (1-0-2). The Americans and Costa Rica both have four points, but the Costa Rican’s are ahead on goal difference. After a rough start, the Americans are starting to find their identity as a team and the results are a reflection of this.
So a 0-0 soccer tie may not be the most exciting sporting event to watch. I understand this as a soccer fan. But as a fan of the American national team, there are so many more elements that come into play than the actual result. One game can change the confidence of a team and be the difference between qualifying (which everyone expects of American soccer at this point) and a colossal failure which could negate the strides soccer has made in this country in the past few years. After playing at Jamaica on June 7th, the US men’s team will be at home for four of its last six qualifiers. Hopefully the stretch of games will see the American’s move to the top of the group and secure their place for Brazil 2014.