Yeah, well those arefactors but the US team wasn’t the only one that had to deal with those. How many players play in that altitude(yeah, we have European based players too you know. I know crazy, huh…)? How many players were getting fouled. The players didn’t have a heat resistant veil around them either. And well there’s a thing called pressure.

Oh, and the weather? The weather was in the nice range of the 80’s(F). There were clearly, clear skies.

Well, you had your “A” team. This game “mattered.” It was worth something(3 points). The best team in US history. The one that beat Spain in the Confederations Cup…I’m waiting for the next game. And the excuses that will pop up for that.

As for the referee. Oh shut it. He had a good game. Yeah, there were some things, but it even out for both teams. Bocanegra deserved to be sent off for a second yellow, and there’s no arguments that Nery Castillo should have been punished as well.

The truth is that Mexico were the better team today. Period. The US did have chunks of time where they dominated, and looked quite dangerous. Dangerous enough to win the game. But face it. Mexico WERE the better team. There’ll be excuses thrown all around(I’ve already seen tons of them, and the game just ended) but Mexico deserved to win.

Just admit it. You aren’t as good as you thought you were(one win against Spain doesn’t make you a superpower).

In the opening stages of the game both teams were holding on pretty tight. They were anticipating every move, and weren’t giving away too much. Both Mexico and the US attacked.

Mexico’s first warning shot came in the 2nd minute with Andres Guardado taking a shot from outside the area, but Timmy Howard easily took care of that.

The US decided to respond right away with Charlie Davies making his way into the Mexican area, only to be stopped by Carlos Salcido.

Too early in the game, the US went up. In the 9th minute Landon Donovan(or Jotovan) picked up a ball and sent it to Davies. Davies then went past all the Mexican defenders who were left back sleeping, and easily sent it past Guillermo Ochoa to give the US the 1-0 lead.

After the US goal it was plainly clear that the US withdrew back, happy with the minimal lead, and waited for a counterattack opportunity.

Their waiting just caused harm as in the 19th minute Israel Castro took a powerful right footed shot from right outside the area that hit under the cross bar past Timmy Howard. Castro had received the ball from Blanco, and took the initiative to shoot for the equalizer at 1-1.

Mexico looked to go up once more in the 24th minute when Franco sent a ball to Gio who’s shot went rolling across the goal. Ultimately, it was called offsides.

In the 29th minute Mexico came close with a free kick, but Howard punched it away off the line.

Coming back for the second half, Mexico had a shot in the 53rd minute. Guillermo Franco laid a ball for Blanco, but the Chicago Fire player was unable to do anything and Michael Bradley cleared.

In the 58th, Gio received the ball unmarked, but was unable to make anything of his poor shot.

Then in the 65th minute Guardado had a good play in the US area. He made a pass to himself right in front of goal, but Cherundolo was able to clear it.

In the 75th minute Guillermo Franco had a good opportunity during a corner kick. Franco received the ball, but was unable to control it, and Howard was able to control the ball and the bottom of the post.

Finally, in the 81st minute Efrain Juarez took off with the ball leaving behind the US team, but mostly Landon Donovan who had traced him down. Donovan took him down right at the end, but Juarez was able to pass the ball back, which bounced to Sabah who shot past Howard’s outstretched hand to give Mexico the 2-1 score.

I liked this game. Mexico deserved to win this game. They played well, as did the US. You could see a different attitude from the players as they started. The only problem that I really have is that fans are going to celebrate this game like Mexico just won the World Cup. Sometimes, it’s not just the media that’s at fault for problems that occur. Yeah, they won, but the major celebrations aren’t really needed. And that they completely disrespected the US anthem. That’s just a No-No. I don’t care if it’s a game between Palestine and Israel. That’s just not done. Anywhere.

The defense was a bit shaky, but overall did a decent job. They were caught by the speed, but that isn’t really that surprising, is it. Rafael Marquez will be nice sight when he comes back for a game. Thankfully, he wasn’t on the field, because with the fracas going on he surely would have warranted a card.

Midfield played well. They provided good coverage, and creativity when called upon.

And up top. Again! Finishing was a problem at times, and that seriously needs to be worked on.

Nery Castillo. You got to keep that temper in check. I don’t think he contributed much to the game besides trying to start fights. Not that a good fight isn’t enjoyed, but in a game this close he should have kept himself more in check.

And US supporters smack talking Giovani. Be jealous. That hatred is just jealousy because as “dirty” as he played today(?), you should recheck some of the US players…Ahem.

A good try goes out to the US team. The “Gooch” was one of the best players on the field(and seriously Nery, don’t pick fights with this guy. He could probably get rid of that unibrow of yours with a swift punch. Show him you’re better, but with what you can do with the ball.) Davies was seriously worrying. And of course, Timmy Howard did well in goal(although not as well as I expected him too).

Mexico is in 3rd place right now, but Honduras has yet to play against Costa Rica.

Next game is on September 5th against Costa Rica.

However, there are those that sometimes touch your heart, make you laugh, put a smile on your face, or sometimes make you shake your head in disgust. Here are some commercials for your enjoyment about the national team, and the belief that they inspire.

Everyone played this game as a little kid. You’d pretend you were your favorite player, flapping wildly, and shouting your name as you scored that goal. Sometimes you’d score in better fashion than the player than you were pretending to be. These little kids choose the Mexican team over world superstars because they believe in El Tri.

There’s this one. It’s a little outdated(well not so much, but oh how times have changed…).

Just ignore the plug for Coronas at the end of this commercial…or not.

There’s only a week left until the showdown against the US, and here at the Mexico WCB we’re planning to get excitement up. Everyday until THE DAY(August 12th) we’ll have something new for you to look at. From picture galleries to videos, check back every day to build up your own anticipation.

First we start off with…the Azteca Stadium.

The Azteca Stadium. The national team’s home. One of the largest in the world, and one of the most intimidating when filled with 100,000+ angry, and screaming fans.

The legendary stadium is located in the smoggy Mexico City, and is the home of Club America.

Besides being a legend, it has also had legendary events happen on its fields as well. This stadium is where the “Hand of God” appeared, as well as the “Goal of the Century,” both from Maradona in 1986.

This is also where Pelé won the 1970 World Cup.

Isn’t it amazing when all the seats are full?

This is America vs Chivas. Now imagine when all those supporters have a common team.

The US looked dangerous in the first half, but in the end it ended 0-0.

Coming back for the second half things changed.

In the 56th minute a penalty was given to Mexico after Giovani Dos Santos went down in the box. Heaps and Dos Santos had a tousle in the box, and the referee Campbell gave Mexico a penalty. Captain Torrado stepped up to the spot and scored to make 1-0 to Mexico.

It didn’t take too long before Mexico brought on the goal fest.

Vela made a run into the area in the 62nd minute and gave it to Sabah, who’s shot was saved by Perkins. Dos Santos took the rebound to give Mexico a 2-0 advantage.

Two goals wasn’t enough and a third goal was added in the 67th minute by Carlos Vela. Dos Santos found Vela who calmly chipped it over Perkins. The ball rolled slowly into the goals, unable to be stopped by any of the US defenders to make it 3-0.

It wasn’t enough, and in the 79th another goal was added. Carlos Vela slipped in a perfect pass to “Gringo” Castro who added the fourth past Perkins. 4-0

The final dagger in the US’ heart was in the 90th minute with a goal by Guille Franco. Fausto Pinto fed the ball to Franco outside the area, and the naturalized Argentine took a powerful shot to make it 5-0 in the night.

And with that Mexico won 5-0 against the US to become the 2009 Gold Cup Champions.

Giovani Dos Santos also won the award for Player of the Tournament.

And Miguel Sabah went home with Top Goalscorer.

Up next…the showdown on August 12th at the Azteca.

Mexico
1 G. Ochoa (GK)
2 J. Magallón
5 F. Pinto
21 J. Valenzuela
22 E. Juárez
6 G. Torrado
8 I. Castro
7 A. Medina
13 P. Barrera
14 M. Sabah
17 G. Dos Santos

Subs

Castro
Franco
Vela

Costa Rica

1 K. Navas (GK)
3 F. Fernández
20 D. Marshall
2 D. Delgado
15 H. Wallace
5 C. Borges
6 C. Oviedo
14 A. Alonso
11 A. Herrón
9 A. Saborío
7 P. Brenes

Costa Rica wasted no time in attacking the Mexican goal. Herron came in close to almost score, but Efrain Juarez slid across goal just in time to keep out the ball during the opening minute.

In the 11th minute, it was Costa Rica once more who were on the attack. Alonso took a shot, and it hit just under the cross bar to keep the score level.

Mexico finally had an opportunity just before the half hour break. Medina flew down the right flank and sent in a shot to Miguel Sabah who was blocked by Costa Rican goalkeeper Keilor Navas blocking the way.

Then in the 40th minute Costa Rica once more had a chance. Alonso decided to surprise once more and took a shot from far out, but Ochoa was able to make the save.

Mexico was the one that had the last opportunity in the first half. In the 45th minute Barrera sent in a cross from the left towards Giovani. Dos Santos made contact with the ball, but didn’t give it any direction, and it went wide of the goal to keep the score at 0-0 during the first half.

Coming back, Mexico was given a penalty in the 56th minute for a hand ball by Costa Rican Brenes. With many of the Mexican players staying away from the ball it was finally Sabah that stepped up to take it. Sabah shot the ball to the right, but it was too soft, and easily saved by Navas to keep it as 0-0.

Near the end of the game in the 88th minute, Mexico put themselves up. Medina’s free kick was headed out, but Franco arrived and kicked it strongly back in and put Mexico up 1-0.

The excitement wouldn’t last as Costa Rica equalized with 10 secs left in added time in the 92nd. Magallon failed to take control of a ball and it went through to Ledezma who escaped from Castro and Valenzuela.

In the 91st min(extra time) Vela had a chance, but his shot was saved by Navas’ hand.

Then in the 97th min, Mexico once more had a chance. Vela received a cross from Giovani, but failed to put it in as it came down on his left foot.

In the 107th minute Herrera unleashed a strong shot, but Ochoa barely stretched to prevent it from going in.

Franco had an opportunity in the 112th minute but he headed it over the bar, from a free kick from Medina.

In the 117th minute Costa Rica came close when Valenzuela mishandled a ball, but Castro was able to get it out. It was then a corner kick where Oviedo shot, but ultimately Ochoa was able to control.

PENALTIES

Mexico(Franco)- Scores! Top of the net, coolly stets u

Costa Rica(Saborio)- Scores. Ochoa goes the wrong way and Costa Rica levels

Mexico(Giovani)- Scores! Just next to right post

Costa Rica(Borges)- Scores. Ochoa dives, and goes the wrong way

Mexico(Torrado)- Scores! Near center, goes right in.

Costa Rica(Ledezma)- Ochoa stops! Goes to the left and keeps the ball out to keep Mexico up.

Mexico(Juarez)- Scores! Sends Navas the wrong way on a soft penalty.

Costa Rica(Oviedo)- Scores. Just under the cross bar, and hits just past the line.

Mexico(Vela)- Scores! Sends to bottom left and sends Mexico through to the finals against the US.

And if you want to torture yourself again…it’s not the best quality, but the best condensed.

Surprisingly, Mexico started out playing decently. Panama got in a few times in the opening minutes, but nothing very dangerous.

In the 10th minute Giovani Dos Santos received the ball from Alberto Medina who had gone up the left field on a counterattack. Dos Santos latched on and came up against Penedo, but sent it to Sabah who scored and made it 1-0 to Mexico.

Then Panama leveled the game in the 29th minute when Blas Perez overpowered Johnny Magallon and Jose Antonio Castro to shoot past Ochoa and make it 1-1.

Both teams ended the game with 10 men after Luis Miguel Noriega and Armando Gun were sent off after some pushing and shoving.

Nothing too spectacular happened in the second half, as both teams were less active than the first part.

However, in the 79th minute trouble ensued when Javier Aguirre stuck out his foot at Ricardo Phillips as he was chasing a ball near the Mexican technical area. There were some shoves and the Mexican manager and Panamanian player were both sent off. Phillips refused to leave, and stopped the game for a little over 10 minutes.

Mexico will now move on to Glendale, Arizona to play Guadeloupe on Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Guadeloupe has yet to lose a game and is currently top of group C.

There were two goals. One was a penalty at the end of the first half, which frankly, I don’t think it should have been called. I’ve been looking at replays and I still don’t see it. Anyways, Luis Noriega stepped up and scored giving Mexico the 1-0 advantage.

In the second half things weren’t looking good either. It wasn’t until the 85th minute that Mexico scored a goal on their own. Medina sent in a cross and Barrera was there to put it in for a 2-0 win.

Again, I don’t think there’s much to say about this game. The team has been severely disappointing these past few games. Yes, the defense has kept clean sheets, but really? It’s been against “little” teams so they shouldn’t exactly been celebrating that fact.

Something that’s very unfortunate is Vela’s injury. He’s been having trouble scoring, but with this injury, it looks to dampen his confidence perhaps. Hopefully he recovers.

Next up is Panama on Thursday for which I’m predicting a similar game. The team will play in Houston at the Reliant Stadium.

Of course, with Mexico being Mexico, it wasn’t and instead the score ended at 2-1.

The game started off quickly, giving hope to plenty of people. In the first minute Mexico went up 1-0 after Guillermo Franco scored off a pass from Nery Castillo. “Guille” went into the area unmarked, and took advantage as the T&T goalkeeper came out to give Mexico the advantage.

During the next 20 minutes the team missed four clear chances for goals.

Then in the 34th, Nery Castillo was injured. The Shakhtar player felt something in his left leg, and asked to be taken out of the game.

Then, right before the first half ended T&T scored their goal by Tinto. He took advantage of an error by the Mexican defense to score the equalizer.

Coming back for the second half Mexico once more left it early. In the 48th minute Oscar Rojas connected outside the area to put Mexico up 2-0.

In the 84th minute “Venado” Medina had a close chance to put Mexico up 3-1 with a shot from far out.

Mexico did win, but they had plenty of opportunities during which they should have scored. The score could have been different by a wider margin, but again, finishing was the problem.

Now, Mexico sit in 4th in the qualifying rankings.

Aguirre now has won his first game during his second stint as coach of Mexico, and has lost one.

That was El Salvador’s motto going into he game. Whether they will stay at home watching the World Cup from home on their TV’s, they’ve accomplished what they wanted for the night. Now, Mexico’s qualifying route gets tougher, but with the games at the Aztec stadium assured it’s more likely that Mexico will make it. With the showing tonight, no one would really guess that.

Tonight, El Salvador beat Mexico 2-1 in a physical game. We came close to equalizing, but in the end the second goal was taken away. While it may be easier to say that we were screwed out of many things, the truth is that Mexico defeated themselves. The taunts about swine flu didn’t really seem to affect the team as much.

Aguirre’s arrival was received with high hopes, and unrealistic expectations. Now, Mexico has(hopefully) been brought down to Earth and will be realistic in the upcoming games.

The game started out well for Mexico. In the 5th minute Arce and Guardado combined for the first chance of the game. Guardado rose up for the cross from Arce and headed the ball into the ‘keeper
’s hands, but bade well for the start.

Again in the 8th Mexico had a chance. Arce had a good shot, but his chip was wasted as he put too much force into his drive and sent to ball over the cross bar.

Although El Salvador weren’t arriving towards the Mexican area as much, it was they who scored first. In the 12th minute Rodolfo Zelaya weaved in and out between Torrado and Osorio then sent it to Martinez who scored. El Salvador were up 1-0.

During the 25th came close. Nery ‘The Brow’ Castillo and Arce combined and sent in a strong shot. The ‘keeper came out and barely managed to punch the ball and left it in a dangerous area, but no Mexican player was there to take advantage of the mistake.

As the game progressed, the Salvadorians became more comfortable and took more shots from outside the area.

Then the game became more dangerous in the 26th minute when ‘Conejo’ tried to control a cross, but it slipped from his hands. The ball went past his hands and went towards goal. Aaron Galindo rushed to save the ball and prevented El Salvador from going up 2-0.

The physical game escalated to new heights when Guille Franco and a Salvadorian player had a tousle in the area. The opposition player threw his hand across Franco’s face and Franco retaliated by throwing a side punch and drawing blood.

In the second half El Salvador came close. Zelaya came close in the 50th by weaving through the Mexican defense.

Then again in the 52nd injured Pacheco took a free kick, but ‘Conejo’ managed to save.

Finally in the 70th minute Mexico equalized. Guillermo Franco had gone into the area, but was brought down. The referee called a penalty and Blanco stepped up to take it. Blanco easily converted it and put Mexico on level terms at 1-1.

El Salvador came close again in the 75th. Zelaya rose up against the Mexican defense but it went into ‘Conejo’s’ hands.

Mexico came close in the 77th minute when Oscar Rojas let go a powerful shot, but it went wide. Had it gone straight, it would most likely have been a goal.

Then, in the 84th minute El Salvador was given a penalty. As Quintanilla came up the right side he sent in a cross. Rojas was there to block it less than a meter away, but his hand hit the ball and the penalty was given away. El Salvador scored and they were winning 2-1.

Although the game was coming to a close, Mexico kept on fighting. In the 88th minute Franco and Blanco combined. Franco had passed to Blanco who went up one on one against the goalkeeper. Blanco slid and hit the ball, watching it roll towards goal slowly. No defender managed to get back, and the second goal went in, but as soon as the celebrations started it was annulled for being offsides.

Now, the table looks like this.

Overall, the game was disappointing. Mexico had plenty of chances, but again finishing was the problem.

With the game coming up on Wednesday I almost wish that we would lose that too. Mexico’s head gets blown up after a win, and expectations are placed too high. All the losses are forgotten and the presumption of having the right to win every game comes up. With a loss at home, I think that it would more realisticly show Mexico’s problems.

Aguirre won’t be the solution. I don’t know what the solution is. He helped once, but all the factors were different during the time he came in.

Hopefully, maybe, he can work his magic once more.

The next game is on Wednesday June 10th against Trinidad and Tobago. Since it’s at the Azteca, it’s pretty much a given that we’ll win.