But the self-belief stemming from the Confederations Cup may help to somewhat dull the psychological edge Azteca brings. As far as altitude is concerned...how many of the Mexican players are currently acclimated?
That was gone over earlier in this thread or in another. Most of the Mexican team either plays in Mexico ed or has played' recently. They'll be acclimated.
my question is, are we going to play 4-5-1 or the 4-4-2 that worked in South Africa? I mean, they are completely different situations, and if it were to be a 4-5-1, it has to be Jozy up top. Ching off the bench late could be helpful to close out the game
Mexico city will not be hot come game day. August is one of the coolest months in Mexico City. Expect high temperatures around 73-74. (lows around 53) Central America doesn't have four seasons like we do. They have two seasons (wet and dry). The hottest months are April and May (average high of 79). The coldest months are July through February (average high 69-73). I'm pretty sure Mexico City goes by that weather pattern.
Of course I hope we can finally win in Cuidad de Mexico! Mexico has had a rough start and tough draw so far in qualifying. They know they need to win – not only is their coach playing for his career, but the Mexican Nationals are playing for their chance to play, not just now – but also in the World Cup. (And of course Mexico will qualify). I hope this is the year we can finally win there – We need to show every bit of tenacity and use every bit of energy we have like we did vs. Spain and vs. Brazil (*2nd go) in the Confederations Cup. I wonder if we can step up? The atmosphere is electric as someone else said. There is no way any of our players can hear each other, so we need to learn how to communicate better via hand signals/body language. I think this is one think we lack. Mexico will show up as always – they always do when playing us, and even moreso while playing at their castle. As far as U.S. expectations – well, I would be Thrilled with a draw; Astounded with a win; and, not surprised if we lose. Given the points – they need this win a LOT more than we do. Can the U.S. step up? How will we respond if we are down a goal?
This doesn't matter too much since it doesn't affect their style of play like it does ours. They don't rely on kicking the ball and running miles and miles. They pass the ball around a lot more, so they don't get as tired out by the altitude.
This Mexican team won't out-possess us by more than 5 percent or so, even if they can hold possession more than we can. We will win the midfield. Them stroking it around the back isn't going to tire us out.
This is much easier said than done,but it would be an awesome result for us...and it would give us some ultra-bragging rights. I know they've lost to Costa Rica in a WCQ there...have they ever lost a friendly there?
I started a thread on this in the Mexico forum. I also like to know Mexico's overall record at the Azteca. I''d love to see a list of all matches at the Azteca Mexico has played. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=18266918#post18266918
You can look up this info at fifa.com. Just select Mexico and sort through the results. I didn't look up all matches, but since 1972 Mexico has lost at Azteca four times: Aug. 2, 1973 Chile L 1-2 friendly June 24, 1981 Spain L 1-3 friendly June 16, 2001 Costa Rica L 1-2 WCQ June 5, 2007 Paraguay L 0-1 friendly They've tied there 17 times during the same period and won 64 times.
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation has a page with all of Mexico's results (through 22 August 2007). Here are all of the results in Mexico City (though being in Mexico City is no guarantee of being in Estadio Azteca): 4 9-Dec-23 Mexico City 2-1 Guatemala 5 12-Dec-23 Mexico City 2-0 Guatemala 6 16-Dec-23 Mexico City 3-3 Guatemala 12 4-Mar-34 Mexico City 3-2 Cuba II. World Cup Qualifying 13 11-Mar-34 Mexico City 5-0 Cuba II. World Cup Qualifying 14 18-Mar-34 Mexico City 4-1 Cuba II. World Cup Qualifying 21 12-Sep-37 Mexico City 7-2 USA 22 19-Sep-37 Mexico City 7-3 USA 23 25-Sep-37 Mexico City 5-1 USA 32 4-Sep-49 Mexico City 6-0 USA IV. World Cup Qualifying (1) 33 11-Sep-49 Mexico City 2-0 Cuba IV. World Cup Qualifying (1) 34 18-Sep-49 Mexico City 6-2 USA IV. World Cup Qualifying (1) 35 25-Sep-49 Mexico City 3-0 Cuba IV. World Cup Qualifying (1) 36 26-May-50 Mexico City 1-3 Spain 37 28-May-50 Mexico City 0-0 Spain 46 19-Jul-53 Mexico City 8-0 Haiti V. World Cup Qualifying 48 10-Jan-54 Mexico City 4-0 USA V. World Cup Qualifying 49 14-Jan-54 Mexico City 3-1 USA V. World Cup Qualifying 52 26-Feb-56 Mexico City 1-1 Costa Rica II. Panamerican Cup 53 4-Mar-56 Mexico City 0-2 Peru II. Panamerican Cup 54 8-Mar-56 Mexico City 1-2 Brazil II. Panamerican Cup 55 13-Mar-56 Mexico City 0-0 Argentina II. Panamerican Cup 56 17-Mar-56 Mexico City 2-1 Chile II. Panamerican Cup 57 7-Apr-57 Mexico City 6-0 USA VI. World Cup Qualifying 59 30-Jun-57 Mexico City 3-0 Canada VI. World Cup Qualifying 60 3-Jul-57 Mexico City 2-0 Canada VI. World Cup Qualifying 61 20-Oct-57 Mexico City 2-0 Costa Rica VI. World Cup Qualifying 66 1-Mar-59 Mexico City 3-1 Costa Rica 68 24-May-59 Mexico City 2-1 England 75 26-Jun-60 Mexico City 3-1 Holland 77 13-Nov-60 Mexico City 3-0 USA VII. World Cup Qualifying 79 5-Apr-61 Mexico City 7-0 Dutch Antilles VII. World Cup Qualifying 80 12-Apr-61 Mexico City 4-1 Costa Rica VII. World Cup Qualifying 86 29-Oct-61 Mexico City 1-0 Paraguay VII. World Cup Qualifying 91 25-Apr-62 Mexico City 1-0 Colombia 92 22-May-62 Mexico City 2-1 Wales 100 4-Mar-65 Mexico City 3-0 Honduras VIII. World Cup Qualifying 102 12-Mar-65 Mexico City 2-0 USA VIII. World Cup Qualifying 110 7-May-65 Mexico City 8-0 Jamaica VIII. World Cup Qualifying 111 16-May-65 Mexico City 1-0 Costa Rica VIII. World Cup Qualifying 112 24-Apr-66 Mexico City 7-0 Paraguay 113 11-May-66 Mexico City 1-0 Chile II. Mexico City Tournament 121 5-Jan-67 Mexico City 3-0 Switzerland 129 22-Aug-67 Mexico City 2-1 Argentina 130 6-Dec-67 Mexico City 2-1 Hungary 131 8-Dec-67 Mexico City 0-2 Hungary 132 23-Jan-68 Mexico City 3-1 Colombia 134 3-Mar-68 Mexico City 0-0 Soviet Union 136 10-Mar-68 Mexico City 0-0 Soviet Union 137 26-Mar-68 Mexico City 4-0 Japan 138 21-May-68 Mexico City 3-3 Uruguay 139 28-May-68 Mexico City 2-2 Uruguay 140 7-Jul-68 Mexico City 0-2 Brazil 141 10-Jul-68 Mexico City 2-1 Brazil 142 27-Aug-68 Mexico City 3-1 Chile 151 22-Dec-68 Mexico City 0-0 West Germany 152 1-Jan-69 Mexico City 2-3 Italy 153 5-Jan-69 Mexico City 1-1 Italy 154 22-Jan-69 Mexico City 3-0 Denmark 163 20-May-69 Mexico City 0-1 Peru 165 1-Jun-69 Mexico City 0-0 England 167 5-Nov-69 Mexico City 1-0 Belgium 168 11-Nov-69 Mexico City 4-0 Norway 174 15-Feb-70 Mexico City 1-1 Bulgaria 176 22-Feb-70 Mexico City 0-0 Sweden 177 26-Feb-70 Mexico City 0-0 Soviet Union 181 15-Mar-70 Mexico City 3-1 Peru 183 22-Apr-70 Mexico City 1-1 Rumania 184 26-Apr-70 Mexico City 3-2 Rumania 186 31-May-70 Mexico City 0-0 Soviet Union IX. World Cup 187 7-Jun-70 Mexico City 4-0 El Salvador IX. World Cup 188 11-Jun-70 Mexico City 1-0 Belgium IX. World Cup 191 1-Dec-70 Mexico City 3-0 Australia 193 20-Feb-71 Mexico City 0-0 Soviet Union 194 6-Jul-71 Mexico City 1-1 Greece 203 13-Oct-71 Mexico City 4-0 Bermuda V. CONCACAF Nations Cup Qualifying 210 5-Apr-72 Mexico City 2-1 Peru 215 3-Sep-72 Mexico City 3-1 USA X. World Cup Qualifying 216 6-Sep-72 Mexico City 2-1 Canada X. World Cup Qualifying 218 12-Oct-72 Mexico City 3-1 Costa Rica 219 6-Feb-73 Mexico City 2-0 Argentina 222 20-Sep-73 Mexico City 1-2 Chile 223 16-Oct-73 Mexico City 2-0 USA 235 17-Aug-75 Mexico City 7-0 Costa Rica Mexico Cup 75 236 24-Aug-75 Mexico City 2-0 USA Mexico Cup 75 237 31-Aug-75 Mexico City 1-1 Argentina Mexico Cup 75 239 3-Feb-76 Mexico City 4-1 Hungary 248 17-May-77 Mexico City 1-1 Peru 250 14-Jun-77 Mexico City 2-2 West Germany 252 9-Oct-77 Mexico City 4-1 Haiti XI. World Cup Qualifying (3) 253 12-Oct-77 Mexico City 3-1 El Salvador XI. World Cup Qualifying (3) 255 19-Oct-77 Mexico City 2-1 Guatemala XI. World Cup Qualifying (3) 270 20-Nov-79 Mexico City 1-1 Finland 286 9-Nov-80 Mexico City 5-1 USA XII. World Cup Qualifying 287 16-Nov-80 Mexico City 1-1 Canada XII. World Cup Qualifying 289 20-Jan-81 Mexico City 1-1 Bulgaria 290 10-Feb-81 Mexico City 4-0 South Korea 291 23-Jun-81 Mexico City 1-3 Spain 298 22-Mar-83 Mexico City 1-0 Costa Rica 324 2-Jun-85 Mexico City 1-1 Italy Mexico City Cup 325 9-Jun-85 Mexico City 1-0 England Mexico City Cup 326 15-Jun-85 Mexico City 2-0 West Germany Azteca 2000 Cup 340 7-Dec-85 Mexico City 2-0 Argelia Mexico Cup 85 344 19-Feb-86 Mexico City 1-0 Soviet Union 347 27-Apr-86 Mexico City 3-0 Canada 349 3-Jun-86 Mexico City 2-1 Belgium XIII. World Cup 350 7-Jun-86 Mexico City 1-1 Paraguay XIII. World Cup 351 11-Jun-86 Mexico City 1-0 Irak XIII. World Cup 352 15-Jun-86 Mexico City 2-0 Bulgaria XIII. World Cup 365 29-Mar-88 Mexico City 8-0 El Salvador 394 8-Mar-92 Mexico City 4-0 CIS (ex-USSR) 406 15-Nov-92 Mexico City 2-0 Honduras XV. World Cup Qualifying 407 22-Nov-92 Mexico City 4-0 Costa Rica XV. World Cup Qualifying 409 6-Dec-92 Mexico City 11-0 St. Vincent XV. World Cup Qualifying 415 11-Apr-93 Mexico City 3-0 Honduras XV. World Cup Qualifying 416 18-Apr-93 Mexico City 3-1 El Salvador XV. World Cup Qualifying 417 25-Apr-93 Mexico City 4-0 Canada XV. World Cup Qualifying 420 10-Jun-93 Mexico City 3-1 Paraguay 428 11-Jul-93 Mexico City 9-0 Martinique II. CONCACAF Gold Cup 429 15-Jul-93 Mexico City 1-1 Costa Rica II. CONCACAF Gold Cup 430 18-Jul-93 Mexico City 8-0 Canada II. CONCACAF Gold Cup 431 22-Jul-93 Mexico City 6-1 Jamaica II. CONCACAF Gold Cup 432 25-Jul-93 Mexico City 4-0 USA II. CONCACAF Gold Cup 441 22-Dec-93 Mexico City 0-0 Germany 446 2-Mar-94 Mexico City 0-0 Colombia 453 14-Dec-94 Mexico City 5-1 Hungary 484 16-Oct-96 Mexico City 2-1 Jamaica XVI. World Cup Qualifying 486 30-Oct-96 Mexico City 5-1 St. Vincent XVI. World Cup Qualifying 487 6-Nov-96 Mexico City 3-1 Honduras XVI. World Cup Qualifying 493 5-Feb-97 Mexico City 3-1 Ecuador 495 2-Mar-97 Mexico City 4-0 Canada XVI. World Cup Qualifying 498 13-Apr-97 Mexico City 6-0 Jamaica XVI. World Cup Qualifying 508 5-Oct-97 Mexico City 5-0 El Salvador XVI. World Cup Qualifying 510 2-Nov-97 Mexico City 0-0 USA XVI. World Cup Qualifying 511 9-Nov-97 Mexico City 3-3 Costa Rica XVI. World Cup Qualifying 521 18-Mar-98 Mexico City 1-1 Paraguay 550 25-Jul-99 Mexico City 5-1 Saudi Arabia IV. Confederations Cup 551 27-Jul-99 Mexico City 2-2 Egypt IV. Confederations Cup 552 29-Jul-99 Mexico City 1-0 Bolivia IV. Confederations Cup 553 1-Aug-99 Mexico City 1-0 USA IV. Confederations Cup 554 4-Aug-99 Mexico City 4-3 Brazil IV. Confederations Cup 571 15-Aug-00 Mexico City 2-0 Canada XVII. World Cup Qualifying 572 3-Sep-00 Mexico City 7-1 Panama XVII. World Cup Qualifying 575 8-Oct-00 Mexico City 7-0 Trinidad & Tob. XVII. World Cup Qualifying 583 25-Mar-01 Mexico City 4-0 Jamaica XVII. World Cup Qualifying 590 16-Jun-01 Mexico City 1-2 Costa Rica XVII. World Cup Qualifying 592 1-Jul-01 México City 1-0 USA XVII. World Cup Qualifying 601 5-Sep-01 Mexico City 3-0 Trinidad & Tob. XVII. World Cup Qualifying 604 11-Nov-01 Mexico City 3-0 Honduras XVII. World Cup Qualifying 613 12-May-02 Mexico City 2-1 Colombia 626 13-Jul-03 Mexico City 1-0 Brazil VII. Gold Cup 627 17-Jul-03 Mexico City 0-0 Honduras VII. Gold Cup 628 20-Jul-03 Mexico City 5-0 Jamaica VII. Gold Cup 629 24-Jul-03 Mexico City 2-0 Costa Rica VII. Gold Cup 630 27-Jul-03 Mexico City 0-0+ Brazil VII. Gold Cup 656 27-Mar-05 Mexico City, MEX. 2-1 USA XVIII. World Cup Qualifying 670 17-Aug-05 Mexico City, MEX. 2-0 Costa Rica XVIII. World Cup Qualifying 672 7-Sep-05 Mexico City, MEX. 5-0 Panama XVIII. World Cup Qualifying 683 12-May-06 Mexico City, MEX. 2-1 DR Congo 695 5-Jun-07 Mexico City, MEX. 0-1 Paraguay Notes: All games are friendlies unless stated + Game won on penalties (1) Also II. Northamerican and Caribbean Cup (3) Also VII. CONCACAF Nations Cup FIFA's Mexico fixtures and results page adds these results in Mexico City: 20-Aug-08 2-1 Honduras 6-Sep-08 3-0 Jamaica 28-Mar-09 2-0 Costa Rica 10-Jun-09 2-1 Trinidad and Tobago Estadio Azteca opened on May 29, 1966.
No - they played eight matches in Mexico that year. They just didn't play any matches in Mexico City (and they played four of their "home" friendlies in the US).
What team are you referring to? Throughout this WCQ process and the four coaches included, the one thing that has been mantained, for the most part, is Mexico's possesion game. Mexico doesn't really have an A, B, or C team and hasn't had them for a while. I don't have the actual numbers but over 164 players have suited for Mexico over the past three years. Out of the current Gold Cup squad, only Franco, Giovani, and Torrado will play on August 12th against the US. Other possible, though less likely, candidates include Noriega, Castro and Ochoa.
The US will play this game just likes it's played in all of road games during qualifying...scared. Why would it change in Azteca of all places. You really think RoboBob is going to plan an attacking strategy? Not likely, the only chance of victory at Azteca is to play like the Euro Champ Greeks did, which is how the US beat Spain & almost Brazil...super-cattenacio!
We don't have to attack to get the win against Mexico. Given their inability to score we could put Tim Howard on the field all by himself and we would probably draw. If we get two or three good corners we will score.
Putting anyone else is rather stupid at this point. Ochoa has proven to be by far the best goalkeeper the Mexican National Team currently has.
LOL true. Mexico is used to having lots of posession and being somewhat dangerous. Now they just constantly pass the ball back with no real threat. This Mexico team is kinda pathetic for the most part and it's real easy to beat them if you do ur homework.
Playing Mexico in the Azteca is different. Mexico are different there as well. We'd be dumb to try and own the midfield like we did in Columbus. I'd much rather be smart in how play the midfield, turn Mexico over and just play quick strike soccer. I don't think we need to sit back against Mexico, but we should be a little cautious, like how we were in the 1st halves against Spain and Brazil. They key is going to be USA going upfield fearlessly when we win the ball - and not just be happy to clear it. If we just turn the ball over, I think Mexico wins rather easily as we won't have the fitness to defend for long stretched in that stadium
Really!? We were able to dominate the midfield in Columbus with Sacha K. as a starter. Who does Mexico have at CM? Torrado? Pardo? Not exactly names that leave me shaking in my socks. If Bradley Jr. is on his game and is paired with any of our first tier CMs (Jones, Feilhaber, Clark, Torres) we should dominate the center of the pitch. Honestly, the thing that worries me about Mexico is their speed on the wings and up top. I don't want to think about Gooch, Demerit and Bocenagra getting caught out of position at Azteca.