To be fair (and maybe this makes the result sweeter for US), but Mexico clearly outplayed SA and were unlucky to not score 3 or 4 goals tonight. That said, VIVA USA!!!
Well personally i think maybe Mexico forgot to watch the US-Cuba game yesterday because this game parrells our game. The superior team goes down early despite holding the majority of possesion and creating the bulk of the chances...only to rally late. The only diffrence is USA poured it on and broke through with a victory while Mexico walked off the field defeated.
I am a fan of the US first and foremost and not of CONCACAF (ie won't root for Mexico vs. anybody else outside the region for "CONCACAF sake", unless it was to help the US in some direct way) That said, and despite the B team they brought over... Mexico ought to be embarrassed for being beaten by a South African team that by no means brought its best squad to this tourney..... Just the same way i thought they deserved some praise for beating Brazil in a tourney that had some good prizes and world coverage like the Confederations Cup (pre doping incident anyway), they should feel like crap right now, and rightly so... Heck, who knows maybe it is karma after all.....
No, they didn't. Possessing the ball is not necessarily outplaying the opponent. SA played them exactly like we play them. They don't outplay either.
Given the fact that South Africa's first team is on the verge of not qualifying for the World Cup, these guys are probably better. They have a couple players who played in qualifying, as well as Issa who hasn't been called up in a while. But Mexico did play decently despite the loss and were unlucky to lose. Hit the post twice and missed a few other chances. They'll be fine. Hey, if Mexico finishes third and we finish first we would meet in the quarterfinals! Oh, and I'm really sick of people using letters to describe the different teams. B-team, C-team, D-team, how about an F team, as in ******** all you guys who keep doing that.
Outshooting your oppoenent 6 to 1 and hitting the uprights twice has to qualify for something. Unlucky in my book. Mexico should of atleast tied IMO. Their next oppenined (JA or Guat?) should be scared. Any coach would treat that game as a wake up call, and Mexico hopefully has what it takes to wake up. OK, I'll say it, I know it's hard to root for mexico as a yank, but they atleast made our region proud in the CC, unlike the "B" team craxp we brought). No matter, bottom line, w/o Mexico providing any real competition for the US in CONCALAF, we're effed to mediocre competition.
The Home Depot Center was rockin' tonight my friends... what a cool atmosphere. The Mexico game was a little surreal. They hit the bar three times and had so many near misses. After watching both games the certainly seem the best team of the group but I will say that it's a pretty tough group. Both South Africa and Jamaica have dangerous attacking players... skillful and great speed. South Africa were certainly content to sit back and counter and they worked that to perfection. But luck was certainly on their side as Mexico should have had five goals. It's the Copa de Oro group of death.
Refresh my memory - isnt this the same squad that beat Brazil in the Confed Cup recently and then just got beat in the last minute by Germany in the bronze medal game?
nah, just the same country... maybe half the squad, no more..If anything , maybe it shows a lack of depth, or as has been said of Arena two days ago, a roster that was not filled with the best prospects, but with has-beens... Probably a Mexican fan can fill us in.... In their defense, they had a couple of shots off the post , and various close chances.. Since i notice you are thinking of our future encounters vs Mexico as well... As much as i'm rooting for the US vs. Mexico, be it in GC play or in the upcoming Sept. qualifier, I think it is Arena's turn to alter slightly how "we play them", especially if Mexico play like they did at Azteca, where they did outplay us......I know we played in DF's altitude last time they beat us, but IMO they also played us differently than they usually have, thanks to Lavolpe's tactics and how much we have come to know each other....So if they are not going to "overdo possession", as they have in the past (but not in our last two games vs. them w/ Lavolpe in charge), then it's up to us (or Arena) to show different cards this time in order to try and adapt to their tactics, which IMO have seemingly changed..... vs. the USA anyway..... The way Mexico played SA is not how they are going to play vs. the US anymore, at least not under Lavolpe....
What was seen from Mexico was similar to what we saw from the USMNT. Both Lavolpe and Arena are treating this tournament as a glorified training exercise. The real tournament (WC Qualifying) continues in August. As 2006 rolls around exactly no one apart from some players who did or did not make a case for themselves will remember the 2006 Concacaf Gold Cup Tournament. Mexico sits on top of the Concacaf WC qualifying standings, the USA is a close second and the rest are wannabes. I expect that both Mexico and the USA will go far deeper in Germany than the rest of the world expects.
SA played as if they'd never seen a corner in their life. Home Depot guys probably have to replace the goals today after all the Mexico shots clanging off the posts..
you might be right about that, but it still doesn't show well for the region when the US is knotted with Cuba 85 minutes into a match, and Mexico losses what is virtually a home game to a side that likely won't qualify for Germany. also, if Mexico's first-round loss of 3 points leads to the US meeting Mexico in anything other than the final of this gold cup, that is not an ideal situation for the organizers/ticket-sellers.
I don't know. Gellette Stadium can sit over 60K. That triple Header next Saturday could be a HUGE event --(and my season tickets are in row 6 on the midline stripe )
Bourgetti, Marquez and some other playing v SA are the best Mexican players. When the US struggled against Cuba the introduction of Donovan and a couple of others for the last 15 mins did the trick. The equivalent was not the case for Mexico even though their best players went the full 90.
Honestly, I don't care about whether or not this is good for ConcaLaugh. We got to see some new faces on the field in a competitive environment. It's something to build off of. Now if we had lost, that would have been embarrassing. You know, kind of like Mexico.
In the end Mexico lost 2-1, hitting the post makes no difference to the Mexico squad. it really reminded me of Senegal-France, to some degree, in WC '02. SA was outclassed, but they won. It's these types of games that keep us watching soccer. If everyone knew who was going to win every game based on rank and talent, it would be like a computer accounting program...logical and boring
And i never said otherwise.... Sorry about the outburst, but you made it look as if i was saying Mexico had no A-team players on their squad/rosters... From the list i'm seeing about 50% is there... Not "everyone", but not "no one" either..And i did say that was embarrassing for them..... regardless.....
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that Mexico has lost three straight since their cheating steroid abusers were exposed? Uh-oh, maybe the Mexican squad will go the way of Sammy Sosa and completely fall apart. OK, that's a bit of wishful thinking. (sarcasm aside, Mexico was probably just hung over from the Confed Cup. Must be a drop off from playing Brazil and Germany to playing Bafana Bafana.)
Reminded you because of what? A shot that hit the woodwork? France was terrible in that game. Senegal deserved the win, they played the better game. There's a reason the French fans in the stadium gave Senegal a standing ovation as they came off the field.