There will be no Dos A Cero this year, as Mexico defeated the United States in a thrilling 2-1 result in World Cup qualifying action from MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
[link_box id=”23231″ site_id=”158″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]The US surprisingly came out with a 3-5-2 formation — a look that Jurgen Klinsmann has almost never used — and their unfamiliarity with it showed early, as Mexico pressed them into oblivion early on. The hosts failed to gain much possession and wound up on the backfoot more often than not, and eventually, Miguel Layun’s shot hit Timmy Chandler and rolled into the bottom corner past a helpless Tim Howard.
After about 25 minutes of the unsuccessful 3-5-2, Jurgen Klinsmann mercifully switched to the more conventional 4-4-2. The US clearly looked a lot more organized and overall a better team, but it wasn’t enough to pick up an equalizer before the end of the first half. To add to the Red, White and Blue’s misery, Tim Howard went down with a non-contact injury in the 40th-minute minute and had to be taken off.
Bobby Wood found the all-important equalizer in the 49th-minute, running through the Mexico backline and slipping a deflected left-footed finish into the corner to get the Columbus crowd back into it. After that, it was 35 minutes of scrappy, back and forth action that did not result in a goal until, of course, Rafael Marquez’s winner.
The 37-year old center back headed a near-post corner kick past Brad Guzan in the 89th-minute to clinch a huge victory for Mexico. The US couldn’t muster any other real attacks, and 2-1 was the final score, a disappointing result in front of a wonderful home crowd.
The USMNT will look to redeem themselves on Tuesday when they travel to Costa Rica to take on the Central American nation.
