With a semifinal spot at stake, the Mexico-U.S rivalry yielded few sparks, but did produce a superb showing by Brad Friedel.
The Uruguayan newspapers nicknamed the Mexicans the tequila team, but when they met the U.S. in the quarterfinal July 17 they had as much bite as warm milk.
The U.S., for its part, offered little of the decisiveness it showed in its first-round games and matched Mexico’s poor passing. A slow, mistake-ridden 90 minutes produced a 0-0 tie.
Copa America rules call for no overtime, so the game went straight to penalty kicks. Thanks to two saves by Brad Friedel, and the four straight conversions from Eric Wynalda, Joe-Max Moore, Paul Caligiuri and Frank Klopas, the U.S. won 4-1.
“Mexico knows us very well,” Sampson said. “They were well-prepared tactically for us. Because of that, it was a very even game. I think the score after regulation time was a just result, given the outstanding play of [goalkeepers] Brad Friedel and Jorge Campos.”
On June 18, the U.S. had beaten Mexico 4-0 in Washington, D.C. in front of 38,615 fans at the U.S. Cup. The U.S. players relished having avenged a loss to Mexico by the same score in the 1993 Gold Cup final in Mexico City, before 120,000 fans. In between, the U.S. beat Mexico 1-0 in the Rose Bowl on the eve of the World Cup in front of 91,123.
Even the Uruguayans were billing this match a Clasico. The giant neighbors from the north were fighting for a semifinal spot. When the South Americans first invited the two to their 79-year-old continental championship in 1993, Mexico finished runner-up and the U.S. went winless. Now they had a quarterfinal to themselves.
Without Argentines streaming across the border, this was an easy ticket. In fact, ticket prices were cut in half and fans under 15 attended for free. Barely 6,000 showed up, and on a freezing night the rivalry never heated up. It was the first 0-0 game of the tournament, and one of its least entertaining matches.
“The atmosphere had something to do with it,” said U.S. midfielder Frank Klopas. “When I came into the game, it was like entering a high school game.”
The Mexicans, who finished third in Group A, played much more cautiously in than in June and the Americans did little to disturb their leisurely lateral passes.
“We wanted to press high and hurry them up,” John Harkes said, “like we did at RFK Stadium. We did the best we could, but at times the game went flat. We’re at our best when we work hard and play fast. A slow pace doesn’t suit us. When we play fast, we succeed.”
Defense solid, but offense flat
With Marcelo Balboa sidelined with a groin injury, Paul Caligiuri played sweeper behind marking backs Alexi Lalas and Mike Burns. Ernie Stewart played wide left in the midfield, but looked like an outside back for most of the game. Claudio Reyna was in front of him, but saw far too little of the ball in the first half, his teammates sometimes ignoring him. Cobi Jones played wide right, but his crosses didn’t come as they had in earlier games.
“I think Mexico was playing to try and get a goal in the last 15 minutes,” Jones said. “Mexico kept the ball away from us a lot. It wasn’t until the last 20 or 30 minutes of the first half that they tried to press forward. Up until then they were just [passing] back to back trying to draw us out. We didn’t get caught into that. We didn’t get drawn out too much.”
Tom Dooley and Harkes again patrolled the central midfield. Dooley stayed home most of the match, and Harkes didn’t find holes in the Mexican defense. Up front Eric Wynalda and Joe-Max Moore seldom found the ball, and when they did, the pair looked out of synch.
“We were tired,” Wynalda said. “I have a pulled stomach muscle and we’ve only had two days between games to recover.”
Wynalda had the best U.S. chance in the 40th minute. Unable to handle a Friedel punt, Mexican midfielder Marcelino Bernal delivered the ball to Wynalda at the center circle. With three Mexicans on his tail he arrived at the penalty area while veering right. He shot low left and Campos pounced on it.
A minute later, Mike Burns matched Bernal’s generosity and lost the ball to Miguel Salvador. Friedel came out quickly and saved with his feet.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Friedel made his other big save of the game, blocking a close-range effort from Missael Espinosa.
Campos provided a rare highlight when Moore hit a promising cross from the corner flag and Campos plucked it out the air with a dive that had him landing at the edge of the penalty area.
“Campos risks everything,” Wynalda said, “and today it worked.”
In the first half, the crowd booed as the Mexican back four passed the ball between themselves. When the Mexicans did venture forward, Burns and Lalas rendered Salvador and Luis Garcia — the tournament leading scorer with four goals — ineffective. And Caligiuri broke up attacks in front and behind his defenders.
Because the U.S. so easily returned the ball to Mexico, the game was its worst performance of the summer.
“It was the least entertaining of our games,” Caligiuri said. “You have to compliment the Mexicans for their way they frustrated us tactically. It was a slow game. They didn’t want to run with us. And we were tired.”
Friedel traps Coyote
Mexico has a penalty-kick problem.
In their last two World Cups, the Mexicans were eliminated on penalty-kick shootouts: To Germany in the 1986 quarterfinals and to Bulgaria in 1994 second round. They lost the Pan American Games final last March on the tiebreaker to Argentina, and were eliminated from the 1991 U-20 World Cup by England in the same fashion.
Mexican coach Miguel Mejia Baron tried to address the problem.
“It is true we have lost a number of time in this manner,” Mejia Baron said. “All one can do, I suppose, is practice.”
The U.S. practiced penalty kicks the morning of the game, and Sampson graded his players to come up with the shooting order.
Campos flew the wrong way on Wynalda’s shot and then guessed correctly but couldn’t reach Moore’s attempt. Caligiuri, like the previous two U.S. shooters, shot to his right, and Campos flew left.
Klopas, No. 4 in the order, was the first to shoot left, and Campos guessed wrong.
Garcia scored for Mexico by shooting down the middle as Friedel flew right, but the American keeper dived to the left to deflect Mexican league top scorer Carlos Hermosillo’s rising shot. Then he scooped up Alberto Coyote’s low shot right with a swat of his large left palm.
Mike Sorber, Tab Ramos and Balboa play in the Mexican league, and Friedel said he sought their advice.
“Obviously, I spoke to the players on our team who play in Mexico,” Friedel said. “They told me what Luis Garcia and Carlos Hermosillo would do. Garcia didn’t do what they said, but Hermosillo did.
“For the third shooter, Coyote, I waited and reacted.”
Before the game, rumors circulated that Mejia Baron needed a win to save his job. At the postgame press conference, a Mexican reporter said that beating Mejia Baron was becoming a habit for Sampson. “Did you read Mejia Baron’s book?” he asked.
“Mejia Baron was Bora Milutinovic’s assistant,” Sampson said, “with Pumas and with the national team. I was Bora’s assistant. So, yes, I know how he works.
“[But] the secret to winning is having good players. Without good players, you cannot win.”
Sampson has found himself with a surplus of attacking players and has carefully meted out playing time. Consider that Ramos only played six minutes against Mexico and a total of 111 minutes in this tournament’s four games. Reyna played 150 minutes, but didn’t play at all against Argentina.
“The hardest part is managing playing time,” Sampson said. “Everyone feels he should be playing. Certainly managing that is much easier when you win. The guys have been very professional in their attitudes off the field. They’ve caused no problems whatsoever in that regard.”
The win over Mexico gives the U.S. a semifinal date with Brazil July 20, a rematch of Brazil’s 1-0 win in the World Cup round of 16 on July 4, 1994.
“It’s a great victory for the United States,” said Jones. “It’s the farthest we’ve gotten in the Copa America. As I said after the last game, it’s another step for us to becoming a world power. In our first Copa America [1993], we didn’t win a game. Now we won our group and reached the semifinals. ”
by Soccer America Senior Editor Mike Woitalla