Mexico Can’t Catch a Break in 1-0 Loss to U.S.

Javier Aguirre has had no delusions of grandeur regarding Mexico’s chances at winning the World Cup. The Mexico coach said that Los Tricolores, which needed a mighty rally just to qualify for the tournament, was not going to win the world title.

A more realistic goal for his rebuilding program, he said, would be to advance to the second round, no easy feat as Mexico is grouped with Croatia, Ecuador and Italy.

But Mexico’s chances to reach the round of 16 may have taken a blow one day before its 1-0 exhibition loss to the United States on Wednesday night. On Tuesday, team captain Claudio Suarez broke his right leg in practice.

Suarez’s injury cast a pall over the World Cup tuneup Wednesday in front of a pro-Mexico crowd of 48,476 at Invesco Field.

The defender’s absence may have contributed to the final score as a mix-up in Mexico’s defense allowed the U.S. score in the 66th minute.

American forward Clint Mathis found the net when, after a long pass from Carlos Llamosa, Mexican defender Manuel Vidrio collided with goalkeeper Oscar Perez to the right of the keeper’s box.

Seemingly stunned at being alone in front of the net, Mathis’ tired shot hit the crossbar but had enough on it to dribble in and give the U.S. the winning margin.

“I feel like I’m starting to get there,” said Mathis, who has five goals in the last four games. “If I continue to score goals and help the team win, I have a good chance.”

Tempers ran wild at the end, though, when Mexico reserve midfielder Alberto Garcia Aspe and U.S. defender Frankie Hejduk were issued red cards in the 90th minute after the two traded shoves.

“This was a day when the soccer wasn’t great,” U.S. Coach Bruce Arena said, “and you had to have a big heart to win.”

It was the United States’ seventh straight shutout on American soil this year and its overall shutout streak reached 712 minutes.

In 19 matches between Mexico and the United States since 1990, the U.S. holds a 7-6-6 advantage and has won four of the last five meetings.

Mexico out-shot the United States, 6-0, in the first half, but came away empty.

Mexican forward Carlos Ochoa came closest to scoring as he trickled a shot past goalkeeper Tony Meola and into the right corner of the net from about five yards out in the seventh minute.

But Ochoa was called for being offside by referee Clive Wright and the goal was disallowed.

With U.S. defender Greg Vanney sitting out the second half with a strained back, Arena went from a 4-5-1 alignment to a 3-5-2 and was able to set the tempo, outshooting Mexico, 6-3, in the second 45 minutes.

In what was most likely a last chance for the U.S. fringe players to make a statement, Arena played 15 of his 18 players in the Americans’ final home match before announcing their 23-man roster for the World Cup.

The U.S. is grouped with Poland, Portugal and South Korea.

Only defender Carlos Bocanegra (injured toe), forward Brian McBride (injured ankle) and goalkeeper Tim Howard did not play for the U.S.

Arena had delved into Major League Soccer rosters for the exhibition against Mexico as 16 of his 18 players Wednesday are currently with MLS teams.

“I liked what I saw but it’s nothing I can state publicly [about the roster],” Arena said.

The U.S. has tuneup matches remaining at Ireland on April 17, after which the American team will be named, and at home against Uruguay, Jamaica and Holland in mid-May.

In all, the United States will face eight World Cup qualifiers this year before heading to Japan.

Aguirre, who took what was essentially a junior varsity squad to the Gold Cup in January, also brought a young team to Denver.

Mexican forwards Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Juan Francisco Palencia and midfielder Gerardo Torrado, who all play for clubs in Spain, and defender Rafael Marquez, who plays in France, were not released by their teams for the exhibition.

Of the 17 Mexican players to make the trip, only goalkeeper Jorge Campos failed to see action in Mexico’s final match before Aguirre announces his World Cup roster on April 15.

He is holding a spot for Suarez.

Suarez, a defender and the world’s most capped international player with 170 career appearances, fractured the fibula in his right leg after slide-tackling a teammate on the frozen Invesco Field grass on a night when the temperature had fallen to 27 degrees.

Still, Mexican officials were holding out hope that Suarez, 34, would recover in time to play in the World Cup.

Because it was a clean break, Mexican officials are anticipating that Suarez, who played every minute for Mexico in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, could undergo an operation in which a plate would be inserted to speed the healing process.

“He is the captain of our team and we are worried,” Aguirre said, “but we have to carry on.”