U.S. Loses Athens Ticket
In the end, there was just too much to overcome.
The United States might have withstood Mexico’s players. It might have ignored the pressure applied by 60,000 Mexican fans. It might even have handled the inexperience of its own defenders.
Together, however, those three factors combined to unravel a dream.
For the first time in almost a quarter of a century, the U.S. will not be competing in the men’s soccer tournament of the Olympic Games.
Instead, it will be Mexico that travels to Athens in August. Coach Ricardo Lavolpe’s squad, urged on by a vocal, sellout crowd at Estadio Jalisco, trounced the U.S., 4-0, on Tuesday night in the winner-take-all semifinals of the CONCACAF region’s Olympic qualifying tournament.
The outcome was never really in doubt, and certainly not after Mexico had delivered a one-two combination in the first half, scoring goals in the 25th and 28th minutes that left the Americans reeling against the ropes.
Faster to the ball, quicker in their reading of the game, more precise in their execution, and far more fluid in their overall play, the Mexican players provided a lesson that will be remembered for some time.
In doing so, they also avenged their country’s loss to the U.S. in the second round of the 2002 World Cup.
“I’m proud of my players for having gotten to this point,” said U.S. Coach Glenn “Mooch” Myernick, “but the dreams of our players of going to the Olympics is now something in the past.
“I’m sure it will hurt even more tomorrow than it does now.”
This is the first time since 1976 that the U.S. team has not qualified for the Olympics. It competed in the last five and qualified in 1980, when the U.S. boycotted the Games.
Resistance was futile against Mexico. It lasted all of 20 minutes, based largely on the play of U.S. central defenders Nat Borchers and Chad Marshall.
Once the Mexicans realized that the best path to the goal was down the flanks, they were unstoppable. Right back Ricky Lewis of the Galaxy and left back Chris Wingert, a Columbus Crew draft pick with no professional experience, were powerless to stop the onslaught.
As they had done in two of their three previous games, the Americans leaked goals at a prodigious rate.
“In international play, you can’t afford to concede goals the way we have,” Myernick said.
The writing was on the wall from the start. The American national anthem was first booed, then whistled and then drowned out by chants of “Mex-i-co!, Mex-i-co!”
Bobby Convey kicked off to Landon Donovan and 90 minutes of misery ensued for the U.S.
The fiesta began when Mexico, attacking in numbers, strung together at least six passes, culminating the move with Rafael Marquez Lugo heading the ball past American goalkeeper D.J. Countess from about six yards off a cross from Diego Martinez on the right.
That made it 1-0 in the 25th minute. Three minutes later, Martinez again struck. This time his intended cross did not find a teammate. It found the back of the net, and suddenly the U.S. was two goals down.
That was the halftime score, and, if they wanted to keep the Athens dreams alive, the Americans were faced with the task of scoring three goals in 45 minutes against a team that had given up only two in 315 minutes in the tournament.
It was not to be. With the U.S. midfielders forced back to help out the defense, the American attack withered. Stranded strikers Donovan and Eddie Johnson were non-factors in the match.
But for two fine reaction saves by Countess early in the second half, as Mario Perez began to exploit Lewis much the way Martinez had exploited Wingert in the first half, it might have been much worse.
As it was, Marquez scored his second goal and Mexico’s third in the 54th minute.
Borchers, who later was ejected after getting a second yellow card, blocked the initial shot, but the ball fell to Marquez, who hammered it low and hard just inside the right post.
Chants of “ole, ole” greeted each pass as the Mexicans toyed with their opponent. Ismael Iniguez scored with ease in injury time, getting in behind the exhausted U.S. defense.
At the final whistle, the Mexican team took a victory lap.
A country whose passion for soccer is legendary once again had reason to cheer.
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Streak Buster
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The U.S. loss to Mexico Tuesday ended a streak of 19 consecutive FIFA-sponsored world championships for which U.S. teams had qualified. The competitions, with the U.S. finish:
*--* 1995 Men’s Under-17 15th Women’s World Cup 3rd 1996 Men’s Olympics 9th Women’s Olympics 1st 1997 Men’s Under-20 15th Men’s Under-17 11th 1998 Men’s World Cup 32nd 1999 Men’s Under-20 11th Women’s World Cup 1st Men’s Under-17 4th 2000 Men’s Olympics 4th Women’s Olympics 2nd 2001 Men’s Under-20 13th Men’s Under-17 15th 2002 Men’s World Cup 5th Women’s Under-19 1st 2003 Men’s Under-20 5th Men’s Under-17 5th Women’s World Cup 3rd
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