The Challenge: Mexico City
For seven decades, the Mt. Everest for U.S. soccer, unscaled and unconquered, has been beating Mexico in Mexico.
The U.S. national team’s record south of the border is 0-21-1 in a series that dates to 1934.
Pablo Mastroeni thinks the mountain is about to be climbed.
The defensive midfielder, who captained the U.S. national team in its recent shutout victories over Colombia and Honduras, says the Americans can prevail when they play Mexico in a World Cup qualifier at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Sunday.
“Our spirits are high,” he said. “Confidence is high. The depth of the team is incredible. Now we have European [based] players who are playing at a really high level coming in to join us, so everything is real positive and we’re excited about Mexico.
“It’s going to be a great challenge and a great environment. This is what we live to do, to play in front of 100,000 people. With the three weeks of camp that we’ve had and the efforts the guys have put out and the results that we’ve got, I think we’re prepared.”
The finishing touches are being applied this week at the U.S. squad’s high-altitude training site in Colorado Springs. The European-based players have arrived to join their Major League Soccer counterparts, and Coach Bruce Arena could take as many as two dozen players to Mexico even though only 18 can suit up.
For once, the MLS players might have an edge because of the altitude training they have done. Only three MLS players started in the 2-1 qualifying victory over Trinidad and Tobago last month, but four or five could start against Mexico. Canceling Mexico’s advantage at Azteca has been Arena’s focus.
“When you play on the road, the playing field is never level,” he said. “In Azteca, it’s very slanted because of the altitude.
“You’re playing at 7,000 feet, it’s a big advantage. Plus, they’re a good team. So you have a good team with a big advantage; they should be successful.”
Mastroeni’s performance could be crucial if the U.S. is to come away with even a single point. In recent matches, he has been the dominant U.S. player on the field, running the game from his deep-lying position.
One of the pleasant surprises of the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, the Colorado Rapids veteran has become an automatic first choice for the U.S.
“Pablo did a remarkable job in 2002,” Arena said. “Over the last two or three years he has demonstrated his versatility for us. He’s become a better player. His passing of the ball is quite good. He’s a very good tackler. He’s better tactically in the game. I think he continues to improve.
“The reason why he wears the captain’s armband is because he has a lot of respect from his teammates. He’s a player I think is going to be instrumental if we’re going to be successful.”
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Even before qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, the U.S. knows that it will be playing in Germany next year.
The German soccer federation (DFB) let the cat out of the bag last Friday when it announced its schedule of tuneup games before the World Cup, scheduled for June 9 through July 9, 2006. Among them is a March 22 match -- one year from today -- against the U.S. at a site to be announced.
Arena is 2-2 against Germany during his 100 games in charge of the U.S., the most celebrated of those matches being the 1-0 loss to the three-time world champion in the quarterfinals of Korea/Japan ’02.
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Mexico is taking Sunday’s qualifying game as seriously as any match it has played in recent years.
Coach Ricardo Lavolpe is only too aware that the U.S. has not lost to Mexico in the last eight games between the teams (all of them outside Mexico), and Mexico’s 2-0 defeat by the U.S. at the last World Cup remains a painful memory.
With that in mind, Mexico’s soccer federation (FMF) has insisted that every player called into Mexico’s camp by Lavolpe be released by their clubs, even Guadalajara’s Chivas, which has a Copa Libertadores match against San Lorenzo of Argentina on Wednesday.
“The match against the United States is the most important in the qualifying competition, and it is followed by a key game against Panama,” Guillermo Cantu, Mexico’s national team director, told Reuters.
“There will be no concessions for any team. We are in no condition to give presents to anyone. We need to be concentrated on our short-term goal, which is to qualify for Germany in 2006.”
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Costa Rica has failed in its appeal to overturn sanctions imposed by FIFA in the wake of crowd misbehavior during a 2-1 World Cup qualifying loss to Mexico on Feb. 9 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
World soccer’s governing body did cut the fine in half, to $8,500, but said Costa Rica still must play Saturday’s home qualifying game against Panama in an empty stadium.
Fans in Saprissa Stadium pelted Mexico’s players with water bottles, batteries, coins and fruit after the loss.
