U.S.-Mexico World Cup qualifier is a clash of the past and the present

The U.S. has played Mexico four times in Columbus’ cozy Mapfre Stadium since 2001 and not only have the Americans never lost there, they haven’t even given up a goal, winning all four games by identical 2-0 scores.

So earlier this week U.S. Coach Juergen Klinsmann invited three players from that first team to address the current national team, which opens the final round of World Cup qualifying against Mexico here Friday (TV: FS1, Univision, 4:45 p.m. PDT).

“This is a special venue for us, especially when we play Mexico,” Klinsmann said Thursday. “It’s important that our older players connect with the younger players and tell them what it means.”

And it means a lot given that Friday’s game is the first in the 10-match final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. The top three nations in the six-team tournament earn automatic World Cup berths while the fourth-place finisher advances to a playoff for the final spot in the field.

But while the U.S., winner of the last three CONCACAF qualifying events, was regaling in the past this week Mexico was concentrating on the present — appropriate given that the team it brings into Friday’s game is its strongest and deepest in years, featuring 13 players from first-division clubs in Europe.

“This is a new opportunity for us,” Mexican captain Rafa Marquez said. “The team is very aware of its chance to write a new, positive story.”

It’s a story that will be set against a familiar backdrop, but featuring a slightly different cast of characters and maybe even a surprise ending.

Let’s start with the backdrop. Since discovering Columbus as a venue in 2000, the U.S. is unbeaten there, going 8-0-3 with six of those wins coming in World Cup qualifiers. Part of the reason is the 24,000-seat stadium, which is intimate enough to be intimidating to opponents — especially with U.S. Soccer controlling the ticket sales to ensure a pro-American crowd.

Then there’s the weather. The temperature at kickoff Friday is forecast to be 39 degrees, with the windchill making it feel four degrees cooler.

“We’re pretty excited every time it’s a little bit chilly here,” said U.S. midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who played in the 2009 game against Mexico. “We have a confidence about us that no matter what happens weather-wise — we’ve been through the rain here and the really cold nights — we always seem to come out stronger.”

Mexico Coach Juan Carlos Osorio is familiar with Columbus and the weather, having won here twice as an MLS coach. And though this is his first trip here with a national team, he’s also familiar with Mexico’s struggles in Ohio.

“Every time, in international soccer, that you play a team that has dominated you, a lot of times it’s hard to say if it’s because you let them or because the opponent imposed their will on you,” Osorio, who is 12-1-2 in first year as Mexico’s coach, said in Spanish.

Few have imposed their will on the current Mexican team, which Osorio said is two deep at every position — and even deeper at forward, where Javier Hernandez, Oribe Peralta, Carlos Vela and Raul Jimenez are competing for playing time. In the midfield Osorio has Giovani dos Santos, who led the Galaxy with 14 goals and 12 assists this season.

The U.S. will counter with a roster featuring 15 World Cup veterans and 20 players who have experience in World Cup qualifying, among them captain Michael Bradley (124 international appearances) and goalkeeper Tim Howard. Both have faced Mexico 10 times.

“U.S.-Mexico is the biggest game that we play. It’s the most special, the most passionate,” Bradley said. “Playing in Columbus there’s an aura. And you have a group of guys who, at this point, grew up with this game.”

And they’ve grown never having seen it end with anything but a U.S. victory. Marquez would like to rewrite that last chapter Friday.

“I don’t know really if it’s been mental, physical, the time, the weather,” he said. “But I know we have a great chance to change this. We have a great team… and we have to take advantage of this moment.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com