USA vs. Mexico Recap: Americans Escape Estadio Azteca with 0-0 Tie Josh Sanchez - FanSided.com
go to original March 27, 2013

Mexico forward Chicarito (Javier Hernandez), left, and United States defender Matt Besler battle for the ball in a World Cup qualifying match at Estadio Azteca. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY)

The United States men’s national team made the dangerous trek to Mexico City for an important World Cup qualifying match up against the Mexican nationals at Estadio Azteca. It had been 41 years since the visiting team has won a World Cup qualifier between the two teams, and the Americans were looking to make history as El Tri was hoping to hold home court.

USA vs. Mexico is one of the greatest rivalries in sports and Tuesday night’s game lived up to all of the expectations.

The two sides started out the game with your typical feeling out process, but Mexico was encouraged early as they were able to play wide and find plenty of open space on the pitch. El Tri wasn’t quite dialing in their crosses to start, but their tempo and ball movement was a positive sign in the opening minutes.

Mexico had the best opportunities to next a goal in the first half, but they were unable to capitalize. The Americans were able to control the spacing in the midfield and keep the Mexican attack off balance. They really began to settle down near the end of the first 45 minutes. Unfortunately for the Yankees, they weren’t able to mount much of an offense attack and their inexperience on defense was showing.

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In the final few minutes, with the score still tied at zero, the Americans retreated all of their players back deep to prevent a late scoring opportunity for the Mexicans. A poor challenge led to a set piece for the Mexicans and a flurry of late cornerbacks gave El Tri numerous attempts to net the game-winning goal in stoppage time.

Unfortunately for the Mexicans, they were unable to capitalize and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

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