USA beats Mexico in bid for 2014 World Cup
September 11, 2013
It's an exciting time for soccer fans, as teams from all over the world are competing to see who will be headed to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. On Tuesday night, the U.S. team faced off against old rivals Mexico, besting them with a 2 - 0 score that is likely all too familiar for Mexico's fan base. Still, it was a thrilling game, and it's likely many people purchased international calling cards to Mexico to discuss the match.
Tuesday night's game
The game took place in Columbus, Ohio, at Crew Stadium, home to that city's local team. However, this time around, it was the country's best of the brightest as they vied for a qualifying spot in the World Cup. To add salt to the wound, the American team was without some of its best players - Jozy Altidore was out because of the number of yellow cards he received over the season, and Michael Bradley did not play because of an ankle injury, reports CBS Sports.
What helped push the U.S. team to its victory? Some say it may have been the fans who came from far and wide to see the match in Columbus.
"This is a great crowd. It's become its own monster," Tim Howard, goalkeeper for the U.S. team, told the news source. "People want to come to Columbus to see USA-Mexico."
Going into the game, it wasn't clear that the winning team would be headed to Brazil. However, an hour after the USA-Mexico game concluded, the match between Honduras and Panama closed with a draw, sealing the deal for the U.S. soccer team.
A deep-seated history
The rivalry between the U.S. and Mexico dates way back to the 1930s, according to The Guardian. In 1934, the U.S. defeated Mexico to qualify for the world cup. However, for many years after that, the American team failed to see much success and didn't qualify for another World Cup for about sixty years. Then in 1991, USA defeated Mexico again, despite the fact that the L.A. coliseum where the match took place was mostly comprised of fans from south of the border.
Mexico was on top again for a few more years after that, winning three Gold Cups in a row, but in the 2002 World Cup, they took on the U.S. once again. The Americans beat Mexico with the same score that was seen in the most recent match between these two rivals.