Thoughts on tonights match between Mexico and the U.S.

  

Wonderful goals by Eddie Johnson and Landon Donavan for a U.S. team that is now officially qualified for Brazil.  The first half seemed evenly matched, with a scoreless game heading into half-time.  But in the second half, the Mexican offense appeared out of sync and lacking any semblance of inspired play.  Giovanni Dos Santos, responsible for the only assist against Honduras on Friday, played well but was unable to capitalize on any opportunities.  Chicharito was mostly absent, and I don't think I saw him involved in any significant plays.  Overall, Mexico had two threatening shots at goal in the first half and that's about it.  The U.S. on the other hand, got better as the game progressed, and by the end was clearly a much more organized squad.  

Jurgen Klinsmann, himself a former World Cup champion with Germany in 1990, has been a magnificent coach the U.S. national team.  With ten straight wins at home in World Cup qualifying matches, they appear to be headed into Brazil ready to make some noise.  On the other hand, with horrific coaching from "El Chepo" during Mexico's World Cup qualifying matches through last Friday, Mexico currently lacks the type of play that earned them a Gold Cup against the U.S. just two years ago.  

But even after today's loss, Mexico can still reach the objective of the qualifying stage. And at this point, that is the only thing that matters, whether they do it with style or not.  If Mexico can earn two wins for their last two qualifying matches in October, one against Panama and another against Costa Rica, they still can qualify, even if they have to go through New Zealand in a one-game playoff.  But the road won't be easy.  While Panama figures to be a more beatable opponent and with that match set to be held in Mexico City, "El Tri" can and should win, despite their proven struggles at home over the past year.  However, playing Costa Rica in Costa Rica will be tough, very tough, but as I mentioned earlier, the point of the World Cup qualifying process is exactly that, an opportunity to qualify.  If Mexico can achieve qualification, they'll have 7 to 8 months to get their act together from October until kickoff in Brazil, which in reality is plenty of time for any team to dive or soar.  Anything can happen in 7 to 8 months.  

Meanwhile, giving Mexico some hope for their upcoming games against Panama and Costa Rica is the fact that they'll have one month instead of just 3 days to prepare for those games. Whether it's their 3-day-old coach Luis Fernando Tena, or someone new, the next two matches can't be any worse than what they've shown under recently fired Juan Manuel "El Chepo" de la Torre....or can they?  After tonight, the only thing we know for sure is that Costa Rica and the U.S. are headed to the land of Samba music next June.