Here at The18, we believe in the sanctity of competition. So, when we look back on Saturday night’s demolition of Mexico by the USWNT, we are a little betrayed. Stoked for the USWNT, but betrayed nonetheless. That was not a game, it was an embarrassment.
To be fair to Mexico, they were consistently terrible for the entire game. Their captain, Alina Garciamendez, set the tone with an own goal of right out of the top drawer. Garciamendez attempts a fairly routine clearance on a ball over the top. And then, well, let’s just say it was one of the best finishes of her career. It was the kind of start that makes you think, "Ok, this could end really, really badly ."
It was all downhill from there, in that the U.S. scored goals with increasing ease, and that Mexico’s confidence was further obliterated with each tally. According the the FIFA World Rankings, Mexico is ranked 25th in the world, after last night they might as well be ranked 125th.
This game started off as a match between professionals, it ended as a schoolyard beat down. Mexico stopped trying. Case in point: The 5th goal.
Christen Press is fed in and finds herself in acres of space…inside the Mexican 18. When she looks across the goal for the correct pass, she sees Megan Rapinoe, Abby Wambach, and Alex Morgan all jogging casually towards the front of the goal as if they were still on the training ground. There are no defenders within 5 yards the three Americans, let alone in front of them in a good defensive position. After filing her taxes, Press notices Morgan’s extra effort in making herself the closest option, gives her the ball and she puts it in the net.
