The United States escaped the Azteca with a valuable point thanks to a sensational goal from Michael Bradley before Carlos Vela leveled for Mexico, the match ending in a 1-1 draw after 90 thrilling minutes in Mexico City. The result saw the U.S. climb to third in the Hexagonal table, and Mexico further solidified their spot at the top.
A lethal counterattack from Mexico started with a Guillermo Ochoa throw and ended with Carlos Vela cutting in from the right before firing a shot inside Brad Guzan’s near post. In between, there was a lot of understated brilliance from Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
Chicharito controlled Ochao’s throw inside Mexico’s own half and immediately drove at the American defense. With Kellyn Acosta looking to close him down, Chicharito delivered a devastating nutmeg before playing it wide to Vela.
United States captain Michael Bradley put his side up at the Azteca with a world-class finish in the sixth minute. Bradley won possession in the midfield, created a little bit of space for himself, saw Guillermo Ochoa well off his line and sent a magnificent effort into the net from distance.
What a chip from Michael Bradley!
Mexico defeated Honduras 3-0 at the Azteca with a heavily rotated side, showcasing a squad depth that no nation in CONCACAF can come close to matching. Chivas defender Oswaldo Alanis gave Mexico the advantage from a corner, and El Tri continued to make easy work of a Honduran side whose World Cup dream is all but over.
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano scored the second in the 63rd and Raul Jimenez added the third in the 66th to quickly shift all focus to Sunday’s showdown.
As far as friendlies go, this was about as productive as they come for both Mexico and the Republic of Ireland. El Tri will now return to Mexico City for two key World Cup qualifiers (against Honduras and the United States) at the Azteca brimming with confidence after thrashing Ireland 3-1.
For Ireland, manager Martin O’Neill got a good hard look at his fringe players before a crucial World Cup qualifier against Austria in Dublin — not many of them would’ve passed this difficult litmus test.
The United States matched their biggest-ever triumph on the U-20 World Cup stage, and Mexico scored a game-winner in the 89th minute as North America sent two representatives into the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinals — just as many as South America and one less than Europe.
Over 62,000 Mexico supporters bore witness to a bit of El Tri history on Saturday night at the Los Angeles Coliseum as Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez moved clear of Jared Borgetti as the national team’s all-time leading goal scorer with 47.
Remarkably, Chicharito and Borgetti share the same strike rate for Mexico. The Santos Laguna legend scored 46 in 89 matches, and the Bayer Leverkusen striker has scored 47 in 91 — both make for an average of 0.52 goals per game.
Juan Carlos Osorio has announced the preliminary 32-player squad, which will later be reduced to 23, that will battle for Mexico throughout June in two crucial World Cup qualifiers, including one against the United States at the Azteca, and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.
This group of predominantly foreign-based players will not receive any break following the end of their European club seasons as Mexico will face Croatia in Los Angeles on May 27 and Ireland in New Jersey on June 1 in friendly matches.
Year-long speculation over whether CONCACAF’s bid for the 2026 World Cup, which will almost certainly be awarded to the region, would become a joint bid by the United States, Mexico and Canada has officially been confirmed today.
This is not a pretty goal by any stretch of the imagination, but it was Hector Moreno’s sixth league goal of the season for PSV Eindhoven. All of those goals have been scored while Moreno’s been playing center back for PSV. That’s insane.
Gol de Héctor Moreno: https://t.co/BCHVokYbGv via @YouTube
— Las Noticias (@noticiasTVP) April 7, 2017