Mexico won the Gold Cup on Saturday with a 4-2 victory over the US in a hugely entertaining final played in front of 93,000 fans.
The pulsating game was a fitting finale to a tournament boasting plenty of goals and attacking games in front of bumper attendances, and Mexico, with their exciting young team, were deserved champions for a record sixth time.
Mexico had to fight back from 2-0 down after 24 minutes, but with Giovani dos Santos at his sparkling best, Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez a constant threat and Pablo Barrera causing havoc on the right wing, they ran out convincing winners.
Photo: AFP
“They’re as dynamic as any [Mexico] team I’ve played against,” US forward Landon Donovan told reporters. “They have a few guys who can change the game in a heart beat. They have some special players and they’re explosive, and if you give them space they’re going to make plays.”
A huge Mexican contingent in the crowd at the Rose Bowl brought a festive atmosphere to the ageing venue that staged the 1994 World Cup final, but the pre-match Futbol Fiesta came to a halt soon after kickoff.
The US took the lead in the eighth minute when midfielder Michael Bradley, son of coach Bob, nodded in a Freddy Adu corner with a sublime angled glancing header.
Photo: EPA
The hosts were forced into an early change, though, when fullback Steve Cherundolo sustained an ankle injury and was replaced by Jonathan Bornstein, a move that had a big impact on the game, with the substitute struggling down the left.
The switch did not initially disrupt the attacking flow of Bradley’s team, who kept surging forward to exploit opponents who appeared rattled by the early assault.
The approach paid off handsomely in the 24th minute when Clint Dempsey fed Landon Donovan, the US’ all-time top scorer celebrating his return to the starting lineup with the coolest of left-foot finishes.
Mexico soon woke up from their evening siesta and within five minutes Pablo Barrera had raced past Bornstein onto a long ball from Javier Hernandez and driven it past a stationary Tim Howard to reduce the deficit.
Suddenly bubbling with confidence, Mexico struck the equalizer in the 36th minute when dos Santos cut in from the right flank and hit a low shot into the area which hit defender Clarence Goodson. Andres Guardado pounced on the deflection to squeeze a shot under the body of goalkeeper Howard.
The US left the field looking shell-shocked at the break, while Mexico’s confident body language told the story of a determined comeback.
The hosts needed to get a quick grip on the game in midfield if they were to stem Mexico’s attacking flow, but their southern neighbors were in no mood to ease off.
Guardado fed Barrera inside the area and his low shot beat Howard and went in just inside the far post to make it 3-2.
The US came close to leveling when Clint Dempsey hit the bar with a fine strike from the edge of the area, but the game was settled in style by dos Santos.
Dos Santos was forced to dribble away from goal after failing to round Howard, but he produced a perfect chip that evaded defender Eric Lichaj on the line and floated into the top corner.
The sealer sparked chants of “Ole, Ole” from the stands and marked the start of a loud and long party that was sure to last well into the southern California night.
“We are the best team in the Cup and that’s all that matters at the moment,” a beaming Hernandez said.
Howard made the long walk from the locker room to the departing team bus fuming over his team’s second rate status on home turf.
“I think it was a ... disgrace that the entire post-match ceremony was in Spanish,” a seething Howard told reporters. “You bet your ass, if we were in Mexico City the ceremony would not be all in English. CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves.”
The US will take away a few positives from the tournament, including the continued progression of coach Bob Bradley’s new possession-oriented focus, but in the end, the US confirmed what they already knew before being exposed by Mexico — there is a lot of work to be done to close the gap.
“We have to take it up another level,” Donovan said. “In these games we want to even things out a little more and not have them [Mexico] have the possession the whole time.”
“They showed that they’re the team to beat right now. We have to go catch them,” he added.
“We’re most disappointed that we went up 2-0 and ended up losing. It’s a tough night for us,” Cherundolo said.
“They have a lot of skilled attackers, but I thought we did well for the most part,” Bornstein said. “We could have done better as a team defense.”
Howard was far less analytical after his team was once again overshadowed by Mexico.
“It’s beyond me how they rallied back, because we hit them [early],” he said. “It all hurts when you get your butt kicked and that’s what happened today.”
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