Mexico rallied from a two-goal half-time deficit to earn a 2-2 draw with the US on Wednesday in an international friendly between the World Cup-bound teams.
After suffering a 2-0 defeat in a friendly against Ukraine on March 5, Jurgen Klinsmann’s US were looking for a better performance against their North American rivals.
With only 10 weeks remaining before the World Cup kicks off in Brazil, Klinsmann’s starting 11 included a few surprises, with Brad Davis getting the starting nod ahead of Landon Donovan, and Chris Wondolowski taking the field rather than Eddie Johnson.
Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY
The hosts seized the lead in the 15th minute as a corner kick by Graham Zusi found Michael Bradley who fired it home.
“It was something we talked about before the game, that on set-pieces at the back post it was going to be an opportunity for us,” Bradley said. “Good ball came in, and I was able to get free and put it in.”
The US doubled their lead in the 28th minute when Tony Beltran’s cross into the area from the right was headed on by Bradley to the left side of the box, where Chris Wondolowski slotted it past Mexico’s Rogelio Alfredo Chavez.
Mexico came out firing in the second half, trimming the deficit in the 49th minute when veteran defender Rafael Marquez found room on a corner kick taken by Marco Fabian and headed it past US goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
Fabian’s six goals in 11 matches for league-leading Cruz Azul have been enough to give his World Cup chances new life.
Klinsmann brought in three substitutions on the hour mark, including 18-year-old Julian Green, who recently opted to play for the US instead of Germany.
Green, a Bayern Munich reserve, had featured for both countries at the youth level.
Donovan and defender Clarence Goodson also came in, but Mexico — cheered on by a big contingent among the 59,066-strong crowd at the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals — grabbed the equalizer in the 67th minute when Alan Pulido fired home the rebound of Paul Aguilar’s shot that hit the post.
In a frantic final 10 minutes, Johnson seemed to have given the US the winner with five minutes to play, but was ruled offside.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS