Unlikely goalscorer gives US an unprecedented win in Azteca

Michael Orozco of the United States celebrates after scoring during a FIFA friendly match between Mexico and US at Azteca Stadium.

Juergen Klinsmann’s side achieved their first ever victory in Azteca Stadium after a 1-0 win over Mexico on Wednesday. Although only a friendly, the historic victory was celebrated by Americans as a landmark moment against our eternal rivals, particularly considering the experimental line-up employed by the Yanks.

USA Lineup

In front of Tim Howard, Klinsmann placed Fabian Johnson, Maurice Edu, Geoff Cameron and Edgar Castillo. With such an inexperienced quartet, and Edu being played out of his normal central midfield position, the manager deployed two holding midfielders (Kyle Beckerman and Jermaine Jones) to help protect his defence. Herculez Gomez started as the lone striker with Jose Torres, Danny Williams and Landon Donovan as the three supporting players behind him rounding out a defensive 4-5-1 setup.

Mexico Lineup

Similar to the system manager José Manuel de la Torre used in the 2011 Gold Cup Final (link), Mexico lined up in a 4-2-3-1, but was focused on playing down the flanks, especially in the first half. Pablo Barrera and Andres Guardado were the wide men and central playmaker Angel Reyna was keen to overload the wide zones to try and dominate the flanks. Considering his small size, Javier Hernandez is very good in the air, but Cameron and Edu were effective at neutralizing the crosses. Furthermore, Reyna was nowhere near as effective as Giovanni Dos Santos was at overloading the wide areas in that 2011 match and creating chances. The first 55 minutes of the match went by without either side testing the opposing keeper.

Friendly Pace

The match began and continued at a friendly canter for the opening hour of the match. Even the Azteca seemed about 60% full which was surprising. The Americans focused on maintaining the status quo by holding a deep defensive line and usher the ball out wide. Beckerman and Jones sat very deep and rarely ventured forward in the first half. This six man block frustrated Mexico, who controlled the ball and the possession advantage but could not threaten. ESPN broadcaster John Sutcliffe mentioned de la Torre was upset with the play of Barrera on the right side, who put in several poor crosses and was unable to take on Edgar Castillo and dribble past him.

Going forward, the US offered nothing. This was largely due to the wide players not actually being effective on the wings. On the right side, Danny Williams showed why he normally plays as a central midfielder; he was hesitant to take on players one v one and never broke forward with pace. On the left, Torres and Donovan took turns while one of the two played centrally. The Yanks did not threaten on the counter because they broke too slowly and were never able to string enough passes together to have a numbers advantage.

Changes for the Second Half

Manuel Viniegra of Mexico fights for the ball with Landon Donovan of the United States

José Manuel de la Torre made two straight swaps, bringing on Elias Hernandez and Lugo for Barrera and Viniegra. Elias had a strong showing, providing two exceptional crosses to Chicharito; one header was missed and the other cross was thwarted by Cameron at the last second. Lugo had a poor match in midfield, considering his job was to distribute and his service was errant far too often. In the final 45 minutes Mexico varied their style by playing through balls to Hernandez more often, but he was either offside or the pass was not weighted perfectly.

Klinsmann decided to switch to a 4-2-2-2 similar to former manager Bob Bradley’s system, bringing on Terrance Boyd and Demarcus Beasley for Donovan and Torres. While the changes were positive in theory, the second half played out in a similar fashion to the first. The only exception was the US began to tire and Mexico started to create chances once gaps in the defence were more effectively exploited.

Ten minutes into the half, Lugo had an unmarked header but missed the target, which was followed up by an excellent header by Cameron and a few minutes later a last ditch clearance by Fabian Johnson saved the Yanks after Chicharito and Reyna combined to slip through the middle.

Four minutes before the only goal of the night, Chicharito missed the target on an open header after a perfect cross from Elias. Klinsmann went to the bench to bring on Brek Shea to see if his fresh legs could provide a much needed spark. The struggling FC Dallas winger did just that after receiving a pass from Beckerman and skipping by his mark and sliding a cross to Boyd who back heeled the ball to Mexican League defender Michael Orozco Fical who slid his effort into the corner of the net. The lead was undeserved but well earned after the Americans were able to defend well for the opening eighty minutes.

Mexico pushed hard for the equalizer but Tim Howard earned his man of the match award by keeping Chicharito out twice; once from a deflected volley in which Howard had to change directions quickly and once from a point blank header that the Everton keeper palmed away with his left hand. The veteran presence in net proved his value for the US with not only two great saves but also for guiding a young defense through a difficult away match.

Conclusions

While the landmark result should be celebrated by all US supporters, the performance should not lead to conclusions that we are ahead of Mexico. Rather, we should focus on the belief showed by the players and the belief that Klinsmann has instilled in his side (also seen in the victory in Italy) that the US can compete with anyone in the world. With that being said, the team will have to show more going forward in next month’s qualifiers. It is also worth mentioning that we should have more attacking options available, like Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore.

5 things we learned from the match

1. Brek Shea is a vital talent for the US and needs to swing his poor Dallas form, especially considering our lack of wide options.

2. Edgar Castillo looked comfortable playing against familiar Mexican composition, now we need to see it versus other teams.

3. Danny Williams is not an effective wing player and should not play out wide.

4. Kyle Beckerman can compete at the international level, even though many knock him for only playing in MLS.

5. Mo Edu and Geoff Cameron might play as defensive midfielders at club level this season, but the US needs them at center back and maybe they can perform for country at this position.

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