| September 4th, 2005 07:42 AM |
|
|
| Ten Thousand Motels |
US helps itself to World Cup berth
By John Powers, Globe Staff | September 4, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No trifecta was necessary this time. No help from Central America. No advanced math, no checking the Internet for the score from Panama City. The US men's soccer team qualified for next year's World Cup in Germany all by itself last night, blanking Mexico, 2-0, before a sellout crowd of 24,685 at Crew Stadium.
It was the fifth straight time the Americans have made it to the sport's quadrennial showcase and the earliest they've ever managed it when they've had to qualify, going through with three matches to spare in the 10-match final round. It was also the first time since 1934 that the US was the first team out of the North/Central American and Caribbean region to make it to the Cup.
''You'll look at it and think it was a breeze," said coach Bruce Arena, whose squad is unbeaten in home qualifying matches and has posted five straight shutouts. ''It was not a breeze."
But unlike 1998 and 2002, when the US had to go down to the penultimate play date and needed both of the other matches to go their way, it had a substantial cushion this time, leading third-place Guatemala by 8 points going into last night's match.
Though the US could have advanced with a draw if Costa Rica hadn't won at Panama, the Americans weren't looking for any more help from south of the border. ''We have one objective -- to win the game," said Arena, whose squad lost, 2-1, to the Mexicans in their March meeting in Mexico City.
Victory figured to be much easier here, where the Americans have never lost in seven appearances, than at Estadio Azteca, where they've never won. ''Mexico City is a lopsided advantage for Mexico," said Arena, whose squad has shut out Los Tricolores seven straight times on domestic soil. ''But we know when we play them anywhere else, we can beat them and we proved that tonight."
The Mexicans, who were unbeaten in Cup qualifying until last night, should have little trouble making it to Germany, since they play their next two games against Panama and Guatemala at Azteca, where they've lost only once in their history. But the Americans didn't want them doing it here.
So when the hosts had their chance to get the knockout shortly after intermission, they went for it, with Ralston scoring one goal on a rebound off a free kick in the 53d minute and Beasley the other off a short corner in the 58th. ''Two goals on set pieces, that's great," said captain Claudio Reyna. ''In the World Cup, you win games like that."Continued...
The first goal came off a free kick by Eddie Lewis, which Oguchi Onyewu headed off the left post. Out of a crowd of bodies came Ralston, blissfully unmarked with keeper Oswaldo Sanchez down and an empty goal beckoning a few feet in front of him, to pop in a header.
''It's probably the easiest goal I ever scored," said Ralston, who'd only tallied three in international play. ''One yard out. If I'd missed that, it would have been pretty embarrassing."
If Ralston's goal caught the Mexicans napping, Beasley's turned them into zombies. It came after Beasley slipped the ball out of the corner to Donovan, who sent it out to Reyna, who gave it back to Beasley, who drilled a left-footer to the far side.
''After we got the first one, they were never in the game," said Donovan, who'd declared on Friday that a Mexican victory was ''not going to happen."
So it was 2-0 after 58 minutes for the hosts, who could make the Mexicans chase the game as the clock ticked down. Thus the choice for Los Tricolores. Either run themselves into the ground trying to score three times or wait until Wednesday and make their Panamanian guests try to beat them in thin air.
For a team that hasn't scored on the yanquis here in six years, three goals was a huge order, especially against a US team that has yielded only one at home since qualifying began a year ago June. ''The bigger plus was how well we defended, more than how we attacked," said Reyna.
The key last night was the 23-year-old Onyewu, the 6-foot-4-inch defender out of Clemson, who smothered striker Jared Borgetti to the point of apoplexy. ''Borgetti was bouncing off Gooch for 90 minutes," observed Arena.
When time ran out, the Americans left their turf with arms aloft, flags draped around their shoulders. And the Mexicans, once the kings of the region, left town with another goose egg -- and more work to do in their cloud-level house this week. ''At least for three or four more years," mused Donovan, ''they'll shut up."
Globe Newspaper Company
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
| September 4th, 2005 07:58 AM |
|
|
| Poplar |
nice avatar 10K
USA soccer, winning one for the Big Easy.
[Edited by Poplar] |
| September 4th, 2005 06:35 PM |
|
|
| Sir Stonesalot |
Voooooooodoooooooooo.....
Los Tricolores----RED WHITE BLUE!!!
Your guys are unbeatable at Azteca....but we'll beat your ass everywhere else.
I hope Mexico is in our group during pool play...we'll be a sure thing to advance!
Look out world, here we come! |
|
