Columbus.- And one night it happened. The impenetrable mantra of Mapfre Stadium lost its ulterior power over Mexico. For the first time ever El Tri obtained a victory over the US in Columbus. With the 2-1 result, the visitors didn’t take the monkey off their backs, they removed a silent giant that used to appear on their shoulders every time they came to Ohio. Tonight they made peace with themselves and their entire nation as they sing: Dos a cero, no more.
Mexico came to Columbus determined and focused. They did not allow any distraction, not a single one. That attitude came from their Head Coach, Juan Carlos Osorio who set the tone on Thursday during the press conference when they asked him about the impact of the presidential elections for this match: “I’m here to win a game, not to discuss political reasons” Straight to the point.
With that mindset, Mexico was able to dominate the possession and played an almost perfect first half. They got the lead with a goal from Miguel Layún and made the rival chase the ball. For long periods of time, the USMNT could not cross the center line without having their passes intercepted by the Mexican defense. Christian Pulisic was the only one who could break free with deep runs that ended up diffusing to the flanks to get poor crosses by Fabian Johnson. The Yanks were trapped in their own half of the field with no clear way out.
Once again Klinnsman changed their system to a 3-5-2 that was converted on the fly to a 3-4-3 and functioned like nothing in between. While on the other side of the pitch Osorio laid out also a 3-5-2 successfully transitioned into a 4-3-3 with Vela playing high up and Layún as a traditional left back. The head coach of El Tri used his players at positions where they can be more productive.
The US surge in the second half was mostly based on courage and effort instead of a structured plan of attack. Wit Mexico having a 57% of possession the host opted for playing counter with long balls, going vertical with speed and that’s how they got the equalizer that came from an isolated run from Bobby Wood. Pure will, nothing else.
It was very difficult for the hosts to dictate the tempo, they pushed but Mexico absorbed the pressure and turned into their favor. They talked about set pieces all week and how the US was so dangerous in the aerial game but the goal winner came from a corner and Rafael Marquez anticipated everyone to connect a clean header.
Talent, preparation, and execution were the combination that allowed Mexico to end a fourteen-year-old curse and they broke it with a class act.
