Naturally, it came down to this. USA-Mexico, the one soccer matchup in this part of the world that never needs any extra hatred or added subplots, has plenty.
The U.S. can clinch a ticket to next summer’s World Cup in Brazil with a win over archrival Mexico on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio (8 p.m., ESPN).
“Every time this process goes on, it’s never easy, always unpredictable,” star Landon Donovan said. “There are a lot of ups and downs. We’ve been on ups recently and now this is a down. We’ll have to see how we recover and see what we’re made of.”
“We’re playing Mexico in a must-win game, and we need to see how we respond.”
From struggling Mexico firing its coach after an embarrassing loss on Friday to the U.S. having to play minus four regulars tonight, there’s plenty of intrigue. That three of them are gone because of yellow cards handed out by a Mexican referee? Just the latest spice sprinkled on a red-hot rivalry.
THE SHORTHANDED STATES
“We have history here,” said midfielder Michael Bradley, arguably the most influential U.S. player, who is out with a sprained left ankle.
The Americans’ 12-game winning streak this summer under Jurgen Klinsmann was snapped on Friday. Their last loss before that? A 4-2 defeat in a friendly with Belgium in May, when Bradley didn’t play and the midfield was dominated. Bradley came back a couple of days later to lead a 4-3 upset of Germany that kicked off the winning streak, a run that ended when he was again sidelined in Costa Rica.
See the trend?
“It’s not an excuse, but it hurts,” Donovan said of the Jersey-born Bradley, son of former national team coach Bob Bradley. “This team has in large part been built around Michael and that hurts.”
The rest of the missing players – forward Jozy Altidore, midfielder Geoff Cameron and centerback Matt Besler – are suspended due to yellow cards incurred Friday.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
The fouls called on Besler and Altidore were the most scrutinized. Altidore, the team’s top scorer, came off the bench Friday and picked up an inane yellow during injury time. And Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez assessed Besler a yellow for a supposed foul on Costa Rica’s Joel Campbell, which replays showed to be a phantom call – Campbell fell down without being touched. An accumulation of two yellow cards causes a player to be suspended for the next qualifying match.
“It kind of just confirmed my fears before the game with the yellow-card issue,” said Klinsmann, who could start Clarence Goodson in Besler’s stead.
“We’re going to have to have guys step up, there’s no question,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “I think we’ve talked about it over the last three years: We build toward this every game, so a guy can step in and not miss a beat and get the cohesion right.”
DOS A CERO
The U.S. can clinch a World Cup berth with two qualifiers left with a win tonight and a Honduras win or tie against Panama. Columbus Crew Stadium has been a great edge against Mexico. The Americans recorded 2-0 wins over their neighbor there in 2001, 2005 and 2009, the last of which clinched a World Cup berth.
“The mood’s been positive because of how the results went,” Howard said. “We’ve been on a run the last four or five months and dug out a lot of results we shouldn’t have.”
The U.S. (4-2-1, 13 points) is second in CONCACAF, one point behind Costa Rica and three ahead of Honduras. The top three countries in the six-team region make the 32-team World Cup field in Brazil while the fourth-place team – currently Mexico (1-1-5, 8 pts.) – goes into a playoff against New Zealand.
WATCH PARTIES
Looking for places to watch the biggest U.S. game the year? Here are some of the best spots, on both sides of the Hudson:
Legends Bar NYC
6 West 33rd St.
New York, NY
(212) 967-7792
Manchester Pub
920 Second Ave. (at 49th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 935-8901
Nevada Smiths
100 Third Ave. (bet. 12th & 13th St.)
New York, NY
(212)-982-2591
El Pastor
570 Market St.
Newark, NJ
Kearny Scots Club
40 Patterson St. (at Highland)
Kearny, NJ