The U.S. booked its tickets to next summer’s World Cup in Brazil, and they did it fittingly with yet another 2-0 win over archrival Mexico. The U.S. vaulted a point ahead of Costa Rica in the CONCACAF standings, and clinched their bid with two games to spare thanks to Honduras’ draw against Panama.
Here are three keys to know about the World Cup qualifying victory in Columbus, with goals from Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan and a clean sheet by keeper Tim Howard:
DOS A CERO PART III: Mexico’s roster may be pricier, but the U.S’ has proved mentally tougher, especially in Columbus. The U.S. has hosted El Tri in tiny-but-daunting Columbus Crew Stadium in 2001, 2005, 2009 and Tuesday, and won all four by the identical scoreline, thanks to captain Clint Dempsey’s missed PK in stoppage time.
“I’m proud of this team and proud to be a part of it. These guys put in a lot of hard work over the last two years, to have an opportunity in front of a crowd like this to qualify is pretty special,’’ said Donovan, who scored in the 78th minute after Mix Diskerud slid the ball across the goalmouth for an easy toe-poke.
THE REPLACEMENTS: Much was made about the absence of Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler; but the bench came up huge. Eddie Johnson started in lieu of Altidore and gave the U.S. the lead early in the second half with a ferocious header. And Kyle Beckerman and Jermaine Jones were airtight in central midfield replacing Bradley, their most pivotal player.
“They all demonstrated they’re ready to step in, whoever is injured, yellow carded or whatever,’’ said coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
FIND YOUR GAME: Mexico is a hot mess, replacing coach Chepo De la Torre with Luis Fernando Tena this weekend, and staring at a fourth-place playoff in New Zealand. Meanwhile, Klinsmann seems to be accepting the innate DNA of his US team: Excel at set pieces, defend, absorb pressure and counter.
“The effort they put in from the first minute on, we knew it was going to be a tense game, there was a lot at stake on the line. Throughout the entire team everybody was so dedicated, so hungry for this win, they really deserved it,’’ Klinsmann said.
“We knew they were going to come out and have a point to prove. Their nerves are pretty down right now, so we knew we had to be really focused and alert the first 30 minutes. The longer the game goes on we knew they were going to open up, we knew we could raise the bar again, lift the tempo and I think in the second half it was all us.’’