The USMNT got the start they wanted against Mexico on Sunday night in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Michael Bradley chipped Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 6th minute to put the USMNT up at Estadio Azteca. That lead held until the 23rd when Carlos Vela equalized for El Tri. Both teams played for the three points with Mexico hitting the bar in the 71st minute and Bradley clipping the outside of the post from distance in the 74th.
"It's a shame to giveaway the goal that we did,"Bradley told FS1. "Obviously, they had a lot of the ball but tactically the game went the way we expected it and the way we wanted. Anytime you can get a point here, it's great. The mentality and the commitment from every guy was really good, and now we keep moving ourselves forward."
USMNT coach Bruce Arena rotated his squad following the 2-0 shutout of Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday. That meant Jozy Altidore subbing on in the 79th minute as a super sub. Arena started Brad Guzan in goal in place of Tim Howard.
With this game pushed up due to Mexico's participation in the Confederations Cup, the rest of the round concludes on Tuesday. Panama hosts Honduras in Panama City while Costa Rica plays Trinidad & Tobago in San Jose. The USMNT is in 3rd-place tied on points with 2nd-place Costa Rica. The USMNT leads 4th-place Panama by two points.
-- GAME REPORT --
Match: U.S. Men's National Team vs. Mexico
Date: June 11, 2017
Competition: 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying - Final Round
Venue: Estadio Azteca; Mexico City
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Attendance: 81,000
Weather: 76 degrees; cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 0 1
MEX 1 0 1
USA - Michael Bradley
MEX - Carlos Vela (Javier Hernandez) 23
Lineups:
USA: 12-Brad Guzan; 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 3-Omar Gonzalez, 20-Geoff Cameron, 14-Tim Ream, 7-DaMarcus Beasley; 11-Paul Arriola (15-Darlington Nagbe, 63), 16-Kellyn Acosta, 4-Michael Bradley (capt.), 10-Christian Pulisic (19-Graham Zusi, 90+2); 9-BobbyWood (17-Jozy Altidore, 79)
Subs not used: 1-Tim Howard, 22-Nick Rimando, 5-Matt Besler, 6-John Brooks, 8-Clint Dempsey, 13-Dax McCarty, 18-Jordan Morris, 21-Matt Hedges, 23-Fabian Johnson
Head coach: Bruce Arena
MEX : 13-Guillermo Ochoa; 3-Carlos Salcedo, 5-Diego Reyes, 15-Héctor Moreno (capt.), 4-Oswaldo Alanís (23-Jesùs Gallardo, 31); 6-Jonathan Dos Santos (18-Orbelín Pineda, 77), 16-Héctor Herrera, 8-Marco Fabián (7-Javier Aquino, 53); 11-Carlos Vela, 14-Javier Hernández, 22-Hirving Lozano
Subs not used: 1-Rodolfo Cota, 12-Alfredo Talavera, 2-Luis Reyes, 9-Raúl Jiménez, 10-Giovani dos Santos, 17-J ü rgen Damm, 19-Oribe Peralta, 20-Jesús Dueñas, 21-Jesús Molina,
Head coach: Juan Carlos Osorio
Stats Summary: USA / MEX
Shots: 7 / 10
Shots on Goal: 2 / 1
Saves: 0 / 0
Corner Kicks: 7 / 9
Fouls: 21 / 13
Offside: 2 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
USA - DeAndre Yedlin (caution) 44th minute
USA - Paul Arriola (caution) 56
Officials:
Referee: Joel Aguilar Chicas (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Francisco Zumba Galan (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: William Torres Mejia (SLV)
Fourth Official: Jose Kellys Marquez (CRC)
