FIFA U-17 World Cup Final Mexico 2:0 Uruguay, Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, 98,943
It all ended sweetly for the host nation as Mexico's Under 17 team won the World Cup in front of a partisan sea of green in the Azteca today.
Captain Antonio Briseno's goal just after the half hour gave the home team the cushion and Giovani Casillas' breakaway finish in injury time at the end of the 90 sealed a perfect day for El Tri.
Uruguay can count themselves unlucky having hit the post twice but offered little in offensive threat after the break when it was needed. Their final perhaps was their impressive 3-0 elimination of Brazil in the semi. When Uruguay's Juan San Martin frapped the woodwork on the hour it looked like was going to be Mexico's day and with the crowd behind them, their confidence grew. Azteca gasps turned to roars moments after San Martin's chance as Julio Gomez entered the fray, still sporting the head bandage worn by many fans in homage to his semi-final heroics. The psychological momentum of the game was Mexico's.
With the senior team winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup last month, the capture of the U17 World Cup completes a summer of love for the Central American powerhouse. Perhaps one of the world's great sleeping giants is finally on the road to greatness. Tags
The tournament's two most impressive teams, Brazil and Germany, who had netted a total of 30 goals between them, will be playing for third place after being knocked out of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the semi-finals.
Brazil were not at the races in Guadalajara, falling 3-0 to Uruguay, while the German juggernaut came off the road at last in Torreon, losing 3-2 to hosts Mexico having led 2-1 on the hour.
16 year-old Julio Gomez was the hero of the day, opening the scoring in the third minute with a well-placed header and bandaged up like Mr. Bump, scoring the winner from a bicycle kick in the final minute.
FINAL: Sun 10/07/11 Mexico City, Midnight GMT (18h local time) MEXICO v URUGUAY 3rd Place Play-Off: Sun 10/07/11 Mexico City 21h GMT (15h local time), Brazil v Germany
Mexico overturned a two-goal deficit to retain their status as champions of North & Central America following an action-packed win over the United States in Pasadena.
In front of a largely pro-Mexican crowd of 93,420 which left the Rose Bowl feeling more like the Azteca, the USA stormed into a 2-0 advantage after Michael Bradley headed Freddy Adu's corner in after eight minutes and Landon Donovan coolly slotted home Clint Dempsey's deft through-ball a quarter of an hour later. Donovan celebrated by mimicking a chicken, a mocking reference to the contaminated fowl Mexico had blamed for returning five positive drug tests shortly before the tournament.
Unlike in 2009 when the more lucrative pull of the FIFA Confederations Cup saw the US field a B-team in the Gold Cup, Bob Bradley picked a strong starting eleven with Donovan the sole MLS representative.
But a crucial injury early on to experienced full-back Steve Cherundolo left Jonathan Bornstein, who plays his football for Tigres in Mexico, and Aston Villa's Eric Lichaj, who spent last season on loan at Leeds, holding the backline together. Their inexperience proved costly as the US left several gaps which were exploited by raiding Mexicans. Tactically, the Americans proved their own worst enemy by gambling on maintaining an open game when two goals to the good.
Bornstein was caught out of position when Pablo Barrera pulled one back just short of the half-hour, the West Ham man finding the time and space to fire past Tim Howard from Israel Castro's defence-splitting lance. With 36 minutes gone the American cushion had evaporated.
Giovani Dos Santos was again a tormentor supreme, running onto Castro's chip before teasing Bornstein and whipping in a cross which Lichaj could only knock into the path of Andres Guardado for an easy tap-in.
So dangerous was Dos Santos in a Mexican shirt, that once more it raised the question of why he cannot find a place in Tottenham Hotspur's first-team squad.
The former Barcelona starlet has been on the North London club's books since 2008 but has only made ten appearances, spending more time on loan at Ipswich, Galatasaray and last season, at Racing Santander in Spain.
Barrera netted his second and Mexico's third five minutes after the break with the goal of the game. Having peeled away from Carlos Bocanegra on the edge of the box, he met Guardado's diagonal assist first-time with a classy hit from the outside of his boot which left Howard clutching air.
Now the US had to play catch-up. Bocanegra crashed the box at a set-piece as he does so well but guided his header inches wide of the upright. And when Dempsey curled a shot against the crossbar with goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera rooted to the spot just short of the hour it looked like it was not going to be the US' day.
The ebullient Dos Santos clinched the cup fourteen minutes from time as he ran onto Gerardo Torrado's incisive ball and smuggled it from Howard's despairing lunges. He then led a host of white shirts on a merry-dance through the box before lobbing the lot of them with a spectacular finish worthy of a tournament-decider. Chicharito failed to get on the day's scoresheet but ended up player of the tournament (MVP) and top scorer with seven goals.
The defeat was doubly sour for the US as it means there will be no repeat of their 2009 Confederations Cup heroics when they beat Spain and led Brazil 2-0 in the final before succumbing 3-2.
Instead, Mexico join hosts Brazil, Spain and Japan as qualifiers in the eight-team tournament in June 2013. The winners of the 2011 Copa America, Euro 2012, the 2012 OFC Nations Cup and the 2013 African Cup of Nations will complete the line-up.
The Gold Cup remains somewhat of an oddity for several reasons: It is biennial instead of every four years, has had guest teams almost win it before and its only two strong sides invariably make it to the final, unless a superior tournament robs them of their first-teamers.
When as this year it hands the winners passage to the next Confederations Cup however, it is taken seriously. It is always held in one country (the USA) but as on Sunday, the volume of Latino expat support can leave the host nation feeling like it is playing tough away games.
Tim Howard was less than impressed by the Spanish-language trophy presentation:
"CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves," he fumed. "I think it's a f*****g disgrace...You can bet your ass if we were in Mexico City, it wouldn't be all in English." For a region turned upside-down this month through internecine conflict ending in the resignation of its notorious boss Jack Warner, there was at least an exciting game of football to remind everyone what it should all be about.
USA:Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson, Eric Lichaj, Steve Cherundolo (Jonathan Bornstein 11'), Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya (Juan Agudelo 63'), Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu (Sacha Kljestan 86').
Mexico: Alfredo Talavera, Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido (Torres 28'), Hector Moreno, Andres Guardado, Gerado Torrado, Israel Castro, Pablo Barrera, Efrain Juarez, Giovani Dos Santos, Javier Hernandez.
Shots on target: USA 4, Mexico 8 Possession: USA 46%, Mexico 54%
A quarter of the FIFA World Cup participants are in action over the next couple of days, with the qualifiers eager to test themselves against extra-continental opposition in advance of the finals.
England tackle Mexico in London in temperatures more akin to Central America (30C) than North-West Europe. The slippery Wembley pitch is still causing worries in many minds, particularly if it crocks another of Fabio Capello's squad. Experimentation will be the order of the day with no Chelsea or Portsmouth players involved and only one more game (v Japan in Graz on May 30th) left before the final 23 players are selected. With No.1 David James rested, Manchester City goalie Joe Hart, the most talented but least experienced England custodian, is sure to play at least 45 minutes, as is West Ham's Robert Green.
The other possible auditions tonight include the talented Adam Johnson and speedster Theo Walcott on the right flank, Everton's dependable Leighton Baines at left back and jack of all trades James Milner in central midfield. It will be an experimental evening for England, but the first choice three lions eleven, assuming Gareth Barry passes his fitness test tomorrow, still resembles something like this:
Los Tricolores are looking to impress after finishing a point behind the US in CONCACAF's qualifiers following a disastrous start under Sven-Goran Eriksson. Eriksson was in charge of England the last time tonight's opponents played, the three lions running out 4-0 winners at Pride Park, Derby, in 2001.
Javier Aguirre brings a talented squad including Barcelona duo Jonathan Dos Santos and Rafael Marquez, along with local heroes Carlos Vela of Arsenal, Guillermo Franco of West Ham and Giovanni dos Santos of Spurs (on-loan at Galatasaray).
The team's arrival in London last night was delayed three hours due to a bird strike on their British Airways airliner in Nuremburg. The Mexicans have a hectic practise schedule with games against Holland on Wednesday, Gambia on the 30th of May and Italy on the 3rd of June.
England beat Mexico 2-0 at Wembley on their way to the 1966 World Cup with a memorable goal from Bobby Charlton.
Mexico have the poisoned chalice of facing the hosts in Soccer City in the opening game on June 11th, and have also got to contend with France and Uruguay in a tricky Group A.
England face the slightly easier prospect of the USA, Algeria and Slovenia in Group C.
Mon 24th May England v Mexico Tue 25th May Georgia v Cameroon Greece v North Korea Nigeria v Saudi Arabia Eire v Paraguay USA v Czech Republic
in offensive threat after the break when it was needed. Their final perhaps was their impressive 3-0 elimination of Brazil in the semi. When Uruguay's Juan San Martin frapped the woodwork on the hour it looked like was going to be Mexico's day and with the crowd behind them, their confidence grew.
