USA beat Mexico 2-0 and is now guaranteed a spot in next year’s World Cup in Brazil. The top three finishers in the Concacaf tournament go to Brazil; USA is currently first and cannot possibly finish lower than third.
The shocking thing is that there is now a very real chance that Mexico will not be in Brazil. Mexico is currently tied for fourth place with Panama, with very little chance of moving up to third. The fourth-place finisher gets one last chance – a playoff against New Zealand for one of the remaining World Cup positions.
Until recently, I (and a lot of people) thought that Mexico was set to be not just the dominant power in the region, but a major player on the world stage. They had a host of upcoming young stars (e.g., Giovanni dos Santos and Chicharito), they won the U-17 World Cup in 2007, they finished third in the 2011 U-20 World Cup, and they won the Olympic gold last year in London.
And now … pretty much a complete collapse this year. (To be fair, those young stars are still young, and still may develop into what was expected of them).
I love everything about Mexico, with two exceptions – they have crappy Mexican food, and I hate their soccer team. As you might imagine, I’m not unhappy at this moment.
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