U.S. takes on rival Mexico in international friendly
A day ahead of an exhibition between Mexico and the United States, El Tri moved its training session from the Alamodome to nearby Trinity University because of poor field conditions.
The grass laid on the Alamodome’s concrete floor has brown and yellow patches. Mexico coach Miguel Herrera later toured the field and deemed it worthy of play.
Teams are missing several Europe-based regulars for the game, which is not on a FIFA date for international matches. The game gives U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann another chance to evaluate young players and experiment.
“The U.S. against Mexico is always special, always emotional,” Klinsmann said. “This will always be about being No. 1 in CONCACAF.”
The Americans are missing captain Clint Dempsey, who hasn’t played since injuring a hamstring in training last month, and Jozy Altidore, serving a one-game suspension for his red card in last month’s exhibition against Switzerland. The American roster does include midfielders Kyle Beckerman and Michael Bradley, who leads the group with 95 international appearances.
A pair of players from the World Cup roster, defender DeAndre Yedlin and forward Julian Green, could receive some rare playing time.
Yedlin made his Tottenham debut last weekend as a 79th-minute substitute against Aston Villa, his first first-team club action since he left the Seattle Sounders after the 2014 season. Green has made just five appearances for Hamburg during a season-long loan from Bayern Munich and hasn’t appeared for the first team since Nov. 29. He made his only start on Sept. 14 against Hannover.
Klinsmann’s roster includes players from 10 MLS teams and four teams based in Mexico.
“They are all eager, they all want to prove a point,” Klinsmann said. “They all want to be part of the Gold Cup.”
The crowd in San Antonio is likely to heavily favor Mexico. The city is about 150 miles north of the Mexico border.
“You have some young blood coming in,” Klinsmann said. “Hopefully they keep their emotions under control”.
The U.S. is preparing for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July, where the Americans play Honduras, Haiti and Panama in the first round. The Americans won the 2013 title, and if they repeat they would advance to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. If another nation wins the Gold Cup, it would meet the U.S. in a playoff for the Confederations Cup berth.
“The U.S.-Mexico rivalry is a special one, not just in this region but in the entire world,” Beckerman said. “We’re all looking forward to the game.
But the Gold Cup, which starts in July, is just one major international tournament this summer for Mexico, which is also playing in the Copa America, the South American championship, which starts in June.
NOTES: D.C. United midfielder Perry Kitchen was added to the U.S. roster in place of Puebla defender Michael Orozco, who did not travel to San Antonio after discussions between the team and the U.S. Soccer Federation.
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4/14/2015 5:48:45 PM (GMT -6:00)
