Remember the Alamodome? Despite a dire pitch that made trying to pass the ball akin to playing pinball during a mild earthquake, Jordan Morris will never forget it.
The 20-year-old Stanford University student opened the scoring with his first international goal in the second half and another strike from Juan Agudelo confirmed victory as Jurgen Klinsmann’s side shook off their recent lackluster form with a win earned by a forceful performance after the break.
The evening proved ideal for Klinsmann. It was a notable win achieved with an experimental line-up made possible with a goal from one of his boldest selections, a sophomore student with an unremarkable college-level scoring record. The US also kicked their habit of conceding late goals, closing the match out comfortably.
Morris’s wild shooting in the warm-up offered no clue that he would finish his chance so efficiently. “He was pretty much missing everything. I told him, ‘just relax, it’s OK’,” said Klinsmann. “You’ve got to have your nerves together, you’ve got to get it under control… You jump for joy because that’s what you want to feel for this guy. It was very enjoyable.”
The former Germany striker said that with Clint Dempsey unavailable and Chris Wondolowski nursing a minor injury he decided to give Morris his first start. “Coaches always try to foresee a little bit where the path of a player will go. It takes the circumstances to give him that opportunity,” he said. “Why not give him a chance? He trained very well… We see his improvement, there’s a constant positive path in him.”
Morris said that his achievement had not “really hit me yet… it was a super-emotional time. It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid.” He added that going into the game he felt “nervous, but I was excited”. He will be back at school on Friday – though he might, understandably, have a hard time concentrating in class. “I can’t think about that,” he said.
The nations’ first meeting in a year was not your average Gold Cup warmup. What was once a habitual walkover for Mexico is now a contest between sporting equals, which has given the rivalry new vigour and the result significance regardless of the competitive context or the quality of the lineups.
The US are now surfing a six-match unbeaten streak against Mexico under Klinsmann, who has not lost to them since taking charge as head coach in 2011.
Klinsmann’s side have been doing plenty of losing since the World Cup, however: played 10, won three, lost four. This year has brought defeats by Denmark and Chile, a win over Panama and a draw with Switzerland two weeks ago.
The US next face the Netherlands on 5 June and Germany five days later, where what is likely to be a more experienced squad will face strong opponents on smoother surfaces ahead of a potential rematch between these sides in the Gold Cup.
Despite tepid results and a sense of philosophical incoherence that has dampened many of the post-Brazil good vibrations, Klinsmann is not a man who glances over his shoulder. Not when he is perpetually engaged in forging a bright future, though one that does not seem to shine with a light quite as blinding as seemed possible, even probable, a couple of years ago.
Still, Morris’s goal is bound to give him confidence and a feeling that he belongs at this level, while much of the attacking play in the second half after Agudelo arrived off the bench was incisive, a penetrating blend of directness and guile.
Without injured captain Dempsey and the suspended Jozy Altidore, Klinsmann gave Morris and the Los Angeles Galaxy starlet Gyasi Zardes starts in attack. DeAndre Yedlin, fresh from his Premier League debut with Tottenham, was at right-back but did not have a distinguished night.
For Mexico, Miguel Herrera started Cubo Torres, who will join Houston Dynamo in the summer having signed then been loaned to Chivas Guadalajara.
The US have not lost at home in 21 matches, though this was a home match in geography alone. San Antonio’s population is about two-thirds Hispanic and only 150 miles from the nearest border crossing. Perhaps two-thirds of the 64,369 crowd were backing Mexico, with the greatest concentration of American fans massed behind one goal, as if they were the visiting support.
Cultural connections also make this a rivalry fit for a globalised, shrunken planet: four of the US matchday roster play in Mexico and six were theoretically eligible to play for El Tri.
While the Alamodome – a short walk from the shrine to Texan independence and inspiration for a bad John Wayne movie – made for a boisterous venue, the pitch was problematic enough to generate pre-match grousing from both camps. It was clear that playing in this stadium meant a decision to prioritise the spectacle above the surface.
The field, grass laid over concrete, was being watered by men with colossal, serpentine hoses only half an hour before kick-off. The indoor stadium managed the unusual achievement of creating a freshly-laid pitch that looked like a full season’s worth of football had taken place on it; or a multitude of monster truck rallies.
The ball was as agitated as a trapped wasp on passes short or long, simple or complex, all across the field. You half wondered whether there were a hundred trampolines hidden beneath the surface. Yet the capricious bounces and the febrile atmosphere lent the match a half-crazed energy that added in excitement what was lost in elegance.
In the first half the US offered a frantic tempo and an urgent desire to lash the ball up to the front two, while Mexico more patiently sought to go wide to craft openings. There were few clear chances, though in the eighth minute Mexico’s Eduardo Herrera gathered a cross from the right and carved out space for a shot that went listlessly wide of Nick Rimando’s goal. He was much closer five minutes before the break, hitting the side netting.
The US were grateful to centre-back Omar Gonzalez, making his first international appearance since last October, who made a couple of pertinent aerial interceptions, while Mix Diskerud was a perky presence in midfield.
The US’s Mexico-born goalkeeper William Yarbrough came on for the second period, though the ball spent most of its time in the opposition half early on as Klinsmann’s men began strongly and were soon rewarded when a loose ball broke to Morris who coolly finished low under the goalkeeper in the 49th minute.
While Mexico looked ever more menacing, the Americans made it 2-0 on the break inside the last 20 minutes when Agudelo soothed the writhing ball on the edge of the area then crashed it low past Cirilo Saucedo, who seemed flummoxed by a haphazard bounce. The US may have been heavily outnumbered in the stands, but the only numbers that truly count were in their favour: dos a cero.
USA: Rimando (sub: Yarbrough, 46); Yedlin, Gonzalez, Alvarado, Garza (Shea, 46); Diskerud (Evans, 80), Bradley, Beckerman (Kitchen, 63), Corona (Ibarra, 46); Zardes, Morris (Agudelo, 65).
Mexico: Saucedo; Mier (Alanis, 46), F Rodriguez (L Rodriguez, 60), Salcedo (Dominguez, 46), Velarde; Esquivel, Osuna, Montes (Rios, 79), Flores (Corral, 67); Torres, Herrera (Bueno, 83).
Referee: R Montero (Costa Rica)
