COLUMBUS -- Whichever side wins the battle of the midfields could walk away with a victory when the United States plays host to Mexico on Wednesday. The match opens the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
"The center of the field is important, and we hope to make it hard for them in that part of the field, that's certainly something that I think we've done well in some of our important games leading up to this point," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "We know that Pavel Pardo is an incredibly important player for them so we need to close him down quickly, put him under pressure and make the game difficult for him.
"When I watch them I still see the qualities of all the good Mexican teams, players that are good on the ball, mobility and the way they do things as a group and there are some individually talented guys, so we prepare for that."
The match is the first of the 10-game final hexagonal for South Africa 2010. Six teams are vying for three spots with a fourth going to a playoff, against the fifth-place team from South American qualifying.
"The Mexico game is always big for us, that's our main rival and we're their main rival," defender and U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra said. "This match though is pretty special just because it starts off the last round of qualifying and we want to start off on a positive note. That makes it even more important."
Bradley hasn't revealed his starting lineup but it's a good bet that his midfield choices, depending on formation, would include young but experienced players such as DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey and Bradley's son, Michael, and possibly Landon Donovan in an outside spot. All have European experience while Sacha Kljestan of Chivas USA played well in the Beijing Olympics tournament and had three goals against Sweden last month.
Forward Brian Ching said the key against Mexico is to not let them get into a rhythm.
"If we come out and play a good team game as far as coming out and putting pressure on them, not giving them time on the ball, disrupting their flow and not letting them get into a flow, then we'll be effective," he said. "We understand the game is probably not going to be pretty soccer due to the rivalry and the amount of pressure that's on both teams. The team that reacts best to loose balls and second balls will probably have the advantage and win the game."
Both teams in this bitter rivalry will be missing players. The U.S. will be without injured defender Steve Cherundolo (strained hip flexor) and midfielder Pablo Mastroeni due to yellow card accumulation. Mexico will be minus suspended Carlos Vela, Fernando Arce and Gerardo Torrado while Andres Guardado and Jonny Magallon are injured.
Those absences won't provoke sympathy from either side.
"I don't know, hate is a strong word," Bocanegra said of the rivalry. "They're trying to win and we're trying to win. It gets heated, you guys can see that but I think that's because the countries are so intertwined off the field as well, it makes it that much more of a special match."
Mexico has been in poor form lately and the heat is on Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. He replaced Hugo Sanchez and immediately disenfranchised many followers by bringing in several naturalized Mexicans, all but a first in Mexican history. Despite a lackluster showing in the previous qualifying round and a loss to Sweden last month, Eriksson, the former England and Manchester City manager, is undeterred.
He selected four naturalized (two Brazilians, one Argentinean, one Spaniard) for the match Wednesday. Among those to watch are Villarreal forward Guillermo Franco and Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez, who battled through injuries in January to be named to the squad.
The pressure is always on Eriksson, as it is any Mexican national team coach. Rumors abound that he will either be fired if his team loses Wednesday or he will shortly be named the new manager for Chelsea. He spent much of Tuesday's press conference fielding queries about his status.
"I never think like that because it is negative," he said. "I have a contract until after the World Cup in 2010. We will qualify. I'm not thinking about losing tomorrow. Of course, I feel pressure. Why I want to be a football coach is to have pressure. It's not a distraction. Myself and my team are focused on tomorrow.
"If Chelsea wants me they can call me. They haven't called. I am happy where I am. Extremely happy."
Bradley doesn't think the talk of Eriksson's future will be a factor.
"I'm sure that within the team they have a good mindset," he said. "Sven-Goran Eriksson has an excellent track record everywhere he's coached and I'm sure they are not allowing too much of what is flying around to interfere with their mentality. He is an experienced coach and you always try to find ways to prepare your team accordingly. You guys all get to hear me talk about the work that gets done on the inside and you have to create an inner circle. You rely very heavily on all of that during these moments."
It is a formidable challenge facing the Mexicans. Columbus was chosen for two reasons: the smaller venue in Middle America makes it more difficult for Mexicans to get tickets and the possibility of cold weather was too much of an allure.
On Feb. 28, 2001, the teams played the infamous "La Guerra Fria" or "Cold War." It was 29 degrees at kickoff in Crew Stadium for the qualifier, but the wind chill was in the teens. The Mexicans didn't bother coming out of the locker room prior to the game and the USA rolled to a 2-0 victory behind goals from Josh Wolff and Earnie Stewart before a very pro-U.S. crowd.
That planted the seed that Columbus would not be a desired location for the Mexicans. The stigma grew even more four years later when the U.S. won 2-0 again to clinch a spot in the 2006 World Cup. At least the Mexicans couldn't blame the weather this time: The Sept. 3 night game was about 40 degrees warmer.
Overall, the Yanks are 3-0-2 in qualifiers and a 4-0-3 overall mark in Crew Stadium. The U.S. has scored 10 goals while yielding only one.
The U.S. is 8-0-2 on home soil vs. Mexico since 2000, with a 17-3 scoring advantage.
"We have to do better," Eriksson said. "The first time to do better is (Wednesday)."
There are no worries about it being cold for the match but the forecast calls for it to be in the 50s at kickoff with a possible of thunderstorms and very high winds, possibly over 50 miles an hour.
Eriksson repeatedly said the field is in very good shape and Bradley hopes a little wetness will make it an advantage for the U.S.
"There is the possibility of rain on Wednesday and I expect that the field is going to be fast," he said. "I think that early in the game it will be important to try to be the team that is aggressive in an intelligent way, trying to play in the other team's end, connecting passes and finding a rhythm, trying to jump on the loose balls. Certainly in a game like this, beginning this round, the expectation is that the game will start out at a very fast tempo and we want to be ready for that."
Just as important could be the aura surrounding Crew Stadium that has the Mexicans wondering if they will score, much less secure a tie or win.
"Part of the mystique is that we've gotten really good results here over the last few years; so that always makes the players feel a lot more comfortable. It seems to be a good turnout, the crowd is always behind us so that always helps," starting goalkeeper Tim Howard said.
Wednesday could provide another epic encounter, said Donovan. "I enjoy these games because they are so special," he said.
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