Here’s how the final Hex table looks like:
Our boys in first place for the third straight time!! Only
two losses, both of which were away, helped us secure the top spot. Costa Rica
finished second and the third and fourth place teams were determined last
night. And what a crazy night it was! Honduras was the only team that had
world cup hopes secured; no matter what happened they would at least go to the
play off games.
And the night started when Panama
scored in the 18th minute to lead the US. They were still in fifth place
and out of world cup contention as all Mexico needed was not to lose. Then
Costa Rica scored in the 25th
minute to send Mexico home
and Panama
was in fourth place. Mexico
was out of the world cup for 4 minutes when they tied the game and gave
themselves a little bit of breathing room. It was half time and Mexico was in fourth place and Panama in fifth
place. Then came the second Costa Rica
goal in the 64th minute which gave Costa
Rica the lead 2-1 and kicked Mexico back out. But WAIT!! US scores!!
Michael Orozco, the one who scored against Mexico
to help the US win in the
Azteca, has just tied it for the US! A Mexican American inadvertently
helping Mexico.
Mexico
is back in. With Mexico
losing in Costa Rica for the
first time in 21 years, their world cup hopes are kept alive by the US!
Then comes the Panama
goal in the 84th minute to give Panama the lead once again. Panama is back in fourth place and Mexico is
kicked out again! It seemed like it was all over for Mexico. They were out for another 6
minutes when the US
scored!! Zusi with the second goal for the US, but it didn’t end there! Johannsson
adds a third to end the game 3-2!! US wins and Mexico fans celebrate! “USMNT
scores in stoppage time to save Mexico’s
world cup hopes!” Headlines all over Mexico
thank the US.
They know that Mexico
did nothing to keep their world cup hopes alive. All they had to do was not
lose, a place where they had not lost in over two decades. And the tweet heard
around the country:
Mexico
and FIFA owe the US
big time! $600 million are kept alive. I think US should get a share of that maybe to help pay the government debt? Now
Mexico has another chance to
go to the World Cup by beating New Zealand,
a team that just played to a draw against Chivas USA.
I wonder if Mexico
will build Zusi a statue like Honduras
did for Bornstein. Mexico
relied on our boys and our boys showed why they deserve to be on top of the
hex. US showed pure class and gave a lesson in fair play. They had a chance to
eliminate their biggest rival and nothing to play for. Well at least the team
as a whole didn’t, but the individual players did. They are all fighting for a
spot to play in next year’s world cup.
For those of you upset about Mexico, don’t be. The comeback from
our USMNT was unbelievable!! The video that shows the excitement on the TV Azteca announcers was awesome but unfortunately taken down. And that ladies and gentlemen is why all the games
are played at the same time.
