PASADENA – It wasn’t Azteca Stadium, but the Mexican national soccer team felt right at home in the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
El Tri, for the second consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cup final, thoroughly outclassed the U.S., scoring four consecutive goals for a 4-2 victory in front a pro-Mexican crowd of 93,420.
With the victory, Mexico earns a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil.
See photos of Mexico fans celebrating in Santa Ana.
“We’re disappointed,” U.S. manager Bob Bradley said. “In a game like this, when you’re together for a month and when feel like you worked hard and grown and put yourself in a final … when you let it get away, it is an empty feeling.”
It is a feeling that usually accompanies the U.S. when it faces Mexico in Azteca Stadium, where the U.S. has never won.
“It was a home game for them,” Bradley said of Saturday’s crowd. “We were here in the Rose Bowl and we were proud of that … the overwhelming support (for them) was something we expected. We understood that was part of what he had to deal with on the night.”
In the 2009 Gold Cup final, the U.S. fielded a “B” team and Mexico took it apart, winning 5-0 at Giants Stadium.
If that result was considered a fluke by some, then the Mexicans left no room to doubt Saturday’s performance.
Even without a goal from the Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Mexico still had plenty in reserve to dispose of the U.S., starting with Pablo Barrera.
Barrera, who plays for relegated West Ham United in England, scored a pair of goals (29th and 50th minutes) for Mexico. His second proved to be the winner.
“We didn’t want the team to get disorganized,” Mexican national team manager Jose Manuel de la Torre said. “The team was very calm and we scored the goals that got us the win.”
After Barrera’s second goal, the U.S. had a couple of good opportunities to scratch out the equalizer.
In the 59th minute, Freddy Adu’s sent a free kick on goal, but Mexican goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera was there to grab it.
In the 60th minute, Clint Dempsey’s strike from atop the 18-yard box hit the crossbar.
Mexican midfielder Giovani Dos Santos then put the game away in spectacular fashion in the 76th minute.
Dos Santos took a pass from Gerardo Torrado inside the box. With Howard closing in at his feet to secure the ball, Dos Santos kept his dribble, backed up to near the top of the 18-yard box and unleashed a curling shot with his left foot that flew over the head of U.S. defender Eric Lichaj into the net for the goal.
Hernandez was the MVP of the tournament. He scored seven goals in the tournament. Mexico scored 22 goals in the tournament.
“Thankfully, we scored a lot of goals,” de la Torre said.
The U.S. did very little in the first half, but led 2-0 after Landon Donovan’s goal in the 23rd minute.
Michael Bradley headed home a Freddy Adu corner in the eighth minute for the game’s first goal.
The tide turned when U.S. central defender Steve Cherundolo went down because of a left ankle injury in the 11th minute.
Jonathan Bornstein was inserted at left back and Lichaj was moved to the right. Bornstein quickly became the target of the Mexican attack and the goals would soon follow.
In the 29th minute, Barrera got past Bornstein on the right and then beat Tim Howard near post for the first Mexican goal.
Seven minutes later, it was Dos Santos’ turn. With Bornstein marking him, Dos Santos ripped a low shot on goal that was deflected away by Lichaj. Howard couldn’t get to the ball and Andres Guardado bundled it over the line to tie the game and set Mexico on the path to victory.
