Countdown to the Showdown: USA vs Mexico Olympic Qualifier
El Tri and the USA U-23 teams won their initial games in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament and inch closer to their Group A showdown.
El Tri got off to a dominant start crushing the Dominican Republic 4-1 with a Sebastian Cordova hat-trick. Mexico dominated possession at 79% and averaged 89% pass accuracy in the match. Perhaps the only negative to come from the game is the fact that the front three of Alvarado, Vega, and Antuna were unable to get on the scoresheet.
The USA struggled against a very in-form Costa Rica squad that won the possession, shots and pass accuracy battle but was unable to get one past David Ochoa’s Man of the Match performance in goal.
The American’s next match is slated for March 21 against the Dominican Republic in which they’ll hope to improve their lackluster debut performance, look for Jason Kreis to incorporate Sebastian Saucedo of UNAM and Norwich City’s Sebastian Soto into the starting lineup to help stabilize his squad.
As for El Tri, they will look to improve on their commanding debut as they face-off against Costa Rica in the second match of the day. In this match Jimmy Lozano will likely rotate his squad, and insert JJ Macias and Santiago Munoz inplace of Vega and Antuna up front, or go with an all Chivas front three against Los Ticos.
Both coaches must work hard to keep their squads focused on the opponents in hand first rather than looking forward to their much anticipated showdown Wednesday March 23 in the mythical Estadio Jalisco. A draw or loss in today’s games will put them in a must-win scenario for Wednesday’s match, which may actually benefit the viewer, rather than a possible snooze-fest if both teams have secured their place in the second round.
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