USA-Mexcio: What Bradley will do and why it won’t work
Posted by Creaven on August 11, 2009 under United States, USMNT | 
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![estadio_azteca1[1]](http://intelligentsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/estadio_azteca111-300x174.jpg "estadio_azteca1[1]")
It’s easy to talk yourself into the United States having a real chance at leaving Mexico City with at least a draw Wednesday. The U.S. will field nearly the same team that beat No. 1 Spain and nearly knocked off Brazil; Mexico is struggling is qualifying, standing in fourth place in the six-team group; The U.S. has the best player on the field with Landon Donovan; All the pressure is on Mexico.
That all sounds good, but there’s one tiny-weeny problem — Mexico always wins at home. The U.S. has played Mexico away 23 times, losing 22 matches and tying one. In the last 40 years, El Tri has lost once in World Cup qualifying on Mexican soil; it’s the home field advantage of all home field advantages. Remember how good Costa Rica looked when it beat the U.S. 3-1 in June? Five weeks earlier Costa Rica had its date at the Azteca and Mexico cruised to a 2-0 victory. Which was expected, because — Mexico always wins at home.
I really tried to care about the Gold Cup. After the group stages, I got pumped up; I told myself I was going to have the best Gold Cup commentary on the Internet. Then the United States played Panama in the quarterfinals and I fell asleep in about the 20th minute. Then the U.S. played Honduras is the semifinals and I fell asleep in about the 30th minute. Gold Cup matches were like taking NyQuil is visual form.