| |
Mexico advances on golden goal Blanco's strike downs U.S. 1-0 in Confed Cup semi
Posted: Sunday August 01, 1999 07:56 PM
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored in sudden-death overtime as Mexico beat the United States 1-0 on Sunday to advance to the Confederations Cup final. Mexico will face Brazil -- the winner of Sunday's other semifinal -- in the final Wednesday at Azteca Stadium. The United States will play Saudi Arabia in the third-place game Tuesday in Guadalajara. The United States, playing at Mexico City's 2,240-meter (7,350-foot) altitude with less than two days of rest, fell short in its bid for its first-ever victory over Mexico at Azteca. Kasey Keller was brilliant in goal for the United States, but Blanco finally broke through in the 97th minute for the persistent Mexican attack. Blanco, tied up by Jeff Agoos and later Eddie Lewis throughout most of the game, first tried to kick the loose ball with his right foot, but it bounced off a defender as Keller went to his left. Blanco then just pushed it in for his fifth goal of the tournament. "Their goalie played very well. It was a tough game," Mexican coach Manuel Lapuente said. Mexico had its first chance in regulation play in the second minute when Blanco served a pass to Isaac Terrazas down the right alley, but Keller stopped Terrazas' shot. "Both teams played well," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "There were two champions in the game. I want to congratulate Mexico." Arena criticized FIFA, soccer's world governing body, saying the tournament's schedule was "poorly thought out." "We had very little time from Friday's game to come to Mexico [City], and there was not enough time to get used to the altitude," said Arena, whose team beat Germany 2-0 on Friday in Guadalajara. Mexico relied on speed, sending its attack down the right side with Terrazas and Jose Manuel Abundis up front and Blanco and Ramon Ramirez as coordinators. Keller saved the United States in the eighth minute when he dove to deflect a shot by Rafael Marquez following a pass in the area from Claudio Suarez. Keller again went to his left two minutes later to stop a shot by Ramirez that was headed for the upper corner. Americans Cobi Jones and Frankie Hejduk missed with wide shots during the first half, but the U.S. attackers rarely were a serious threat to the net defended by Jorge Campos. Terrazas again came close in the 44th minute when he took a long pass from Salvador Carmona, but fired an easy shot into the goalkeeper's hands. Keler made another great save in the 47th minute when he deflected Gerardo Torrado's close-range shot to the dismay of the 70,000 fans. In the 53rd minute, Jones got away down the left side and served a pass across to Ernie Stewart, whose clear shot was stopped by an on-rushing Campos. Jones took advantage of a Mexican mistake in the 66th minute to sweep down the left side, but his close-in attempt went high over the crossbar. Scorer: Mexico: Cuauhtemoc Blanco (97th min) Attendance: 70,000 Mexico: 1-Jorge Campos, 2-Claudio Suarez, 4-Rafael Marquez, 5-Gerardo Torrado (19-Miguel Zepeda 58th min), 6-German Villa, 7-Ramon Ramirez (16-Jesus Arellano 72nd min), 9-Jose Manuel Abundis,10-Cuauhtemoc Blanco, 13-Pavel Pardo, 14-Isaac Terrazas (17-Francisco Palencia 46th min), 18-Salvador Carmona United States: 18-Kasey Keller, 2-Frankie Hejduk, 3-Gregg Berhalter, 4-Robin Fraser, 6-John Harkes, 8-Ernie Stewart, 10-Jovan Kirovski, 12-Jeff Agoos, 13-Cobi Jones, 15-Richie Williams, 20-Brian McBride (7-Eddie Lewis 78th min). Referee: Young Joo Kim, South Korea
| |||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||
