Tomorrow night, the U.S. Men’s National Team will take on Mexico in the latest chapter of one of the most storied rivalries in international soccer. The stakes are high as both teams look to start the Hex on a strong note and put themselves in a good position to advance to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Everybody knows the history. Nine times, the U.S. MNT have defeated Mexico 2-0 including the past four in Columbus, Ohio. As soon as fans enter the stadium tomorrow night, the chant of “Dos A Cero” will ring through MAPFRE Stadium. So for today’s Throwback Thursday, we’re throwing it back to the first time the U.S. MNT defeat Mexico 2-0, a game highlighted be a second half golazo from current Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes.
The stage was the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal. The venue was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The stakes were a berth in the championship match of the first Gold Cup tournament.
Both teams entered the match in very different positions. The United States had momentum after participating in its first World Cup in 40 years just 12 months earlier. Mexico on the other hand, was disqualified from competing in the 1990 World Cup after field an ineligible player in a prior youth tournament.
“There was change in a lot of different ways, with the new players, and the Gold Cup was something that was new to us as players as well,” former captain Peter Vermes told ussoccer.com. “We didn’t know too much about what to expect other than the fact it was going to be in L.A. and we knew that we were going to feel like the away team in most of our games because there was more fan support at that time for the international teams.”
More than 41,000 fans packed the Coliseum, with the majority supporting El Tri. After a scoreless first half, the home side silenced the crowd when John Doyle got on the end of a free kick and volleyed his strike past goalkeeper Pablo Larios. Sixteen minutes later, Vermes scored one of the most impressive goals of his career. The New Jersey native ran on to a long ball from Hugo Perez, beat two Mexican defenders off the dribble and looped a 25-yard strike over a helpless Larios.
The USMNT won the match 2-0 and advanced to the championship match against Honduras. After 120 scoreless minutes, the host side defeated Honduras in eight rounds of penalty kicks, with current FC Dallas Technical Director Fernando Clavijo scoring the game-winning kick.
"It was a humongous achievement for us, knowing full well that now we had the chance to play in the final and win," Vermes told MLSsoccer.com last year. "I think it was a major confidence-builder for the group."
