Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi earned his third cap for the U.S. Men's National Team on Wednesday, coming in a historic 1-0 win over Mexico at Estadio Azteca. Zusi entered the match at right mid for Danny Williams in the 60th minute, while Sporting KC teammate Matt Besler was named to the gameday roster following his first USMNT training camp but did not appear in the international friendly.
The U.S. earned the victory on a goal from Michael Orozco Fiscal (video) in the 80th minute and three saves from Tim Howard (video) in net for the shutout. It marks the first ever U.S. victory on Mexican soil in 25 all-time matches and came in the first friendly between the two teams to be played in Mexico in nearly 30 years.
The U.S. is now 6-1-2 in 2012, having earned 1-0 wins in all three of Zusi's appearances (two of which came outside the United States). His 30 minutes of action were his first minutes for the U.S. as a substitute, having previously started for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in victories over Venezuela and Panama in January. Read the player ratings below from media members analyzing last night's game:
Yanks Abroad (6): Zusi was an improvement in the US midfield. When he entered into the game, the US was able to hold the ball a little bit more and generate the offense. The team was not on their heels as much when Zusi entered the game. He will push to take Torres' spot in the future.
Soccer America: As the second half dragged on without a goal, the Mexicans' hurried attacks broke apart in the middle third, and the Americans gained a foothold through the work of Graham Zusi and DaMarcus Beasley, who had replaced Danny Williams and Landon Donovan, respectively.
Soccer America (6): Clipped a nice free kick just over Boyd's head, and cleared away a free kick that had dropped into a dangerous spot.
Sports Illustrated (5): The Sporting Kansas City playmaker came on for Williams to provide more of an attacking aspect to the right side, and while the Americans' inability to put together a cohesive, rhythmic attack prevented him from coming through in the run of play, he offered another outlet that Williams did not. His clearance of Mexico's final wave of attack helped seal the victory.
NE Soccer Today (5.25): Didn’t see much of the ball in his half hour on the pitch, but kept the play moving when he did and put in solid set pieces…Added an interesting dimension to passing and set pieces and his work in the middle was solid.
GOAL.com: Good performance from Zusi who stopped some of the bleeding on defense as well as pushing up front when needed.
New York Times (5): If you can have an uneventful showing in a historic game, Zusi did just that. He was called into duty on defense – not necessarily his strength – and performed capably.
