There is no need to hit the panic button yet though. Mexico dominated possession against England, clearly outplaying them in the first half. Arsenal striker Carlos Vela, the missed two clear goal-soring chances in the stanza (the 1:55 mark being one of them), showing the rust he has accumulated from riding the pine at Emirates Stadium. Vela played a total 0f 92 of a possible 1,800 minutes in Arsenal's last 20 matches. Were it not for Peter Crouch, the 6-7 giant of a soccer player, and Mexico's lousy marking on set plays, the Aztecs would have gone into the half with a lead.
A loss is not always a bad loss either. This was Mexico's first legitimate opponent since qualifying ended last year. Mexico showed it can play under pressure and play well. Granted, England did not have its A squad out there, skipper Fabio Capello gave the Chelsea and Portsmouth players a rest and mixed and matched line-ups. However, anytime you can go into Wembley and outplay a British squad you can chalk it up as a job well done.
The United State's loss, while not to an opponent of England's caliber, is equally as justifiable. Using the match as an opportunity to evaluate players on the bubble of not making the team, coach Bob Bradley sat many of his starters: Landin Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra, Tim Howard. The Czechs were also at less than full-strength, but this game was clearly more about scouting players than getting a result.
What did we find out? For starters the defense is not as strong as it was during the Confederations Cup. Oguchi Onyewu is clearly not back to full form having sat out most of the year at A.C. Milan with an injury. Jonathan Bornstein is still as unreliable as ever, having been burned a couple times during the match. Heath Pearce...well, the book is closed on him, there is no chance in hell he makes the final 23.
We also learned that Demarcus Beasley may not be washed up after all. The former Fire star played a stellar game in the midfield, showing pace and control. He may have won himself a spot on the team with his performance. Club teammate Maurice Edu also played well, scoring a goal and giving Bradley a tough choice at who to start at defensive mid, him or Ricardo Clark.
On the offensive side of things, Herculez Gomez might have booked a ticket to South Africa with yet another goal scoring performance. Edison Buddle is probably staying stateside and Brian Ching will somehow make another World Cup squad.
In the end, it sucks to lose at home. Hopefully Bradley saw what he needed to see and will take the best 23 players America can offer.
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