U.S. men escape Estadio Azteca with 1-1 tie against Mexico

By Chris Kudialis

Sunday, June 11, 2017 | 11:39 p.m.

They played to win and not to lose, according to their manager, and the United States escaped with a 1-1 tie Saturday in Estadio Azteca, thanks to a goal for the ages from their captain.

Michael Bradley scored from 35 yards out with a chip that sailed over the outstretched arms of Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the sixth minute. The goal came just after the American midfielder stole a pass from Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez at midfield.

“If you catch it good here, the ball really flies,” Bradley said after the game. “I just caught it good.”

The Americans’ only goal silenced the crowd of just over 81,000 on hand for the sixth of 10 “Hexagonal” games, the final round of CONCACAF qualification matches for next year’s World Cup in Russia.

But 17 minutes later, chants of “USA, USA” from about 5,000 red, white and blue-clad American fans in the upper corner of the stadium changed in favor of the vast majority of those in attendance, when Mexican forward Carlos Vela scored from 25 yards out following a flubbed shot from U.S. forward Bobby Wood. Wood’s shot, from eight yards out, was grabbed by Ochoa, who quickly passed the ball upfield to Hernandez.

Hernandez found Vela for the shot, which rolled past diving U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the 23rd minute.

“I thought their intention from the beginning was to defend,” said Mexican manager Juan Carlos Osorio of the Americans’ strategy. “Our intention was to play more elaborately.”

Both teams had chances and almost added more goals in the match’s second half. The half opened slowly compared to the first half, thanks to a more defensive formation by Bruce Arena’s U.S. squad.

In the 71st minute, Vela’s free kick from 28 yards out bounced off the top-right corner of the U.S. goalpost before being cleared by U.S. defender Geoff Cameron. Three minutes later, Bradley almost scored his second goal of the game, this time from 28 yards out. But like Vela’s shot, Bradley’s blast also ricocheted off the goalpost, out of bounds.

The U.S. began the game with seven changes in their starting lineup from Thursday’s 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. Of the 11 starters on Saturday, seven U.S players had previous experience in Estadio Azteca playing either with the national team or their own clubs: Bradley, Guzan, Cameron, Paul Arriola, DaMarcus Beasley, Omar Gonzalez and Christian Pulisic.

Speaking after the game, Arena said he commissioned Guzan in goal instead of longtime starter Tim Howard because Howard, 38, had groin surgery in November and now “needs more time to recover” between games.

The altitude of Estadio Azteca, which sits at 7,200 feet, also played in his decision to sit Howard, Arena said, because the Americans played also played Thursday’s game at high altitude in Denver.

“We only had two days to rest and we played the two games at high altitudes,” Arena said. “To repeat the lineup we played with Thursday, we would have struggled big time.”

Asked why the U.S. played “not to lose” in the second half, the U.S. manager replied forcefully to a member of the Mexican media that suggested the Americans were playing only for a tie.

“We played to win, not to not lose,” he said. “I would have liked to leave here with three points, but you have to give credit to Mexico, too.”

No Mexican players spoke with the media after Saturday’s game.

The U.S. will return to action on July 1 in a friendly match against Ghana, to be played in East Hartford, Connecticut. A week later, the U.S begins group stage play for the 2017 Gold Cup against Panama. The Americans’ next World Cup qualifying match takes place Sep. 1 against Costa Rica.