The USA-Mexico rivalry is ready to resume today as the the U.S. national team takes on 'El Tri' in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final at Giants Stadium today (3pm, Fox Soccer Channel/Univision).
The Americans are looking to win a third straight Gold Cup while Mexico is looking to win its first match vs. the USA on American soil in almost a decade.
I will be providing commentary throughout the day so please feel free to follow the match here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (USA lineup after the jump):
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HALFTIME- USA 0, Mexico 0. Pretty even game. Both teams have had chances, but neither has really taken a hold of this game. Who will step up in the second half?
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45th Minute- Mexico on the counter again. But no, Alberto Medina sends another shot wide.
That's where Dos Santos wants to be, in space with the ball, running at the USA attack. He's so good but his teammates aren't stepping up.
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44th Minute- Marshall CLUTCH with a defensive intervention on a Mexico breakaway. Goodson nearly let Mexico in for a goal with a poorly-timed slide tackle that opened up a Mexico counter.
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42nd Minute- Mexico struggling to create in the final third. They need a more creative player in central midfield since Dos Santos seems to be parked higher up the field (where Marshall has done a good job on him).
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40th Minute- Pause with the turnover on the long pass attempt. Mexico hasn't found much in the middle of the field so it hasn't bee a totally bad game for Pause but he's on a yellow and has had some nervy moments.
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36th Minute- Neither team has really put a stamp on the game yet. Mexico has looked deadly on the counter, while the USA has had a few nice sequences.
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34th Minute- Beckerman goes wide with a shot from the arc. Definitely had a Panama flashback there, but it wasn't to be.
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33rd Minute- USA corner off a bad mexico header. This Mexican defense is definitely vulnerable.
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32nd Minute- Guillermo Ochoa has enjoyed a strong tournament for Mexico and isn't going to be easy to beat today.
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31th Minute- Sabah header wide.
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30th Minute- Mexico corner kick.
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28th Minute- HOLDEN WIDE!!!!!! He had a clear look from distance and sends it wide. Great sequence.
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27th Minute- Ching is ruled offside on a sequence and Pause gets a yellow for shooting into the goal after the whistle. Not sure how he would have heard that whistle, but it was pretty late.
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24th Minute- Heaps with a yellow card for a hard foul.
USA doing well to shadow Dos Santos.
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23rd Minute- Americans started out well, but they need to be careful not to let Mexico start finding its rhythm.
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21st Minute- Beckerman with an unforced turnover. Americans need to do much better with the ball.
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20th Minute- Mexico with a good stretch of possession. USA looking a bit nervous in that sequence. Beckerman and Pause need to slow things down.
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18th Minute- Logan Pause looking shaky early on.
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17th Minute- Goodson is back on the field.
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17th Minute- USA is playing a man down right now.
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16th Minute- Looks like Goodson caught a head to the face ala Jimmy Conrad vs. Panama.
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14th Minute- USA with a chance on the corner but Ching's shot is blocked. Goodson is down on the ground.
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13th Minute- USA with another corner off a long free kick.
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12th Minute- The field definitely looks to be playing slow, which is to be expected from two-day-old grass.
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11th Minute- USA is holding its own early with some useful possession. No real chances yet though.
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9th Minute- USA wins a corner. Holden's hit a few good ones.
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8th Minute- Dos Santos sent the springing pass on that chance. He's so hard to defend because he floats all over.
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6th Minute- Chad Marshall is paying extra attention to Gio Dos Santos today, as he should considering Dos Santos is far and away Mexico's most dangerous player.
DANGEROUS Mexico cross finds nobody.
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4th Minute- This is a bit of a defensive-minded Mexico lineup, with Aguirre looking like he's emphasizing possession early.
USA on the move but can't break down Mexico's back-line.
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2nd Minute- Mexicans start out with some possession. They're looking like they're going to start the match slowly. Makes sense considering they just went to PKs on Thursday night.
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1st Minute- We're underway.
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PRE-GAME- It's a sellout crowd tonight and I'd say it's at least 80 percent Mexican. Sam's Army/American Outlaws are filling out 101 nicely though.
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PRE-GAME- The anthems have been played and we're getting close to kickoff.
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PRE-GAME- No Carlos Vela in the starting lineup for Mexico. He's still working his way back from an injury suffered earlier in the tournament. He's a safe bet to be a second-half substitute.
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PRE-GAME- Here is Mexico's lineup:
-------------Miguel-Sabah-------Gio Dos Santos--------------
Alberto Medina----------------------------------Efrain Juarez
-----------Gerardo Torrado-------Jose Castro-----------------
Fausto Pinto--------------------------------------Israel Castro
-------------JC Valenzuela-----------Jonny Magallon-----------
--------------------------Guillermo-Ochoa-----------------------
BENCH- Jose Corona, Ismael Rodriguez, Guillermo Franco, Carlos Vela, Pablo Barrera, Carlos Esquivel, Luis Miguel Noriega
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PRE-GAME- ESPN2 is airing a one-hour pre-game show previewing today's Gold Cup final. The show started at 2pm for those of you watching at home.
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PRE-GAME- Bob Bradley sticks with the same lineup from the semifinal. Not that surprising considering how well they played vs. Honduras, but I was wondering if the short turnaround would play a role in choosing the lineup.
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PRE-GAME- Here's the USA bench:
Jon Busch, Brad Evans, Kenny Cooper, Santino Quaranta, Colin Clark, Sam Cronin, Michael Parkhurst
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PRE-GAME- Here is the USA lineup:
-------------Ching-----------ARnaud----------------
Rogers--------------------------------------Holden
----------Beckerman---------Pause-----------------
Pearce-----Marshall------Goodson---------Heaps
---------------------Perkins-------------------------
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