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Drbio · 09-03-2005, 09:32 PM

USA BITCHSLAPS mexico. Qualifies for World Cup.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Qualifying for the World Cup is sweet. Doing it against your archrival is nirvana.

The United States is headed to next year's soccer championship in Germany after beating Mexico 2-0 Saturday night thanks to goals by Steve Ralston and DaMarcus Beasley five minutes apart in the second half.

The quick strikes, after a sloppy and chippy first half, lifted the Americans into the 32-team tournament with three games to spare. It was the first time since 1934 that the Americans were the first team into the World Cup for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

It's also the fifth straight World Cup appearance for the Americans, who are ranked sixth in the world, one spot behind Mexico -- for now.

The win avenged a 2-1 loss in Mexico City in March and gave American goalkeeper Kasey Keller his 50th career victory for the national team. The United States has not lost to Mexico on American soil since 1999, and has not yielded any goals in that span, either.

On both U.S. scores, Mexico seemed confused who should be where on set plays. Eddie Lewis' floating free kick was headed by Oguchi Onyewu, whose 6-foot-4 height came in handy as he soared over the smallish, befuddled defense. His shot hit the goalpost and bounded into the air directly to the unguarded Ralston for his second career international goal.

That woke up the flag-waving, red-white-and-blue clad American fans, who began pounding the bleachers with their feet. The noise seemed to further unnerve the visitors, and they were out of position on a short U.S. corner kick.

The ball came to Claudio Reyna and the unmarked U.S. captain fed an equally wide-open Beasley. His twisting left-footed kick soared over goalie Oswaldo Sanchez, who had no chance.

From there, it was a matter of getting another shutout for Keller, who now has blanked five straight opponents in qualifying and has a scoreless streak of 507 minutes in all. The Americans are 6-1 in the final qualifying round and play at Guatemala on Wednesday, when most of the regulars will be excused.

Mexico (5-1-1) still needs another point in its final three games to make Germany 2006.

At the final whistle, most of the 24,685 fans chanted "U-S-A! U-S-A!" as several players ran off the bench wrapped in U.S. flags. All of the Americans were handed flags, which they then draped on their shoulders or waved to the crowd as fireworks lit the sky.

The strong U.S. showing in the second half helped ease the ugliness of the first 45 minutes, in which neither team truly threatened until the final minute. Keller needed to make a diving hand save on Ramon Morales' free kick in injury time.

Otherwise, the visitors seemed satisfied to keep the scoreboard empty -- and to keep fouling midfielder Beasley, who was victimized four times in the half, five times overall.

In turn, U.S. defender Frankie Hejduk committed four fouls in the opening 45 minutes.

Reyna drew a first-half yellow card, meaning he will be suspended for Wednesday night's game at Guatemala, which is insignificant -- with the Americans already qualified, Reyna will head back to Manchester City in England. U.S. defender Gregg Berhalter also drew a yellow and is in the same situation.

Mexico's Duilio Davino's yellow card means he will be out for Wednesday's home game against with Panama.

09-03-2005, 09:32 PM	#11
Drbio Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Nowhere Posts: 40,924	RE: world cup qualifing USA BITCHSLAPS mexico. Qualifies for World Cup. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Qualifying for the World Cup is sweet. Doing it against your archrival is nirvana. The United States is headed to next year's soccer championship in Germany after beating Mexico 2-0 Saturday night thanks to goals by Steve Ralston and DaMarcus Beasley five minutes apart in the second half. The quick strikes, after a sloppy and chippy first half, lifted the Americans into the 32-team tournament with three games to spare. It was the first time since 1934 that the Americans were the first team into the World Cup for North and Central America and the Caribbean. It's also the fifth straight World Cup appearance for the Americans, who are ranked sixth in the world, one spot behind Mexico -- for now. The win avenged a 2-1 loss in Mexico City in March and gave American goalkeeper Kasey Keller his 50th career victory for the national team. The United States has not lost to Mexico on American soil since 1999, and has not yielded any goals in that span, either. On both U.S. scores, Mexico seemed confused who should be where on set plays. Eddie Lewis' floating free kick was headed by Oguchi Onyewu, whose 6-foot-4 height came in handy as he soared over the smallish, befuddled defense. His shot hit the goalpost and bounded into the air directly to the unguarded Ralston for his second career international goal. That woke up the flag-waving, red-white-and-blue clad American fans, who began pounding the bleachers with their feet. The noise seemed to further unnerve the visitors, and they were out of position on a short U.S. corner kick. The ball came to Claudio Reyna and the unmarked U.S. captain fed an equally wide-open Beasley. His twisting left-footed kick soared over goalie Oswaldo Sanchez, who had no chance. From there, it was a matter of getting another shutout for Keller, who now has blanked five straight opponents in qualifying and has a scoreless streak of 507 minutes in all. The Americans are 6-1 in the final qualifying round and play at Guatemala on Wednesday, when most of the regulars will be excused. Mexico (5-1-1) still needs another point in its final three games to make Germany 2006. At the final whistle, most of the 24,685 fans chanted "U-S-A! U-S-A!" as several players ran off the bench wrapped in U.S. flags. All of the Americans were handed flags, which they then draped on their shoulders or waved to the crowd as fireworks lit the sky. The strong U.S. showing in the second half helped ease the ugliness of the first 45 minutes, in which neither team truly threatened until the final minute. Keller needed to make a diving hand save on Ramon Morales' free kick in injury time. Otherwise, the visitors seemed satisfied to keep the scoreboard empty -- and to keep fouling midfielder Beasley, who was victimized four times in the half, five times overall. In turn, U.S. defender Frankie Hejduk committed four fouls in the opening 45 minutes. Reyna drew a first-half yellow card, meaning he will be suspended for Wednesday night's game at Guatemala, which is insignificant -- with the Americans already qualified, Reyna will head back to Manchester City in England. U.S. defender Gregg Berhalter also drew a yellow and is in the same situation. Mexico's Duilio Davino's yellow card means he will be out for Wednesday's home game against with Panama.