June 17, 2002

1:33 AM

One of the teams in the Mexico vs. USA World Cup game made history. As of before the game, the USA has never won a knockout game of the World Cup - Mexico had never won a knockout game of the World Cup when not in Mexico. Click the article to see which team made history - or if you don't want it spoiled, don't click at all!
posted by twiggy (28 comments total)

The play got kind of ugly there (did you notice that post-game there were no friendly handshakes between teams?), and there were a lot of pointless yellow cards being thrown out, but overall it was a fun game to watch. I'm really surprised that even though Mexico could penetrate the defense pretty easily, they never got one in. Of course, I think the US goalie is the best I've seen in the whole tournament.

I seriously doubt the US has any chance against Germany though.
posted by mathowie at 1:38 AM on June 17, 2002

Yeah, the game got really rough. Both sides put in some cheap shots for sure. It's a strong rivalry though, so that wasn't a surprise (that doesn't make it okay, I'm just saying it wasn't surprising).

I haven't followed soccer (er, football) much lately... so I don't know anything about Germany's team. I didn't think we had a chance against Mexico at all though, so I don't consider our chances great in a round past them :-)

I'll be rootin' for us anyway though... The US goalie is freakin' amazing...
posted by twiggy at 1:41 AM on June 17, 2002

Who is hurting worse? Jones or Marquez?
posted by eyeballkid at 1:47 AM on June 17, 2002

You never know against Germany, though it's unlikely :)

It's just brilliant. This was our World Cup. Donovan et al have brought soccer into the US attention. Sportscenter actually led off with the highlights, before the US Open!!

I'm so happy , I can't even describe it. And, hey, it was a handball, but it happens. Just ask Maradona.
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:49 AM on June 17, 2002

Don't get too stressed about Germany, they struggled in their group, struggled in the quarter final for most of the match and had some absolute shockers in qualifying (:-D hehe... still laffing about a certain 5 - 1 scoreline).

It definitely wouldn't be the surprise of the tournament if the US beat them.
posted by bifter at 1:52 AM on June 17, 2002

Kafkaesque - that is just the WRONG attitude... ;-)
posted by bifter at 1:54 AM on June 17, 2002

"A lot of people that don't know anything about soccer, like me, are all excited and pulling for you" And hopefully, after tonight, a lot more people will know about soccer.
posted by emptyage at 2:02 AM on June 17, 2002

Nooooooooooooo!

*ahem*

Congratulations. A deserved win for the U.S. against a Mexican team that, in the end, resorted to petulant tactics.
posted by vacapinta at 2:06 AM on June 17, 2002

twiggy, thanks for the non-spoiler link. (even though I watched it live at a pub) Good for the U.S.-they took advantage of their best scoring chances, and Friedel was amazing, again.

More banter on SportsFilter, as well.
posted by msacheson at 2:10 AM on June 17, 2002

I have to say, I was surprised that Mexico didn't run away with it. They seemed to control the ball completely until the US scored the second goal. That seemed to totally deflate them. The US played a smart game. Not a pretty game, but a smart game. And Donavan's goal was as pretty a header as you'll ever see.

There are times I'm glad to suffer from insomnia....
posted by geneablogy at 2:47 AM on June 17, 2002

this game was huge. awesome performance. (and overall, this world cup has been aces, i'd have to say. i've seen some great play in nearly all of the games i've watched.)
posted by zoopraxiscope at 3:46 AM on June 17, 2002

Brilliant! Germany will be easier to beat than Mexico. And the whole world always wants Germany to lose. Even the terrorists hate Germany. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:53 AM on June 17, 2002

As of before the game, the USA has never won a knockout game of the World Cup

Ahem. Let's be clear. The U.S. men have not done this well before. The U.S. women have won the world cup. Twice. "USA wins second World Cup title"
posted by Medley at 3:56 AM on June 17, 2002

I just heard on Portuguese TV that the U.S. men reached the semi-finals in the 1930 World Cup.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:01 AM on June 17, 2002

Medley.. seriously... no offense but calm your feminist nerves just a wee bit. In the context of this post, there was nothing wrong with my statement that the USA hasn't ever won a knockout game. It's clear that we're talking about the Men's World Cup. Nobody's trying to pretend women don't exist or play soccer, geez.

I'm all for equal rights, equal work for equal pay, etc etc, so don't bother calling me a cheauvinist.. It just irritates the hell out of me that you have to be so damn overly-PC these days. Give it a rest or I'll start turning into a sexist (or racist, or ... [insert term here]) because I'm tired of hearing all the whining from the back of the room.
posted by twiggy at 4:20 AM on June 17, 2002

I just heard on Portuguese TV that the U.S. men reached the semi-finals in the 1930 World Cup.

True, but that's like talking about the medal tables at the 1896 Olympics. The Obs' Sport Monthly did a great photo-piece on the 1938 Cup, and pre-1950, the tournament was a very different beast. No real knockout element until the semis, and some funky teams (Dutch East Indies, anyone?) and notable absentees.

Funny, though, that Friedel had to move from Liverpool when they signed Poland's Dudek...
posted by riviera at 4:31 AM on June 17, 2002

OK now, let's not get pissy here.

How did the women's team do in the 1930 cup?

hahahaha
posted by a3matrix at 4:32 AM on June 17, 2002

It just irritates the hell out of me that you have to be so damn overly-PC these days.

It's not political correctness; it's plain-old correctness. It seems like overkill to respond to "ahem" like you've been mugged by Gloria Steinem.
posted by rcade at 5:24 AM on June 17, 2002

good old mefi. even a nice thread about something you'd think a lot of people could get feelgood over turns into petty sniping.
posted by zoopraxiscope at 5:51 AM on June 17, 2002

...calm your feminist nerves...irritates the hell out of me...so damn overly-PC...give it a rest...tired of hearing all the whining from the back of the room...

Wow, all this in response to "Ahem?" And I thought I was befuddled by Mexico's reaction to Cobi Jones.
posted by delapohl at 7:11 AM on June 17, 2002

the whining from the back of the room

Well yeah (re: the over-reaction)... seems that even mentioning women's accomplishments when they're being blatantly elided is too much for some to handle. Not to mention the hypocrisy of someone who says they're all about equality but who places women in "the back of the room." Unsurprising at Metafilter though (sorry, Matt..)
posted by Medley at 7:25 AM on June 17, 2002

Who is hurting worse? Jones or Marquez?

That was a wicked head crack that earned Marquez his red card. What's the history between Mexico and Cobi Jones, anyway? As soon as he entered the game Mexico started falling over themselves to foul him. I thought it odd when Arena put him in with the U.S. up 2-0, but he obviously knew what he was doing: Jones frustrated the snot out of Mexico. Mexico looked completely beaten from the 80' mark on.
posted by delapohl at 7:25 AM on June 17, 2002

brazil v england! (UK? :) yo
posted by kliuless at 7:27 AM on June 17, 2002

england! (UK? :)

No, just England, thanks.

Good to see the US doing so well. I wouldn't write them off against Germany. Funny old game, and all that.
posted by ceiriog at 7:47 AM on June 17, 2002

Medley: The women's game is improving, sure, but compared to the men, it's still crap.
posted by salmacis at 9:13 AM on June 17, 2002

so very true salmacis. It's like watching men's soccer underwater.
posted by dig_duggler at 1:07 PM on June 17, 2002

see? reading "back of the room" as where I place women.. exactly the annoying kind of feminist i despise... all I was saying is that there's whining from someone... nobody said all women are / belong in the back of the room.

claiming women's achievements were deliberately elided... exactly what people are saying you WERENT implying.. but you WERE...

nobody was deliberately trying to give women the slip here... nobody was trying to hide the fact that women play soccer. IN CONTEXT, we are talking about the WORLD CUP that is going on RIGHT NOW -- the MEN's world cup. This US team until this morning had never won such a game.

you give women a bad name.
posted by twiggy at 6:01 PM on June 17, 2002

I watched the game on tape, so I thank you for not spoiling.

The World Cup camerawork has been really great at showing the evidence. The best part of the match was watching that blatant dive Fernandez took in the box. Well, that and the Donovan goal. And really, how much would it have cost to send two sets of freaking announcers to the stadiums? You can tell that they are sitting in some booth watching the same footage we are.
posted by mblandi at 7:38 AM on June 18, 2002