Mexico 2-2 Honduras
If you had told the Mexican national team before this match that they would leave with a point from SPS, they would have taken it with both hands and said "Gracias!" But the way three points became one in the space of four minutes must have left them feeling sick. In an evenly played match, Mexico -- more precisely Javier Hernández -- made the most of the chances offered to them. Honduras squandered most of theirs, from Bengtson blasting his shots over the crossbar to Costly spraying wide. Óscar Boniek García had a great game, enough to compete with Hernández for best on field, but his contributions were being let down by the imprecisions inside the penalty area.
On the field the temperature was over 40 degrees Celsius, so conditions were always going to play a role. Hernández and dos Santos (who also played a very good game) had to be subbed out for Bravo and Jiménez, while Jerry Palacios entered for Roger Espinoza. And then the comeback started. First Costly finally appeared when he rose to head a corner kick past Ochoa, then made the final run into the box that saw him clattered down and Honduras draw a penalty. Bengtson's kick was low and weak and it was easily saved, but Ochoa failed to gather the ball and Bengtson was too happy to get it right the second time.
Honduras are sitting pretty with four points taken from the Big Two with a Central American stint to come. Mexico performed better than they did against Jamaica, but that's a very low bar. But the good news for everyone else is that another point has been thrown away.
Jamaica 1-1 Panama
How did Jamaica not win this game? They were in control of the first half and dominated the midfield. Marvin Elliott connected on a fine header to give Jamaica control of the match. But they took their foot off the gas, allowed Panama to build through the center of the pitch and had to rely on Donovan Ricketts to save them again and again. The kick save that Ricketts made on Blas Pérez in the first half was from the top shelf.
In the second half, Panama continued to build and found their equalizer when Luís Henríquez's long-range shot caromed off a player and eluded Ricketts' outstretched arms before nestling in the far corner. From that point the match became more even, but had one of Pérez's throughballs went in front of Tejada instead of behind him, Panama might have scored the winner. Likewise on the other end, a shot in a crowded box by McCleary just missed the far post.
In the end, both teams will be disappointed with the outcome, and another point vanishes in the ether.
USA 1-0 Costa Rica
I don't know foreign observers grasp how evocative the image of football in the snow is in the minds of American sports fans. The themes of tests of not just skill and strength, but also tests against the elements are part of the American psyche. These images are part of the experience in American football but not in American soccer. Until now.
Yes, it's probably true that the USSF selected the qualifier in metro Denver in order to have an easier flight to Mexico City, but they seem embarrassed to admit that they wanted to locate the qualifier in a place to give themselves an advantage. Isn't that the point? It's possible that the Federation were almost too clever for their own good, and it was a good thing that Clint Dempsey's goal occurred when it did. As the snow piled up on the pitch faster than the men on shovels could clear it away, it was clear that goals would be very difficult to produce. I was surprised that the Costa Rican players didn't walk off the pitch or tell the referee that they would play the match under protest. Neither event, which might have given the Ticos some leverage in the post-match proceedings, occurred, and FIFA could fall back on administrative procedures in turning down the appeal.
That said, after the initial on-field appeals to stop the match were rebuked, it seemed that the Ticos decided that they might as well try to win the game. They were the better side in the second half, they had the most dangerous chances in the game, and they had the US on their heels for long periods. Saborío and Umaña played especially well. But so did the US players, and especially Michael Bradley, who rarely put a pass wrong under extremely challenging conditions.
This match will burn the Costa Rican players and supporters for a long time, but they have to let it go and focus on the qualifier against Jamaica on Tuesday night. For the US, it's time for the Clásico, and time to scale the walls of fortress Azteca.
