USA miss out on Confederations Cup as Mexico pull off stunning win 
Paul Aguilar scored with two minutes left in extra time to put Mexico into the 2017 Confederations’ Cup in Russia with a 3-2 victory over the United States in Saturday night’s playoff match at the Rose Bowl. Mexico, which won this year’s Gold Cup, will represent Concacaf after defeating the 2013 Gold Cup champions, the United States. Both teams were tied 1-1 after 90 minutes. Aguilar, a right back who made an offensive impact throughout the game, stuck a low, 15-yard line drive inside the far post from the right side of the penalty area in the 118th minute. Hector Herrera began the scoring sequence with a free kick that United States defender Brad Evans headed toward midfield.
Miguel Layun intercepted the clearance and passed to Raul Jimemez, whose bicycle kick sent the ball to Aguilar.
The United States had forced a 2-2 tie in the 108th minute on Bobby Wood’s 10-yard diagonal shot through goalkeeper Moises Munoz’s legs off DeAndre Yedlin’s through ball.
Neither Wood nor Yedlin made the starting lineup.
The 35-year-old Munoz started for El Tri for the first time since 2013, when Mexico won a two-leg playoff against New Zealand to qualify for last year’s World Cup.
Mexico’s Oribe Peralta broke the 1-1 tie in the 96th minute with an 11-yard shot. Aguilar played the key role when he slid in the right side of the box after receiving Hector Herrera’s chip from midfield to volley the ball to Peralta.
Mexico scored first in the 10th minute when Javier Hernandez redirected Oribe Peralta’s pass from seven yards.
Aguilar began the scoring sequence by sending the ball from the right wing to Jimenez.
As Peralta headed for the penalty area, Jimenez back-heeled the ball to an unmarked Peralta, who crossed from the right side of the box to Hernandez.
Five minutes later, the United States tied the score on Geoff Cameron’s eight-yard header off Michael Bradley’s free kick from the left side. Cameron benefitted from Peralta’s and Rafael Marquez’s loose marking.
Intense fervor permeated the atmosphere of a game that began in 90F heat.
As the starting lineups were announced, the decidedly pro-Mexico crowd of 93,723 cheered each of the players representing Mexico before responding to every American player’s name with an obscenity.
Before kick-off, Mexico’s fans sang their national anthem with gusto while a group called Pancho Villa’s Army unfurled a huge customized Mexican flag.
The Gold Cup, which Mexico won for the seventh time in July, dominated the green stripe. The red stripe featured a crown above the phrase, ‘Sigo siendo el rey’, or in English, ‘I’m still the king’.
The American fans responded with a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner that built slowly into a loud finish, then unveiled a banner featuring Daniel Craig as James Bond over the caption, ‘To Russia with love, 2017.’
The ‘O’ in ‘love’ was a reversed hammer and sickle, the definitive Soviet symbol.
On the field, the intensity reached a peak in the 34th minute. A shoving match ensued between players from both teams after Peralta slid into United States goalkeeper Brad Guzan with his right foot.
Guzan made a sliding catch of Peralta’s attempt to convert Hernandez’s low header from the right side of the penalty area. Peralta received a yellow card.
Marquez and midfielder Andres Guardado, who sustained injuries within the past month, started and played deep into the second half. Marquez, who is fighting a groin injury he received Sept. 20, left in the 76th minute.
Guardado, who injured his left ankle on 15 September in PSV Eindhoven’s win over Manchester United in the Uefa Champions League, came off four minutes later.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/11/usa-miss-out-on-confederations-cup-as-mexico-pull-off-stunning-win
