Everything Coming Up Roses for Mexico in U.S. Cup ’97

The U.S. men’s soccer team had lost to Mexico for the first time since 1993, but Coach Steve Sampson wasn’t making excuses.

“The only disappointing thing to me is the way we played for 20 minutes in the second half,” he said Sunday. “Some played exceptionally well and some didn’t.”

The United States lost, 2-0, in a U.S. Cup ’97 match before 31,725 at the Rose Bowl.

Sampson will use three U.S. matches in the four-team round-robin international exhibition tournament, and matches in China on Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, to choose players for World Cup qualifying games in March.

The 20-player U.S. roster lacked several starters who were injured or were playing on European teams, including leading scorer Eric Wynalda.

“I want to give players that haven’t had enough international experience top-level experience so they can bring that confidence into qualifying,” Sampson said. “Results like this is the risk we take.”

Alberto Garcia Aspe assisted on Luis Roberto Alves’ first-half goal and scored in the second half for Mexico, which defeated the Americans in the United States for the first time since 1974.

“This was an excellent warm-up for World Cup qualifying and very good for our confidence,” Mexican Coach Bora Milutnovic said.

Mexico is 2-0 in U.S. Cup play, including a 3-1 victory over Denmark on Friday in San Diego. Mexico would win its second consecutive U.S. Cup with a victory or tie against Peru on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl.

The United States, a 1-0 loser to Peru in its U.S. Cup opener Friday in San Diego, is 0-2 in the tournament and will face Denmark in the opening game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.

Alves took a long pass from Aspe, setting up a one-on-one confrontation with U.S. defender Mike Burns, who forced Alves to the outside. Alves then fired a low, 10-yard shot from a sharp angle past goalkeeper Brad Friedel in the third minute.

Benjamin Galindo intercepted Jovan Kirovski’s pass, passed to Aspe, whose crossing shot from just outside the penalty area went into the upper left corner of the net in the 68th minute.

The Americans had several opportunities to tie the score in the second half. Cobi Jones had an empty net to shoot at in the 47th minute, but his shot rolled across the goal mouth and out of bounds. Joe-Max Moore’s 25-yard free kick was deflected over the goal by Mexican goalkeeper Adolfo Rios.

Friedel kept the Americans within one goal by stopping Carlos Hermosillo from close range in the 60th minute and denied Mexico a third goal with a save on Ramon Ramirez’s shot in the 81st minute.

The U.S. outshot Mexico, 11-10, including a 5-1 first-half advantage. However, Mexico had six shots on goal to the Americans’ one.

Rios, playing in place of Jorge Campos, who sustained a knee injury while playing in a Mexican League match last month, made one save and Friedel made four.

Mexico had gone 0-4-3 against the Americans in the U.S. since a 1-0 victory in Dallas on Sept. 8, 1974, and was 0-2-3 in its last five matches against the U.S.

Denmark defeated Peru, 2-1, in the first match of Sunday’s doubleheader.

Defender Soren Colding scored in the 81st minute for Denmark. Colding’s arcing, right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area went into the top of the net, eluding goalkeeper Miguel Miranda Campos.