Altitude affects the player as much as it affects the ball: thinner air not only causes shortness of breath and faster fatigue but the ball goes higher or floats longer. (something the Mexican players would be more accustom to even if they don't play in the Liga MX anymore because they were born there) Plus its not just the altitude and its effects but the 100,000+ fans and the hostile(I don't mean aggressive) environment they hold the US player to.

Let us also keep in perspective that Mexico beat Brazil today (a team worth millions and millions of dollars) with players that all play in the Mexican league. No matter how you look at it you cannot deny this as a great achievement for their country.

the ball bounced of a player before it was finally hit in, if it was a Morelia player it would have been onsides, if it was an LA player then it would have been offsides the ref must have though it came from a Galaxy player... need to watch a replay to be sure who it bounced off of

there's usually 3 minutes of over time allowed because of the subs, 4 for the time wasting plus subs

mmm Why aren't the 2 goals from Hernandez on here? (SBI-I had the wrong video clip up at first. The original clip was just of Rooney's hat-trick rather than the full United highlights. These are the full highlights. Those with conspiracy theories about why Chicharito's goals weren't included at first need to get a grip.)

not this goal but the third one if I'm not mistaken

Carlos Fierro

Great to see one of the U17 WC winners get a goal in. Hope to at least see them as subs through out the season though.

ehhh yes and no. I do agree that championships at this stage don't equal championships at the top level; however, it is a good indicator of where teams are going. Switzerland for example barely got beaten by Spain in the last Euro u21 championship, in 1999 the US finished fourth with Landon Donovan winning MVP of the tourny and they dominated CONCACAF for 10 years after that. Mexico fought back, they actually brought the trophy home and reclaimed the conference, and now they have team staples like Gio Dos Santos, Pablo Barrera, Moreno, and Juarez plus I'm hoping Vela does a come back. If Mexico continues to look good and keeps sending kids to Europe like Carlos Fierro, Espericueta, Marco Bueno, and Briseno [who I think are the best players in the team] they will continue to gain ground in football.

casillas, valdez, neuer, vandersar, chech... to start However I do agree Howard is a excellent keeper, not top five in the world though buddy.

check the highlights on youtube, they were 2nd place in europe and they've been killing everyone in this tourny.... sorry to say this might be an early exit for the US On the other side youth teams tend to not be too consistent, plus in the group stages Mexico kicked out the number one european team, the Netherlands. Wouldn't be too hard of a stretch if the US beat an over confident Germany

watch the u17 tournament... I would say to also watch the Copa America and u20 tourny after aswell

I think the US back line hasn't seen an offence like Mexico's either. Guardado, Gio, Chicharito, Barrera, and De Nigris.

Something that the US has going for them in this game is that the Jamaicans have a very open style of play with very little respect for their opponents abilities. This could be exploited by the US since what they seem to be lacking is creativity and finishing their plays. The US just has to play a little contained in the back and take advantage of how the Jamaicans tend to spread out. Though game, the winner of which will more than likely go to the final.

ugh it's a shame I was looking forward to Mexico facing the US in the final =\