The US put up a decent fight in the second half but could not recover from two quick first-half Mexican goals and excellent ball control from their rivals. Much of the blame for the loss has to be directed at Bruce Arena for starting a relatively inexperienced Oguchi Onyewu (write that without a spellchecker!) along with Greg Berhalter in defense, and leaving forward Eddie Johnson alone up top for most of the game.
The match was marketed in Mexico as a chance for revenge for being knocked out by the US at the last World Cup. Honestly, how sweet could it be? Little more than pride was on the line for the US Nats. There is plenty of time to recover and no one doubts that the team will qualify for Germany.