USA vs Mexico!
YatPundit’s Pub is all about The Beautiful Game
USAvMEX tonight! We’re fans of Association Football here at YatPundit’s Pub. Specifically, we follow and support two soccer teams: Arsenal Football Club, that wonderful North London side that wears red. My sons support the team from Manchester, UK, that also wears red, so there’s a lot of banter about when they’re home or we’re on the phone. That’s as it should be when folks are passionate about their side.
Soccer always improves my mood when it comes to whatever else is going on in the world. In the aftermath of Tuesday, that’s important. This weekend is what’s known as an “international break” in the club season. The national teams compete about once a month as they move forward in qualifying for the World Cup. The next World Cup Final tournament will be in the summer of 2018, in Russia. Each continent has a federation that oversees competition for the spots in the final tournament for their countries.
USAvMEX
Here in the North America, that federation is the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF. US Soccer’s Men’s National Team faces Mexico tonight, in their quest for a spot in WC2018. Columbus, Ohio hosts the match. Since 2001, Team USA has not lost to Mexico when they’ve played in Columbus.
As they say in politics, the “optics” of playing in Columbus are awful. The reason is simple: there are very few Mexico fans in that city, when compared to other cities, like Los Angeles, Dallas, or Houston. This is one of those occasions where USA supporters don’t care about optics, because we want the win. I’m all about having USA-Mexico friendly matches in the warmer cities where there’s a big Mexican/Mexican-American population. It makes money for US Soccer and sells a lot of bad stadium beer.
This game, though? Vamanos, USA!
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