DENVER, Colorado: Mexico gave up a two goal lead to draw 2-2 in blazing heat in Honduras, while the United States beat Costa Rica 1-0 in a blizzard by the Rocky Mountains as CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifiers served up another night of drama and controversy.
In Kingston, Panama showed they are not going to accept their ranking as the weakest team in the six-team ‘hexagonal’ final qualifying phase as they fought back for a 1-1 draw with Jamaica.
Teams in CONCACAF have long sought to achieve as much advantage as possible from their home qualifiers with venue selection and kick-off times frequently designed to discomfort opponents and Friday’s games showed the two extremes that can result.
The temperatures in San Pedro Sula rose above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), no particular surprise given the Hondurans chose to kick-off at 1500 local, in blazing sunshine, rather than in the cooler evening.
How much of an impact that had on Mexico’s performance will be debated but after dominating with some sparkling football and two great finishes from Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, El Tri crumbled and allowed two goals in the final 13 minutes as they had to settle for a second straight draw.
The pressure was on the United States after their defeat in Honduras in February and reports of discontent among some players with coach Juergen Klinsmann.
But after their victory, thanks to a 16th minute strike from new skipper Clint Dempsey, the US now head to Mexico City on Tuesday with a point more than their arch rivals.
Costa Rica, though, were fuming about the referee’s decision to keep playing through a blizzard which intensified as the game progressed on a snow covered field. Head coach Jorge Luis Pinto said the game was an “embarrassment to football” and midfielder Cristian Bolanos was also irate.
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