Mexico won the Gold Cup, but job still unfinished

El Tricolores meet US in a playoff in October for the 2017 Confederations Cup berth.

WASHINGTON: Mexico’s Gold Cup triumph will not be complete without a victory over the US in an October playoff for a 2017 Confederations Cup berth, said Mexico manager Miguel Herrera.

And US coach Jurgen Klinsmann, whose players settled for a fourth-place showing in their Gold Cup defense, knows that a major goal remains within reach despite a humbling loss to Jamaica and penalty shoot-out defeat by Panama in the Gold Cup.

The arch-rivals will meet October 9 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to see whether the 2013 or 2015 Gold Cup winner represents the North American region at the eight-team World Cup warm-up event in Russia.



“We’ve got to get ready for that game the best we can,” said Herrera. “It’s not mission accomplished because we still have one more game. We want to go to the Confederations Cup. We know the US are going to very determined.”

While the US squad has the home soil edge, typical crowds at the 90,000-seat venue for US-Mexico clashes have shown stronger support for Mexico. And El Tricolores own a head-to-head record of 33-18 with 14 draws in the all-time rivalry.

“We have the obligation to look carefully. It’s going to be a very difficult game,” said Herrera. “We have to go for the October match. We can’t just be nice and quiet. It’s a very important match. And in November, we start World Cup qualifying.”

The Americans already have friendlies set for September against Brazil and Peru.

“It’s clear we’re looking toward September and those two friendly games to build things in order to be prepared for the playoff in October,” said Klinsmann. “We didn’t finish things off in this tournament so we have to finish it off in October. If there’s a rise in expectations, that’s totally cool,” he added. “There’s constant expectation, constant pressure for everybody. That’s just normal. It’s part of our job.”

Mexico won the Confederations Cup on home soil in 1999. The US team lost 3-2 to Brazil in the 2009 final in South Africa. In 2013, Mexico lost to Italy and Brazil in the group stage then beat Japan in a matchup of already-eliminated squads.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th,  2015.

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