Mexico clinches CONCACAF Cup with 3-2 win over US

Halloran proposes a changing of the guard, effective immediately.

But with a penalty-kick tiebreaker looming, the United States failed to clear the ball from danger. The United States plays Mexico during the first half of the CONCACAF Cup Saturday October 10, 2015 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Tempers flared in the 34th minute when Peralta slid into Guzan, sparking an exchange of shoves and words.

The deciding play began with a Mexico free kick that was blasted further up the pitch by El Tri defender Miguel Layun.

The USA had a tangible grip on the label of “King of CONCACAF” from 2002 to this past Saturday, and as great as the majority of that era was for American fans, it is time to remember that global soccer is a cyclical sport, and being a champion during one era doesn’t guarantee that place forever.

Guzan manned the net, a position he has held since Tim Howard took a year-long sabbatical after the 2014 World Cup.

No matter what happens next, the coach will continue to be a lightning rod among fans and the media. Chris Wondolowski, Graham Zusi, and Brad Evans should be dropped entirely to make room for younger call-ups.

Then the States won a free kick on the left, and Michael Bradley sent in a gorgeous ball for Cameron to head home. Hernandez scored the opener after just 10 minutes.

But who the heck is Bobby Wood and what did he do with our narrative?

The German coach has only himself to blame for that, because at a time when Mexico was gearing up for an era of prominence, Klinsmann spent the better part of a year experimenting, throwing patchwork lineups together. The youngsters must beat Canada on Tuesday and then win a playoff with Colombia just to make the Rio field. And it’s troubling to see the lack of forethought that goes into many of his decisions.

Regulation play ended in a 1-1 tie prompting 30 minutes of overtime play, played in two 15-minute halves. Should he just be the USA technical director and stick with that? Jozy Altidore and Dempsey were anonymous throughout, failing to impact the game, even on the rare occasions the beleaguered midfield got them the ball.

That the US was still in the game at that point was credit to Klinsmann’s substitutions.

A properly organized coach would have had a “What if?” strategy in the event of an injury to Altidore.

The victory capped a remarkable temporary stint as Mexico manager by Ricardo Ferretti, who took the job on a temporary, unpaid basis following the sacking Miguel Herrera in July.

For the United States, it’s a dark day with the senior team losing out on the Confederations Cup and the U23s losing in the semifinals of Olympic qualifying.

There were few true standouts for the U.S. national team on a night when the grades reflect a tough 3-2 CONCACAF Cup loss to Mexico on Saturday night. Klinsmann himself has done this in the past, but this year Gyasi Zardes was the only “breakthrough” player (and his real impact is debatable).

Germany, Chile, Australia, and Russian Federation with there respective spots already booked will also be present in what is set to be a very interesting tournament, considering that there is one more European team that will be thrown into the mix after Euro 2016, the always hard African nation, and lastly of course the underdog competitor from the OFC (Ocean Football Confederation). What kind of fan bashes the player pool, expanded as it’s been in recent years, as insufficient to compete against the same competition we’ve been dominating when the bright lights come on for more than a decade?

All of this seems more than a little unusual considering Klinsmann is considered a talented “big picture” guy.

This remained the case in extra time.