Viva Estados Unidos!

Hi! We’re the Red, White and Blues Brothers and this is our color-coded U.S. Soccer blog. Chip writes in red and Danny writes in blue. We cheer for the U.S. and you better too! 

Up next: Tuesday, March 26. USA vs MEXICO, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico 10:30pm EST, 9:30pm CST, 8:30pm MST, 7:30pm PST
Watch on: ESPN, WatchESPN, Univision
Follow on Match Tracker at ussoccer.com
and via Twitter @ussoccer

Pre-game special: The replay of Friday's U.S. vs. Costa Rica game will be shown on ESPN Classic from 7:30 to 9:30 EST!

It's time for Matchday #3 in the CONCACAF Hexagonal final round of World Cup Qualifying! Our heroes, The U.S. Men's National Soccer team head down to Mexico City where last August they won for the first time ever on Mexican soil in a "friendly" which is a soccer term for an exhibition game. We keep score but the score doesn't really mean anything beyond bragging rights. Yeah, but it will influence FIFA's World Ranking. Mexico is currently ranked 15th in the world and USA is ranked 33rd. There are a lot of draws or ties in soccer. Extra time (overtime) and tie-breakers are usually only used in the final rounds of tournaments. One would think that with only 1 win in Mexico there would be a lot of ties between the two teams. One would think that, but our U.S. team is a pathetic 1-23-1 while playing in Mexico! Let's hope the curse is over and we can start a new winning streak!

The big difference between these two teams is in goal. The goalkeeper for Mexico will probably be Ochoa who has a lot of hair and the U.S. will go with Guzan who has very little. Mexico is coming off a very disappointing result from Friday. They were up 2-0 against Honduras with 15 minutes left in the game. Anytime you can win an away game in World Cup qualifying is a huge bonus. Most teams play very cautiously and look for a draw which is worth 1 point. That's a lot better than giving your opponent 3 points for a win. Honduras scored 2 goals just 3 minutes apart in the 77th and 80th minute and the game ended in a draw. They are going to come out strong against the U.S. If we can get another early goal like on Friday, that will no doubt take the wind out of their sails and fill their heads with doubt. Yeah, but let's get to the real important point... what uniforms will both teams be wearing? On Friday, Mexico wore their traditional green jersey and white shorts. I like that kit much better than their modern black kit with gold and red trim. And will the U.S. debut a new centennial away kit? Against Honduras in February they wore all navy blue with white short sleeves. The Yanks' navy blue is too close to Mexico's black so I predict Mexico will once again wear green or USA will once again wear white.
While you're at it, why don't you predict what color the referee will be wearing? Geez, let's get to the game. The big news is that Jermaine Jones is out with an ankle injury.
Yellow.
You're calling Jermaine Jones yellow?
No! I bet the referee will be wearing yellow.
Is there anything intelligent you would like to add to this blog?
Yeah, most of the Mexican players play in Mexico. Only one plays in England and that is Manchester United's Javier Hernandez, known around the world as "Chicharito." He was the fastest player in the last World Cup so our inexperienced defenders will have their hands full. Chicharito scored both of Mexico's goals on Friday.   Three U.S. players play professionally in Mexico... Hercules Gomez, DaMarcus Beasley and Joe Corona. Maybe Corona will get into this game. He didn't see any action on Friday.
Let's go down to Azteca and get 3 points! The next World Cup Qualifiers won't be until June and our home game against Mexico will be in Columbus, Ohio in September.
GO USA!