« Back to blog

United States 1:1 Mexico (updated)

Corey earned his first Under-17 cap yesterday, starting and playing the entire match in a 1-1 draw versus Mexico in Benidorm, Spain. Mexico took the lead, but the United States equalized on one of their two penalty shots. Junior drew both of the fouls in the box.

Corey-baird-usa

United States Lineup

GK: Paul Christensen (WA)
Defense: Shaquell Moore (GA), Conor Donovan (NC), Kevin Politz (NJ), John Requejo (CA)
Midfield: Christopher Lema (NJ), Steven Echevarria (NY), Herber “Junior” Mejia-Flores (VA)
Forwards: Corey Baird (CA), Rubio Rubin (OR), Danya Kafai (CA)
Subs: Tyler Turner (CT) for Politz (53'), Bradford Jamison (CA) for Rubin (72')
Goal: Christopher Lema (penalty)

Updated: Read the U.S. Soccer article on the match, or if you want a different take, read the Mexican federation’s article. The Mexican article is interesting, both in its interpretation of the match result – the mini-PKs after the match didn’t change the result; it was simply a tiebreaker – and in its opinions about the penalty calls.

Despite their age and their lack of familiarity with the Mexican team, it seems that the spirited rivalry between the United States and Mexico at all levels quickly became apparent in this match. In Corey’s words:

The match was way intense. They hate us, and we hate them.

Evidently, there was plenty of trash talk on the field, and more than a couple of scuffles. Each team received several yellow cards, and Mexico received a red card for a second caution with about five minutes to play. Even Corey received a yellow for an "aggresive" play on a ball near the goalkeeper.

Corey thought that the United States created more chances than Mexico but that their defense was very strong. Mexico played lots of long balls to its big forwards to create opportunities, and their lone goal came on a counter-attack after the U.S. lost the ball in midfield.

Wilmer seemed pleased with their first international performance after the match:

We earned respect today.

The United States resumes its European international matches on Monday against the United Arab Emirates, with matches against Russia and Spain later in the week.