The U.S. men’s national team went to Mexico on Thursday to begin the crucial final window of 2022 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, and coach Gregg Berhalter promised they’d be aggressive. Unfortunately for Berhalter (and fans), that approach didn’t result in any goals for the U.S. — and likewise for Mexico, El Tri could not find an opening to score either.
The match ended 0-0, and scoreless draw isn’t the worst result for either team — they each won a point, and they both have two more games to try to get another six points and clinch their spots in Qatar. It just wasn’t exactly the most fun iteration of this storied rivalry to watch.
So, with the match ending with a bit of a thud, here is how the internet reacted to the high and lows (well, there weren’t that many highs but you get the point):
Pre-game
Once the game got started, those on-scene couldn’t help by notice that Estadio Azteca had a subdued atmosphere due to capacity restrictions.
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The stadium normally fits 87,000 people, but the Mexican federation scaled back capacity to 50,000 both due to COVID and to better control the crowd amid worries about the infamous homophobic chant often heard at Mexican national team matches.
Attendees were required to go through a registration system called Fan ID, which makes it easier for fans who violate the rules to be banned from future matches.
Restrictions keeping this from being a packed house @ el estadio Azteca 🏟
Fan ID in place for todays game as well. #ElTriEng #USMNT *
*5 year ban for violators of protocol
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) March 25, 2022
Azteca is empty. And I mean EMPTY.
Mexico is there for the taking will the @USMNT do it???? #USMNT
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 25, 2022
The #usmnt supporters are here, cheering, and getting whistled. All according to plan. pic.twitter.com/rs0YTBMbY9
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle)…
Source : espn
