United States eye revenge in Mexico World Cup test
mexico city — Christian Pulisic admitted the United States are looking for revenge when they face bitter regional rivals Mexico in a crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund star Pulisic, still only 18, has breathed fresh life into the US qualifying campaign this year and scored twice in a 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago in Colorado on Thursday.
The 18-year-old’s sixth and seventh international goals, which followed a mesmerising display against Honduras in March, have revived a US qualifying campaign which began last year with backto-back defeats.
The first of those losses came against the Mexicans in Columbus, Ohio, last November, a politicallycharged encounter which occurred just days after the election of US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s recent history of stinging anti-Mexico rhetoric means that the latest installment of the most intense rivalry in North American football is certain to have an added edge before a full house at Mexico City’s iconic Azteca Stadium, which regularly draws crowds of 100,000.
Pulisic, however, is only thinking of the result and taking all three points off Mexico, who are leading the six-team final round of CONCACAF qualifiers by a five-point margin with 13 points from five games.
“It’s going to be a tough one down there definitely but we really want revenge on them for when they got us earlier in the campaign,” Pulisic said, referring to the last-gasp 2-1 loss in Columbus.
“We’re really confident going into that game and we’ll come out with a win there too,” Pulisic added bullishly of the trip to Mexico.
US captain Michael Bradley summed up the stakes of what is involved when the Americans face their neighbours across the southern border. “For us there’s no bigger game,” Bradley said following Thursday’s win.—