BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said there are lessons to be learned from past World Cup qualification matches against the United States, but his focus is fixed solely on the future.
Speaking ahead of his team's final friendly before facing the U.S. in November's World Cup qualification final round opener, Osorio said that he and his coaching staff have analyzed past matches but a lot depends on the present situation.
The manager cited the United States' forward situation, with Clint Dempsey set to miss out on the qualifier because of an irregular heartbeat, as an example of something that makes the upcoming contest different from previous games.
"Surely we could share a lot of conclusions from each past match, but to me the most relevant is the current," Osorio said at a news conference Monday. "So, for example in previous games Dempsey played. It looks like he's not going to be there because of an unfortunate problem, but now we have to think about the kind of player who is going to feature there.
"If it's Jozy Altidore, he's very powerful, strong, he plays well with his back to the goal. I had the chance to coach him with the Red Bulls. If Pulisic is with him, obviously he's a fast player, it takes a little bit out of their aerial attacking game but it adds a lot of speed. So the most relevant thing is what we think they're going to have at the moment of the game and not what happened before."
Osorio, who used to manage the Chicago Fire before taking over the New York Red Bulls and then moving to a job in his native Colombia, also played down the effect playing in the Columbus Crew's home stadium can have. While the building has been a fortress for the U.S., with the Americans winning the last four meetings in the Hex in Columbus, Osorio thinks that his players may be able to snap the streak this time around.
"The reasons they play in Columbus are obvious, but that's different. It's not about soccer, it's a test of character for the team. I think that if something characterizes the Mexican player, it's his competitiveness, his competitive spirit. I think that's why we're still getting better because of the internal competition for places in the team. With these two things in mind, I think we've got a great chance to compete with them in Columbus."
Mexico faces Panama in a friendly Tuesday, its final game before meeting the U.S. at Mapfre Stadium.
