Mexico have held a majority of the possession and even hit the post once, but it hasn't mattered. Bob Bradley came out with a completely different strategy than anyone could have expected, and right now, it's working perfectly and he looks like a genius. After 24 minutes, the United States is improbably leading 2-0 thanks to a goal by Landon Donovan, assisted by Clint Dempsey. Surprise, surprise, Freddy Adu was once involved in the goal, making three straight USMNT goals that featured some prominent involvement from the resurgent attacking midfielder.
Gold Cup Final 2011 Score, USA Vs. Mexico: Landon Donovan Goal Puts USMNT 2-0 Up
Moments before the USA scored their goal, Bradley made an adjustment, bringing Donovan back into the midfield and moving Dempsey up top, which was exactly how most thought they would start the game. Donovan had been struggling to get the ball, and obviously Bradley wanted to change that. Almost instantly after making the adjustment, Dempsey dropped back to pick up the ball from Adu and Donovan made a great off the ball run into space. Dempsey played him a perfect ball and he rounded Alfredo Talavera, getting himself space to shoot before putting the ball into the back of the net.
For more on how the two teams got to this point, check out our USA vs. Panama stream and our Mexico vs. Honduras stream. For more updates leading up to USA vs. Mexico, bookmark this StoryStream. For all of our previous Gold Cup coverage, check out the Gold Cup 2011 section. For more on Mexican football, including the Mexican national team, the Mexico vs. USA game, and the Mexican Primera, check out SB Nation’s Mexican football blog FMF State Of Mind.
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