Performance of North American teams Honduras, Mexico and USA in the 2010 FIFA World Cup
The best ever finish by a North American (CONCACAF, to be precise) team was the third place the United States of America achieved in the very first World Cup in 1930. The closest runs to this 80 year old feat are four quarter-final finishes: Mexico finished in the last eight in both the World Cups they hosted i.e. in 1970 and 1986; USA did so in 2002 Korea-Japan; while the fourth came from the surprise package Cuba in France 1938. The Federation was represented by three teams in the 2010 World Cup in the shape of Mexico, USA and Honduras. These teams were positioned at 14th, 17th and 38th in the FIFA rankings prior to the World Cup kick off.
Honduras was drawn in Group H along with tougher teams Spain, Chile and Switzerland. Honduras faced Chile in the Group H opener in which the team from South America remained in control throughout the match. Honduras failed to find their feet for any durable time and it was down to the poor finishing from the Chilean strikers which kept the score to one-nil. Jean Beausejour scored the only goal of the match in the first half to give Chile their first World Cup victory since the 1962 tournament, and Honduras’ return to the World Cup after 28 years did not have a very good beginning. Honduras faced Spain in the second match, who despite losing their opening match were favourites to get their World Cup campaign back on track. Anything less than a win would have ended Spain’s dreams for the title, but defeat for Honduras meant their own chances had also gone for progressing past the group stages (the match ended 0-2 in favour of Spain). Honduras played to restore some of their pride in the group match and held Switzerland to a goalless draw to bow out of the tournament with a single point but no goals.
Mexico was drawn in a tricky Group A alongside the hosts South Africa, one-time champions France and the two-time champions Uruguay. Mexico faced South Africa the 2010 World Cup opener, and after creating and missing quite a few chances in the first half, they were left in awe when Siphiwe Tshabalala put the hosts in front with a sublime goal from the edge of the penalty box. South Africa was only 11 minutes away from an emphatic victory when Rafael Marquez grabbed the equaliser to level the match 1-1 and share the points. Mexico was by far the better side in their second match against (a miserable display of football by) France. Goals from Javier Hernandez and Cuauhtémoc Blanco put the Mexicans on the verge of qualification for the Round of 16. Both Uruguay and Mexico needed a draw from their last group match to confirm their qualification for the knockout stage, but in that case, Uruguay would have topped the group on better goal difference. Instead, both the teams went for a win to finish the group stage on a high note. Diego Forlan-inspired Uruguayans went ahead through his strike partner Luis Suarez (the match finished 1-0 in favour of Uruguay). Mexico just managed to hold on to the second position, thanks to the superior goal difference over South Africa. Mexico faced the favourites Argentina in the Round of 16, where they fell behind to a controversial goal from Carlos Tevez; he added another in the second half to put it beyond the Mexicans. The match ended with a 3-1 loss to Mexico with a consolation goal from Javier Hernandez in the 71st minute.
The USA were in a rather straightforward group where they faced England in the opening match. USA went behind in only the fourth minute of their campaign but an equalizer soon followed with the help of an infamous mistake from the English goalkeeper Robert Green. The USA were two goals behind in their second match against Slovenia but their characteristics of doing it the hard way came alive. Inspirational Landon Donovan brought his team back in the game with a solo-run goal before coach Bob Bradley’s son Michael provided an equalizer with only eight minutes to spare. USA needed a win from their last match against Algeria to make sure of their qualification for the Round of 16. They were heading for an early exit with a goalless draw until their talisman Landon Donovan popped up with a 91st minute winner to send USA on top of the Group C table. The USA faced the only African team left in the tournament in the Round of 16, Ghana, and once again conceded an early lead. Landon Donovan equalised from the penalty kick and forced the match into extra time. The USA fell behind in the third minute of the extra-time, but this time could not force their way back in the tournament.
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