The Copa America Centenario was by no means a disappointment or bad finish — for the U.S. men's national soccer team that is—Mexico had a different ending to their story in this tournament.
The final result for the U.S., a fourth place finish in the Americas, is without question a great result, especially against teams like Uruguay and Brazil.
USA must be doing something right, right?
So, if you were rooting for the United States men's national soccer team, then you were satisfied with the ending, despite a loss in the third place game at the hands of Colombia, which could have easily been the other way had some of the open looks gone in — Clint Dempsey and Bobby Wood.
It’s okay; these two guys can score a lot and will continue for years to come. They will keep on progressing in terms of working together and this tournament was just a glimpse of the next major tourney for the USMNT, possibly not till the World Cup in two years.
The men in blue had their chances throughout their third place game, despite the Colombian side earning the victory. But the team was unable to plug one away, much like the Mexican national team when they took on Chile—minus the dramatic scoring difference.
Although my bracket predicted Mexico would not make it past the quarterfinal round, which they didn't, I do not think anybody anticipated one of the worst Mexican soccer defeats in the history of the program's existence.
It was an embarrassment and many were disgusted even before the conclusion of the game.
The loss is right up there with a 6-0 loss to Germany in the group stage of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Mexico also suffered an 8-0 loss to England in a 1961 friendly.
Let's hope El Tri was able to realize that an international friendly win means nothing.
Mexico had beaten the same Chilean team from the tournament, 1-0, in an international friendly contest just four days before their first match against Uruguay.
Overconfident much?
I think that is a simple yes, they were certainly playing like a cocky bunch and quite frankly overlooked the high-powered engine of Chile.
Let's not forget that Mexico's head coach is from Argentina, a country which has a long-standing rivalry with Chile, so I am sure this was emotional for him.
Who knows, he might have overthought the situation and perhaps let his emotions take over after selecting a horrid lineup that was setup for failure at the hands of the powerful striking from Chile, along with their tremendous countering ability.
It was all bad from the start for Mexico in their match against Chile, but it seemed like it was destiny because the team had not lost in over 10 months.
The even worst part from the entire tournament was that Lionel Messi retired from international play after he made the announcement following the team's penalty kick loss to Chile, the second year in a row.
So all in all, this Copa America Centenario was a successful story and America is now No. 4 in South and North America and Mexico, our borderland country, well, they need to regroup, big time, but who knows because I am sure the entire team has gone into hiding until the World Cup begins.
