SAN ANTONIO – A bitter showdown between rivals kicked off Wednesday at the Alamodome, as the men's national soccer teams from the U.S. and Mexico brought fans packing in from all over both countries.
The anticipation began building outside before the game even started, as fans from both sides wore their colors and brought their spirit.
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Once inside, that excitement erupted.
"We have a lot of young players (and) a lot to prove," said U.S. fan David Cronk. "We need a win though, too. My son and I went last year and it was a 2-2 tie. We need to see a win here tonight."
"(I'm here to) support my country, where my parents are," said Mexico fan Daniel Delgado. "We are from Guanajuato. We are representing. We may live here, but our hearts stay with Mexico."
The cheers and chants could be heard from both sides, but it was obvious who was in the majority as the 65,000 inside mostly wore green, white and red -- the colors of the Mexican national team.
"We are way bigger then them, look at this," said Mexico fan Victor Falcon. "This is full of Mexicans. They got a little group there, but once the game starts, we'll see how it goes."
The U.S. fans had a plan though.
"We are going to out-yell them," said a U.S. fan named Jack.
Morris scores in 1st US start in 2-0 win over Mexico
Stanford sophomore Jordan Morris scored early in the second half in his first start for the U.S. national team, Juan Agudelo added his first international goal in four years and the Americans dispatched Mexico by their traditional 2-0 score in an exhibition game Wednesday night.
Morris, a 20-year-old thought to be the first collegian to start for the U.S. in at least two decades, pounced on a ball that ricocheted off defender Mario Osuna in the 49th minute and beat goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo from close range.
Agudelo replaced Morris in the 65th and scored seven minutes later with a low shot from just outside the penalty area, his third international goal and first since March 2011. He was playing his second international match since November 2012 and his first since March last year.
Before a sellout crowd of 64,369, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann improved to 3-0-3 against his team's regional rival.
The U.S. has defeated Mexico by dos a cero in four straight home World Cup qualifiers, all in Columbus, Ohio.