World news – Olympic Qualifying: The US and Mexico return to Estadio Jalisco, the site of the infamous 2004 meeting

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The match became one of the lore. Mexico’s Televisa captured Donovan, who appeared to be urinating in the bushes during US practice session the night before the game, and a small group of Mexican fans shouted « Osama! Osama! » at the Estadio Jalisco. The US was without several key players, although with 17 age-eligible players in the European senior team, there is nothing like it. Oguchi Onyewu’s Belgian club La Louviere would not release him and defensive midfielder Ricardo Clark, a star of the US Under-20s who reached the quarter-finals of the 2003 Under-20 World Cup, was injured. The US U-23 also mourned. The group was shocked 36 hours before the game in Mexico that Nicole Marie Megaloudis, the 19-year-old stepdaughter of assistant coach Thomas Rongen and a close friend of US players Bobby Convey and Alecko Eskandarian, had been killed at a car accident on her way to school at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was playing soccer. Rongen flew home and missed the semi-final game. Olympic qualification 2004: Feb. 10 in Guadalajara Mexico 4 USA 0. Goals: Marquez 27, 55, Martinez 28, Iniguez 90. Mexico – Corona, Galindo, F. Rodriguez, I. Rodriguez, M. Perez, Espinoza, Martinez, Ponce , L. Perez (Sandoval, 78), Garcia (Pineda, 67), Marquez (Iniguez, 80). USA – Countess, Wingert (Beckerman, 46), Borchers, Marshall, Lewis; Break, Beasley, Davis (Gaven, 76), Convey, Donovan, Johnson (Eskandarian, 63). Red card: USA – Borchers 74. Referee: Neal Brizan (Trinidad & Tobago). Att .: 60,000. What is at stake? Both the US and Mexico have won their first two games, reaching the semi-finals on Sunday, which will decide Concacaf’s two representatives in men’s football at the Tokyo Olympics. Wednesday’s result only determines who wins the group and finishes second. (Mexico have the advantage of goal difference so if they tie it ends first.) The US and Mexico will have to wait for the results of Thursday’s Group B games – all four teams stay alive – to know who they are will be face on Sunday. US coach Jason Kreis said he couldn’t remember thinking so much about who he was going to play against and for how long. « There are so many variables that we can work with that we just have to make our best decision, » he said. « The most important thing is the semi-final game. We go into the game with these instructions. But without 20 field players there can be no complete rotation. »

US squad: Goalkeeper (3): 12-Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union), 1 -JT Marcinkowski (earthquake in San Jose), 20-David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake) DEFENDERS (6): 2-Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy), 4-Justen Glad (real salt lake), 17-Aaron Herrera (real salt lake) , 3-Henry Kessler (New England Revolution), 5-Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire), 13-Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids) MIDFIELDS (7): 16-Johnny Cardoso (Internacional / BRA), 18-Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United ), 8-Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal), 15-Andrés Perea (Orlando City), 10-Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM / MEX, 11-) Tanner Tessmann (FC Dallas), 6-Jackson Yueill (earthquake in San Jose) FORWARD (4): 9-Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), 7-Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids), 14-Benji Michel (Orlando City), 19- Sebastian Soto (Norwich City / ENG) Mexico Squad: Goalkeeper (3): 12 -Sebastian Jurado (Cruz Azul), 1-L uis Malagon (Necaxa), 20-Carlos Moreno (Pachuca). DEFENDER (7): 18-Jesus Alberto Angulo (Santos Laguna), 16-Jose Esquivel (Juarez), 2-Vladimir Lorona (Tijuana), 3-M Anuel Mayorga (Guadalajara), 13-Alan Mozo (UNAM), 4- Gilberto Sepulveda (Guadalajara), 5-Johan Vasquez (Pumas UNAM). MIDDLE FIELDS (6): 14-Erick Aguirre (Pachuca), 11-Roberto Alvarado (Cruz Azul), 19-Jesus Ricardo Angulo (Guadalajara), 6-Alan Cervantes (Santos Laguna), 17-Sebastian Cordova (Club America), 8 -Carlos Rodriguez (Monterrey) FORWARD (4): 15-Uriel Antuna (Guadalajara), 9-Jose Macias (Guadalajara), 7-Santiago Munoz (Santos Laguna), 10-Alexis Vega (Guadalajara)