American goalkeeper Tim Howard explained, in his own words, a series of issues concerning the rivalry against Mexico. First off, Everton's goalie shared his thoughts about El Tri's 2012 Olympics victory, where they defeated Brazil in the final match. According to Howard, Mexico's celebration was over the top, considering it's a "minor" tournament.
"Mexico won the Olympics (in 2012), which I think they thought was the World Cup and they certainly paraded around like it was the World Cup, but it wasn’t. They were on the up and up and we answered that bell going into the 2014 World Cup in terms of where our qualifying position was," Howard recalled.
During his interview with a newspaper, Howard referred to the way things have changed when Mexico and the U.S. meet in a football game. Considering that Mexico's natioal sport is football, Howard believes players from that country are angry because they haven't dominated in recent years.
“I think they look at Americans and they don’t think we can play football, they don’t think we are very good yet we continue to get results against them. We have made sure we have continued to win games and play the right way. Whether that upsets them or not I don’t know. I don’t really care, that’s kind of the way it is,” the goalie continued.
Finally, Howard referred to the way American players are getting ready for this game, even taking under consideration any trash talking by El Tri's players.
"We have done a great job over the last few years of making sure we have kept our heads in the game. You have to be prepared for some of Mexico’s antics. I don’t think that’s any secret. We are no longer rattled. We are no longer fazed by anything they do on the pitch. They used to be able to get under our skin. They can’t anymore. They used to be able to dominate us. They can't anymore,"Howard concluded.
Mexico and the USMNT will clash against each other on Saturday evening at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. During their latest matchup in that venue, Howard seemed to be a little rattled after Giovani Dos Santos capped a 4-2 comeback for Mexico with this goal.
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