Mexico vs USA, August 12th 4:00 EST

Landon Donovan for Team USA, Cuauhtemoc Blanco for Team Mexico

I love World Cup soccer. I happened to attend the Germany-Italy semi-final in the 2006 World Cup and it was probably the best sporting event I’ve ever attended. Qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup are underway and today features a very important one for Team USA.

Team USA and Team Mexico kick-off at 4:00 EST on ESPN. It’s bound to be a good game. Team USA is coming off a dramatic run in the Confederations Cup, while Team Mexico enjoys a 22-0-1 record at home (which is where the match takes place).

Martin Rogers has a great analysis of the match, ending with “despite the recent progress made by Bradley’s first-choice side, it is impossible to look past a Mexico victory here. The Estadio Azteca provides one of the biggest home advantages in world soccer and anything other than a defeat would be a tremendous outcome for the U.S. Bradley’s players will battle, but eventually fall.

Prediction: Mexico 2, USA 1.”

I’m going to reverse his prediction and say USA 2, Mexico 1. Go USA!