US-Mexico countdown: No. 10

10. World Cup qualifier; Columbus, Ohio; Feb. 28, 2001: US 2, Mexico 0

Both teams opened their respective path towards the 2002 World Cup against each other as Mexico visited the United States. For the match, the U.S. selected cold-weather Columbus, Ohio, as the venue. With temperatures reaching a high of 29 degrees, the match became known as La Guerra Fria, or the Cold War. Mexico coach Enrique Meza entered the match with a string of questionable results as confidence in him appeared waning while U.S. coach Bruce Arena had enjoyed a pair of wins over Mexico the year before. The match was a physical contest from the start as Brian McBride had to leave the match with a swollen eye, the remnants of a hard foul. The move opened the door for Josh Wolff's heroics. With the match scoreless at halftime, Wolff got the Americans off and running early in the second half. Clint Mathis played a long ball over the top of Mexico's defense and Wolff outran the Mexican defense towards the goal, eluded goalkeeper Jorge Campos and scored the only goal the U.S. would need. Late in the game, Wolff set up Earnie Stewart's insurance tally and the U.S. began their qualifying campaign successfully.

Lineups
United States: Brad Friedel; David Regis, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope, Tony Sanneh; Cobi Jones, Chris Armas, Claudio Reyna (Clint Mathis, 43), Earnie Stewart; Brian McBride (Josh Wolff, 15), Joe-Max Moore (Carlos Llamosa, 79)

Mexico: Jorge Campos; Claudio Suarez, Rafael Marquez (Victor Ruiz, 69), Alberto Macias, Salvador Carmona (Miguel Zepeda, 56); Marco Antonio Ruiz, Pavel Pardo, German Villa, Braulio Luna (Jesus Arellano, 75); Luis Hernandez, Francisco Palencia.

Scoring:
United States - Wolff 47
United States - Stewart 87