In continuing the theme of 2017 being a sh*t year for U.S. soccer, the lone American at the Club World Cup was at fault for the goal that knocked Mexico’s Pachuca out of the competition on Tuesday at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the UAE. Gremio’s Everton turned Omar Gonzalez inside out before curling in a wonderful shot to give the Brazilian side a 1-0 victory in extra time.
Gonzalez apparently thought he was still playing for the USMNT, perhaps against Trinidad and Tobago.
Everton caught Pachuca napping on a throw-in to get the ball into the box. Once there, Gonzalez never got close to the Brazilian, who shimmied to his right to set up this beautiful curling effort.
The goal came in the fifth minute of extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes. Gremio will play either Real Madrid or Al Jazira, who play Wednesday, in the final on Saturday.
The Pachuca Club World Cup berth was earned by winning the CONCACAF Champions League against Tigres in April. It was the fourth appearance in the tournament for Los Tuzos. They beat African champions Wydad Casablanca of Morocco 1-0 on Saturday in the quarterfinals. Gremio won the Copa Libertadores in late November and was playing its first match of the 2017 Club World Cup.
In the earlier match on Tuesday, Urawa Reds beat Wydad Casablanca 3-2 in the fifth-place match thanks in part to this blast from Mauricio Antonio.
Urawa Reds were beaten 1-0 by Al Jazira in the quarterfinals. Al Jazira is in the tournament as the top team from host country UAE and also beat Oceania’s Auckland City 1-0 on Dec. 6 in a play-in match.
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