Mexico persevered through cold weather and physicality, however, and joined the trend of road teams winning the opening round. Costa Rica defeated Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 and Panama beat Honduras 1-0 as each road side earned the opening three points. The U.S. also lost veteran goalkeeper Tim Howard who was forced out of the game in the 40th minute with what appeared to be a leg injury. The 37-year-old went down when taking a goal kick, and was replaced by Brad Guzan.
Miguel Layun opened the scoring for Mexico in the 20th minute and 'El Tri' looked poise to build a big lead as they spread out the Americans and ran free in space. The U.S. survived the assault then completely shifted the momentum in the second half where Bobby Wood tied the match in the 49th minute after a nice run and pass from team mate Jozy Altidore.
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(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
