U.S. must overcome altitude, smog

 (AP) -- Knowing Mexico has neve lost a World Cup qualifier in Mexico City doesn't do much to boost the morale of the Americans for Sunday's game.
 It's especially disheartening to the United States because it hasn't gotten so much as a draw in 16 matches there and was routed 4-0 the last time.
 Still, predicting they need four points from their last three matches to reach France '98, the Americans seem to be taking a "there's always a first time" approach.
 "When everyone writes you off, that's the time when you can surprise people," U.S. midfielder Tab Ramos said Tuesday from Big Bear Lake, Calif., where the Americans have been in training at altitude since Oct. 16.
 "I'm sure Mexico has never lost at home in a qualifier, but they also know we're the one team that can break that streak. This would be a great opportunity ... to get a point in Mexico City would be great, and it would be a great turning point."
 Mexico has a 4-0-3 record and 15 points, sits atop the CONCACAF final round standings, and needs only a draw to assure itself of an 11th appearance in the World Cup finals.
 The Americans (2-1-4) are in third place with 10 points, two behind Jamaica, but have played one fewer game. El Salvador is a point behind the United States, also having played one more game. Only the top three qualify for France.
 The United States is trying to recover from a 1-1 tie with Jamaica in Washington on Oct. 3, a match it counted on for three points.
 Having essentially lost two points there, it now enters the game against Mexico, a Nov. 9 contest against Canada in Vancouver, and a finale at Foxboro, Mass., against El Salvador on Nov. 16 looking for at least one victory and one draw.
 "There is ... that sense that if the Mexico match does not work out perfectly, that we have two matches that are equally, if not more important," U.S. coach Steve Sampson said. "There is an urgency from the standpoint that we feel our backs are up against the wall, and this team has always performed better when its back is up against the wall, unfortunately."
 Despite the United States' dismal 7-29-10 all-time record against Mexico, including 0-16 in Mexico City, the Americans are 3-2-5 against the Mexicans since 1990.
 One of the losses came earlier this year at the U.S. Cup, when Sampson took essentially a developmental team and was beaten 2-0 in the Rose Bowl. The other was in 1993, a 4-0 drubbing in Guillermo Canedo Stadium.
 But the United States also has routed Mexico 4-0 in a friendly in Washington in 1995, and, in their last meeting, drew 2-2 in Boston in April.
 The 1993 loss was the only time the United States has played in Mexico City since 1984, but some of the Americans, having played in the Mexican league, are more than acquainted with the difficulty of winning there.
 "My experiences haven't been good," said Ramos, who played with Tigres from 1994 to 1996. "I don't think it's just teams from other countries that don't like to go there. Club teams don't like going in there because of the smog. It catches up to you in the second half. It's a difficult place to play.
 "There are no secrets. The altitude, the smog and the pressure from the crowd. They're the three things. I don't think there is anything else to it."