COLUMBUS, Ohio — For years, the score was so ingrained it became a mantra. A rallying cry. A marketing device, even.
Four straight times, the United States men’s soccer team faced Mexico in a home World Cup qualifying game here, and four straight times the Americans won by the same score — 2-0 or, as it became known to everyone on both sides, Dos a Cero. The fans chanted it. The players talked about it. The television commercials plastered it all over their advertisements.
But no more.
Dos a Cero was officially put to rest only 20 minutes into Friday’s game when Mexico’s Miguel Layún scored with a deflected shot from outside the penalty area, and the visitors put a complete damper on the lively atmosphere at Mapfre Stadium with a late winner from the seemingly ageless Rafael Márquez to seal a 2-1 — call it Dos a Uno?