GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Raúl Jiménez scored on a 22nd-minute free kick and set up César Huerta's goal in the 49th as Mexico stopped a seven-game winless streak against the United States with a 2-0 victory on Tuesday night in Mauricio Pochettino's second game as the American coach.
Mexico had five losses and two draws against the U.S. dating to a 3-0 win in September 2019 at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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Mexico's Andrés Guardado leaves the pitch after being substituted during an international friendly soccer match against the United States at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
The United States' Antonee Robinson, left, heads the ball past Mexico's Raúl Jiménez during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, right, is congratulated by Edson Álvarez after scoring his side's opening goal against the United States during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, left, kicks the ball past the United States' Joe Scally during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
The United States' Joe Scally, left, falls over challenged by Mexico's César Huerta during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, in light-blue cleats, is congratulated after scoring his side's opening goal against the United States during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, right, celebrates scoring his side's opening goal against the United States during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
With nearly a dozen regular players missing that included Christian Pulisic, the U.S. failed to have any first-half shots for the first time since an April 2023 exhibition against El Tri that ended 1-1.
American players not at the game included defenders Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers; midfielders Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Luca de la Torre; and attackers Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Gio Reyna and Ricardo Pepi.
Defender Mark McKenzie was in the original starting lineup but because of soreness in his left groin was replaced by Miles Robinson just before kickoff.
"Overall Mexico was a little bit better and fully deserve the victory," Pochettino said. "For us it is a process. It was a great opportunity for our players to visit a very difficult place to play. We can only improve and learn from this experience.”
Jiménez curled a 25-yard-plus shot past Matt Turner for his 34th international international goal. Jiménez created the second goal after he ran onto a through pass, had Tim Ream knock the ball away, they regained possession from the defender and centered to Huerta.
Huerta slid around Robinson and beat Turner from near the penalty spot for his third international goal.
Pochettino, hired last month to replace Gregg Berhalter, led the Americans to a 2-0 win over Panama in his debut Saturday.
His first competitive matches will be next month in a two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal, likely against Jamaica. After that, Pochettino has just six international windows before players report ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
“We need to play more games like this in order to compete,” Pochettino said.
Javier Aguirre won his second game since replacing Jaime Lozano as Mexico coach in August. El Tri was coming of a 2-2 draw against the Spanish club Valencia last weekend.
“I think that the team was aware of the bad performance in Puebla, they wanted to prove themselves that they were capable of playing better,” Aguirre said.
Fans at Akron Stadium yelled the homophobic chant that led to fines imposed by FIFA, but Costa Rican referee Keylor Herrera did not stop the game.
Andrés Guardado started in his 182nd international match and left to a loud ovation in the 19th minute of what he said was his national team finale at age 38. He was greeted by every member of the team.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Mexico's Andrés Guardado leaves the pitch after being substituted during an international friendly soccer match against the United States at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
The United States' Antonee Robinson, left, heads the ball past Mexico's Raúl Jiménez during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, right, is congratulated by Edson Álvarez after scoring his side's opening goal against the United States during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, left, kicks the ball past the United States' Joe Scally during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
The United States' Joe Scally, left, falls over challenged by Mexico's César Huerta during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, in light-blue cleats, is congratulated after scoring his side's opening goal against the United States during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Raúl Jiménez, right, celebrates scoring his side's opening goal against the United States during an international friendly soccer match at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germans began Saturday mourning another violent attack and their shaken sense of security after a Saudi doctor drove a black BMW into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers on Friday evening, killing at least two people, including a small child, and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities called a deliberate attack.
Authorities identified the suspect as a 50-year-old who has been living in Germany for nearly two decades and practicing medicine there. He was arrested Friday evening at the site of the attack as medical officials tended to the injured, and was taken into custody for questioning.
But on Saturday there were still no answers as to what caused the man to drive into a crowd in the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg.
The violence shocked the country and the city, bringing its mayor to the verge of tears and marring a festive event that’s part of a centuries-old German tradition. It prompted several other German towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and out of solidarity with Magdeburg’s loss.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser were due to travel to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a memorial service is to take place in the city cathedral in the evening.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives," Scholz wrote on X. "We stand beside them and beside the people of Magdeburg.”
Magdeburg is a city of about 240,000 people, west of Berlin, that serves as Saxony-Anhalt’s capital. Friday’s attack came eight years after an Islamic extremist drove a truck into crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people and injuring many others. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.
Verified bystander footage distributed by the German news agency dpa showed the suspect’s arrest at a tram stop in the middle of the road. A nearby police officer pointing a handgun at the man shouted at him as he lay prone, his head arched up slightly. Other officers soon arrived and took the man into custody.
The two people confirmed dead were an adult and a toddler, but officials said additional deaths couldn't be ruled out because 15 people had been seriously injured.
“As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city," Saxony-Anhalt's governor, Reiner Haseloff, told reporters. “Every human life that has fallen victim to this attack is a terrible tragedy and one human life too many.”
Authorities identified the suspect as a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who moved to Germany in 2006 and who had been practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the attack on X but did not mention the suspect’s connection to the kingdom.
Christmas markets are a German holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages, now successfully exported to much of the Western world.
Hours after Friday's tragedy, the wail of sirens clashed with the market’s festive ornaments, stars and leafy garlands.
Magdeburg resident Dorin Steffen told dpa that she was at a concert in a nearby church when she heard the sirens. The cacophony was so loud “you had to assume that something terrible had happened.”
She called the attack “a dark day” for the city.
“We are shaking,” Steffen said. “Full of sympathy for the relatives, also in the hope that nothing has happened to our relatives, friends and acquaintances.”
The attack reverberated far beyond Magdeburg, with Haseloff calling it a catastrophe for the city, state and country. He said flags would be lowered to half-staff in Saxony-Anhalt and that the federal government planned to do the same.
“It is really one of the worst things one can imagine, particularly in connection with what a Christmas market should bring," the governor said.
Moulson reported from Berlin.
Security guards stand in front of a cordoned-off Christmas Market after a car crashed into a crowd of people, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Reiner Haseloff, Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, center, is flanked by Tamara Zieschang, Minister of the Interior and Sport of Saxony-Anhalt, left, and Simone Borris, Mayor of the City of Magdeburg, at a press conference after a car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A police officer guards at a blocked road near a Christmas Market, after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Dörthe Hein/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
A police officer guards at a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
In this screen grab image from video, special police forces attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Thomas Schulz/dpa via AP)
Reiner Haseloff (M, CDU), Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, makes a statement after an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
A police officer speaks with a man at a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A policeman is seen at the Christmas market where an incident happened in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
A firefighter walks through a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A view of the cordoned-off Christmas market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
A police officer guards at a blocked road near a Christmas market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
The car that was crashed into a crowd of people at the Magdeburg Christmas market is seen following the attack in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Security guards stand in front of a cordoned-off Christmas Market after a car crashed into a crowd of people, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Security guards stand in front of a cordoned-off Christmas Market after a car crashed into a crowd of people, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
The car that was crashed into a crowd of people at the Magdeburg Christmas market is seen following the attack in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Forensics work on a damaged car sitting with its doors open after a driver plowed into a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, early Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
