For now, the future of the American team looks brighter than ever after it began qualifying for the tournament with a 2-0 victory over Mexico, and gained three critical points, on Wednesday night.

U.S. coach Bruce Arena celebrates his team's big win over Mexico.(AP)

For a drastic change, the U.S. team had distinct advantages in many areas over a squad from Mexico that favors warm weather and high altitude. When it plays the U.S. in Southern California, the Mexicans even enjoy a big home-away-from-home edge.

The way the U.S. gets treated by fans at the Coliseum in Los Angeles when it plays Mexico, anyone would think the game is being played in Mexico City. In fact, the Americans had only beaten Mexico in two of 19 World Cup qualifiers since 1934.

That is exactly why the site for Wednesday night's qualifying opener was played in Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, where a sellout crowd of 24,624 braved 20-degree weather to boost the home team.

Anything less than a victory would have been disastrous to the U.S. side because of the mostly hostile stadiums it will play in over the next eight months. But the Americans, primarily Josh Wolff, sparkled after a frozen first half in which Mexico positioned five defenders back by goalkeeper Jorge Campos.

This is the first time the United States has fielded a national team for the final stage of World Cup qualifying with a host of players who either have solid experience in this country's professional league or have been considered good enough to spend time with pro clubs overseas.

Perhaps that is why the U.S. team is ranked 16th in the latest world rankings, ahead of such worldly teams such as England (17th) and Croatia (18th), whose Davor Suker led everyone with seven goals in the last World Cup in France.

Mexico checked in at 12th and has long been considered the premier national team in this region, which includes Central and North America, and the Caribbean.

Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and a fast-rising Honduras team round out the players in this qualifying stage. A team gets three points for a win, one for a tie. Only three will advance to the World Cup in 2002.

In one month, the U.S. might get its most challenging match of the qualifying stage when it plays at Honduras, which is starting to get its best players poached by European clubs.

With the outcome Wednesday, the Mexicans will have a fight for the right to be called this region's best team. Look for the July 1 rematch between the two teams, before a rabid 120,000 in Aztec Stadium in Mexico City, to be a physical affair.

That is how Wednesday night's match started. By halftime, the U.S. had been outplayed and two of its more prominent players, Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna, were out with injuries.

McBride had belted a Mexican defender's head instead of the ball on one jump only 10 minutes into the game, and McBride's right eyelid swelled to the size of a golf ball within minutes. Wolff came on for McBride.

Reyna, a veteran for Glasgow Rangers, left near the end of the first half with a groin injury. Clint Mathis replaced him. Fortunately for the Americans, there was no score.

Wolff will be hailed as the rising star and was named the player of the match, but defenders Jeff Agoos and Eddie Pope laid the foundation for the win with their excellent first-half efforts.

That became contagious in the first half as Mexico subbed scorers for defenders, and the U.S. team hung on.

The chemistry between Mathis and Wolff, who talked about connecting on a long ball at halftime, quickly became apparent. Both are 24 and call Georgia home, and they spent three seasons together at the University of South Carolina.

Wolff, with his breakaway speed, will no doubt draw comparisons to Michael Owen, the British speedster who has spent as much time in the trainer's room as he has on the field at Anfield for Liverpool.

Both are 5-feet-8 with closely cropped brown hair. At 24, though, Wolff has three years on Owen, and the U.S. needed every bit of Wolff's moxie to get by Mexico.

In the 47th minute, Wolff hauled in a long drive from Mathis, flicked it by Campos and regained his bearings, after turning 360 degrees around his right side, just in time to pound the ball into an empty net.

Twenty minutes later, U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel blocked Mexico's best scoring chance when Francisco Palencia fired his point-blank 10-yard bullet directly at Friedel, who punched it away.

The cold weather didn't make Friedel, who grew up two hours away from Columbus in Bay Village, Ohio, and plays with Owen at Liverpool, flinch. Heck, Friedel wore shorts.

In the 88th minute, Wolff shook two Mexican defenders in the right corner, sped in on Campos and tapped it to his left after drawing Campos to him. A rushing Earnie Stewart easily found the net, and the U.S. team had a curiously easy victory over Mexico.

Cold Mexico, that is. Before the match, the Mexicans were told how to mentally block out the freezing climate. Imagine what Campos, who wore sweat bottoms, must have thought when he walked out onto the pitch and saw Friedel wearing shorts.

Then Mexico dropped to 0-5-1 in its last six international matches. After the final horn, Wolff wasn't finished running, either. He sprinted to Campos, exchanging his white U.S. jersey for Campos' flamboyant orange goalkeeper's shirt.

More than an exchange of jerseys, though, took place Wednesday night in Columbus.