MEXICO CITY (AP):

Finishing second to Brazil in last weekend's Confederations Cup final boosted the Americans' confidence. It's also led to soul searching in Mexico, which used to be the region's top team.

The United States have risen to No. 12 in the latest rankings by FIFA. Meanwhile, Mexico have slumped to No. 33.

"We didn't earn the right to play in the Confederations Cup," Decio De Maria, the general secretary of the Mexican Football Federation, said on Thursday. "But this is not the basic point. For a long time the United States has maintained stability in its coaching staff. They have put up with the tough times, and have got support in tough times. We haven't."

De Maria blamed his own federation for some of the problems, pointing out that Bruce Arena - and now his assistant, Bob Bradley - have been in charge for 11 years.

In the same span, Mexico have had eight coaches.

Javier Aguirre, who took over in April, is the fourth Mexico coach in three years and the fifth since Argentine Ricardo La Volpe was let go after the 2006 World Cup. La Volpe was followed by Hugo Sanchez, Jesus Ramirez and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

under pressure

Aguirre will be under pressure when Mexico open play in the Gold Cup against Nicaragua today in Oakland, California. Aguirre is 1-1 in CONCACAF qualifiers, and has one win and one draw in friendlies.

The Gold Cup is merely a warm-up for Mexico. The real focus is on remaining World Cup qualifiers, where Mexico are struggling to reach next year's event in South Africa.

Midway through the final round of qualifying for the North and Central American and Caribbean region, Costa Rica lead with 12 points, followed by the United States with 10, Honduras (7), Mexico (6), El Salvador (5) and Trinidad and Tobago (2).

The top three teams qualify, and No. 4 meets the fifth-place team from South America in a play-off.

Mexico's next qualifier is at home on August 12 against the United States, one of three home matches remaining for El Tri.