The United States men’s national soccer team (USMNT) competes in men’s international soccer tournaments. The US Soccer Federation manages the squad, which is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
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The United States has competed in eleven FIFA World Cups, including the inaugural tournament in 1930, where they reached the semi-finals. They returned in 1934 and 1950, winning 1-0 against England in the latter, but they did not qualify again until 1990. As host in 1994, the United States gained an automatic spot but was eliminated in the round of sixteen by Brazil. They qualified for the following five World Cups (seven straight participation (1990-2014), a milestone matched by just seven other nations),[9] becoming a regular competitor in the competition and frequently getting to the knockout round. In 2002, the United States advanced to the quarter-finals before losing to Germany. The Americans defeated top-ranked Spain in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup before falling to Brazil in the final, the team’s lone participation in a major international event final.
The United States also participates in continental competitions such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa América. The United States won seven Gold Cups and the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League, as well as finishing fourth in two Copa Américas in 1995 and 2016. Gregg Berhalter has been the team’s head coach since November 29, 2018,[10], and Brian McBride has been its general manager since January 10, 2020. [11]
Early Years
The United States’ first national soccer squad was formed in 1885, when it faced Canada in the first international match played outside of the United Kingdom. [12] In Newark, New Jersey, Canada defeated the United States 1-0. The United States avenged itself the next year, defeating Canada 1-0 in Newark, albeit neither match was officially acknowledged. The United States won silver and bronze medals in men’s soccer at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Olympics, thanks to Christian Brothers College and St. Rose Parish, while the event is only recognized by the IOC (FIFA does not recognize games staged before to 1908). The United States met Sweden in its first official international match under the auspices of US Soccer on August 20, 1916, and won 3-2.
The United States fielded a squad in the inaugural World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930. The United States started group play by defeating Belgium 3-0. The United States then defeated Paraguay 3-0, with FIFA giving two of the goals to Bert Patenaude of Fall River, Massachusetts. [14][15][16][17] FIFA confirmed in November 2006 that it had recognized evidence that Patenaude scored all three goals against Paraguay, making him the first individual to achieve a hat trick in a World Cup.
The United States was defeated 6-1 by Argentina in the semifinals. There was no game for third place. However, according to the overall tournament statistics from 1986, the United States finished third, ahead of fellow semi-finalist Yugoslavia. [19] This is the United States’ best World Cup finish to date, and it is the highest finish of any team from outside of South America and Europe.
The United States qualified for the 1934 World Cup by defeating Mexico 4-2 in Italy just days before the tournament began. The squad initially faced host Italy in a straight knockout style and fell 7-1, therefore eliminating the US from the competition. The United States was eliminated from the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin after losing to Italy in the first round, this time by a score of 1-0. Italy went on to win both tournaments, establishing itself as the dominant team of the time.
The United States made their next World Cup debut in 1950, after withdrawing in 1938 and the competition not being staged again until 1950. The United States fell 3-1 to Spain before winning 1-0 versus England in Belo Horizonte’s Independência Stadium. The goal was scored by striker Joe Gaetjens. The event, dubbed “The Miracle on Grass,” is regarded as one of the biggest World Cup upsets in history. [20] [21] The United States was eliminated from the tournament after a 5-2 loss to Chile in their third game of the tournament. The United States would not return to the World Cup finals for another four decades.
1960s-1990s
The national team was almost irrelevant in both the international and domestic athletic arenas throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century. During this time, CONCACAF had only one World Cup berth until 1982. [22] The formation of the North American Soccer League in the 1960s and 1970s created expectations that the United States national team would quickly develop and become a worldwide power. However, such dreams were dashed, and by the 1980s, the United States Soccer Federation was in deep financial trouble, with the national team playing only two matches from 1981 to 1983. The United States Soccer Federation targeted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1986 World Cup to rebuild the national team and its fan base.
The International Olympic Committee determined that teams from outside Europe and South America were permitted to have complete senior teams, including professionals (until then, the amateur-only rule had heavily favored socialist countries from Eastern Europe whose players were professionals in all but name). The United States made a solid performance at the tournament, defeating Costa Rica, tying Egypt, and losing only to favored Italy to finish 1-1-1, but they did not advance to the second round, losing to Egypt on a tiebreaker (both had three points).
To establish a more solid national team program and to rekindle interest in the NASL, U.S. Soccer put the national team as Team America into the NASL league calendar for the 1983 season. This squad lacked the consistency and regularity of training that traditional teams have, and many players were hesitant to play for the national team rather than their own clubs when problems arose. Team America finished last in the league, prompting U.S. Soccer to abandon the experiment and withdraw the national team from the NASL after one season. The NASL folded by the end of 1984, leaving the United States without a single professional-level outdoor soccer league. [23]
After Colombia withdrew from contention owing to economic concerns, the United States sought to host the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but FIFA chose Mexico to host the event. The United States needed just a stalemate versus Costa Rica in the penultimate game of CONCACAF qualifying for the 1986 World Cup to advance to the final qualification group with Honduras and Canada. The game was set to be played in Torrance, California, a city with a large Costa Rican expatriate population, and was almost entirely marketed to the Costa Rican community. [24] Costa Rica won the game 1-0, preventing the United States from reaching their fourth World Cup finals. [25]
In 1988, US Soccer sought to re-implement its national-team-as-club model, providing players contracts to practice full-time with the national team while periodically loaning them to club clubs as an income stream for the federation. This brought many key veterans back into the program and allowed the team to begin playing more matches, which, combined with an influx of talent from new youth clubs and leagues established across the country in the aftermath of the NASL’s popularity, allowed the national team to end the 1980s with optimism and higher hopes of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup than had previously existed.
1990s
On July 4, 1988, FIFA named the United States as the host of the 1994 World Cup (the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics played a major role), despite significant international criticism due to the national team’s perceived weakness and the lack of a professional outdoor league. This criticism was mitigated somewhat when the United States earned its first World Cup appearance in 40 years with a 1-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago in the final match of the 1989 CONCACAF Championship.
After automatically qualifying as the host nation for the 1994 World Cup under Bora Milutinovi, the United States began their tournament schedule with a 1-1 stalemate against Switzerland in the Pontiac Silverdome in the Detroit suburbs, the first World Cup game played inside. At the Rose Bowl, the US met Colombia, which was rated fourth in the world at the time. The United States won 2-1 thanks to an own goal by Andrés Escobar. [27] Escobar was later murdered in his home country, possibly as a result of this error. Despite a 1-0 loss to Romania in its last group game, the United States advanced beyond the first round for the first time since 1930. In the round of 16, the United States was defeated 1-0 by eventual winner Brazil. [29] Despite this success, Bora was fired by the team in 1995, allegedly because he was uninterested in administrative duties. [30]
The squad finished dead last in the field of 32 at the 1998 World Cup in France, losing all three group matches, 2-0 to Germany, 2-1 to Iran, and 1-0 to Yugoslavia. Head coach Steve Sampson bore much of the responsibility for the performance after unexpectedly removing team captain John Harkes, whom Sampson had recently anointed “Captain for Life,” as well as numerous other players who were crucial to the qualifying campaign, from the squad. At that period, Thomas Dooley was appointed Captain. [32] Sampson allegedly fired Harkes from the team in February 2010 because Harkes was having an affair with teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. [33]
Early 21st Century
The United States qualified for the 2002 World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals under Bruce Arena, their highest finish in a World Cup since 1930. The team advanced through the group stage with a 1W-1L-1D record, beginning with a 3-2 upset win over Portugal and continuing with a 1-1 tie with co-host and eventual semi-finalist South Korea. The third and final match was a 3-1 defeat to Poland; however, the team advanced to the round of 16 after South Korea defeated Portugal. This set the stage for a meeting with continental rivals Mexico in the World Cup for the first time.
The game was won by the United States 2-0. Brian McBride scored first, and Landon Donovan increased the advantage in the 65th minute. The United States fell 1-0 to Germany in the quarterfinals after being denied a penalty after Torsten Frings handled the ball to prevent a Gregg Berhalter goal. All of the United States’ World Cup games in 2002 were played in South Korea, and all of their triumphs occurred while wearing the white uniform, while their only defeats came while wearing the blue jersey.
After winning the CONCACAF qualification campaign, the United States was put into Group E with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana for the 2006 World Cup. The US began its competition with a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic. The squad then tied Italy, which went on to win the World Cup, 1-1. [35] The United States was then eliminated from the tournament when it was defeated 2-1 by Ghana in its final group encounter, with Clint Dempsey scoring the lone goal of the tournament – the goal against Italy having been an own goal by Italian defender Cristian Zaccardo.
The United States performed admirably at the 2009 Confederations Cup. [38] The United States beat Spain 2-0 in the semifinals. [39] Spain was top of the FIFA World Rankings at the time, having gone 35 games undefeated. With the victory, the United States advanced to its first-ever men’s FIFA tournament final. After leading 2-0 at halftime, the team was defeated 3-2 by Brazil. [40]
The United States was drawn in Group C of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with England, Slovenia, and Algeria. After drawing with England (1-1) and Slovenia (2-2), the United States defeated Algeria 1-0 in stoppage time, claiming first position in a World Cup Finals group for the first time since 1930. The United States was eliminated in the round of 16 by Ghana, 2-1. [44] The United States finished 12th out of 32 teams in FIFA’s World Cup team rankings.
In 2011, the United States hosted the Gold Cup once more. The United States went beyond the group stage, then defeated Jamaica 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Panama 1-0 in the semifinals, and Mexico 4-2 in the final. Later in the season,
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Current USMNT
Under Berhalter, the team lost 1-0 to Mexico in the 2019 Gold Cup Final, ending their chances of becoming back-to-back champions. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, an influx of new young talent grew into a slew of players playing for top European clubs, including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Brendan Aaronson, Sergio Dest, and Gio Reyna.
By placing third in the last qualifying round, the United States qualified for the 2022 World Cup. The qualification season included an undefeated home record and a tie against Mexico at Estadio Azteca. [71]
The United States, Canada, and Mexico were awarded the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June 2018, granting all three countries automatic qualifying.
