United States men's national soccer team
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| Nickname(s) | The Red, White, and Blue Yanks |
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| Association | United States Soccer Federation |
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| Confederation | CONCACAF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  Bob Bradley |
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| Asst coach |  Peter Nowak |
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| Captain | Carlos Bocanegra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | Cobi Jones (164) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | Landon Donovan (37) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 4 (April 2006) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 35 (October 1997) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest Elo ranking | 11 (July and September 2005) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 85 (October 1968) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| First international | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unofficial:  USA 0 - 1 Canada  (Newark, NJ, USA; November 28, 1885) Official:  Sweden 2 - 3 USA  (Stockholm, Sweden; August 20, 1916) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
USA 8 - 0 Barbados  (Carson, CA, USA; June 15, 2008) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Norway 11 - 0 USA (Oslo, Norway; 11 August 1948) |
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| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 8 (First in 1930) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | 3rd, 1930 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gold Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 9 (First in 1991) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Winners, 1991, 2002, 2005, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederations Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 3 (First in 1992) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | 3rd, 1992, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Football (3 appearances before 1930, first 1896) |
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| Silver | 1904 St Louis | Team | |
| Bronze | 1904 St Louis | Team | |
The United States men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. Though soccer has not traditionally had a high profile in American sporting life, since the 1970s the sport has steadily grown in popularity, and the men's national team has risen to become one of the strongest teams in CONCACAF, is ranked 22nd in the FIFA World Rankings,[1] and has appeared in the last five FIFA World Cups.
[edit] History
[edit] The 19th century: first internationals outside the United Kingdom
In 1885, the United States and Canada played the first unofficial international match held outside the United Kingdom. Canada defeated the U.S. 1-0 in Newark, New Jersey.[2] The United States had their revenge the following year when they beat Canada 1-0, also in Newark. These two matches were the only internationals played outside the U.K. in the 19th century. Thirty years later, the United States played its first official international match under the auspices of the US Football Association against Sweden in Stockholm, where the U.S. won 3-2.
[edit] The 1904 Summer Olympic Games: double medallists
The U.S. has earned both silver and bronze medals in men's soccer at the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri. The tournament only featured three teams: Galt F.C. from Canada, and Christian Brothers' College and St. Rose Parish from the United States. Galt defeated both American teams to win the gold, while Christian Brothers' defeated St. Rose in their third match, after two scoreless draws.
[edit] 1930: the first World Cup
In the 1930 World Cup, the U.S. lost its first match in World Cup history, losing to Belgium 3-0 at the Estadio Gran Parque Central in Montevideo, Uruguay. The match occurred simultaneously with another across town at the Estadio Pocitos where France defeated Mexico.
In the next match, the United States again lost 15-0, this time against Paraguay. For many years, FIFA credited Bert Patenaude with the first and third goals, and his team-mate Tom Florie with the second.[3] Other sources described the second goal as having been scored by Patenaude[4][5] or by Paraguayan Ramon Gonzales.[6] . In November 2006, FIFA announced that it had accepted evidence from "various historians and football fans" that Patenaude scored all three goals, and was thus the first person to score a hat-trick in a World Cup finals tournament.[7]
Having reached the semifinals with two losses, the American side lost 6-0 to Mexico. Although no criteria for the judgement has been released, FIFA list the U.S. as finishing in third place, above fellow semifinalists Yugoslavia. This is still the team's highest World Cup finish.
[edit] 1950 World Cup: upset of England
In the 1950 World Cup, the United States lost its first match 3-1 against Spain, but then won 1-0 against England in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in football history, England having recently beaten the rest of Europe 6-1 in an exhibition match. Defeat to Chile by a 5-2 margin in the third group match saw the U.S. eliminated from the tournament. It would be four decades before the United States would again make another appearance at the World Cup.
[edit] 1950s-1970s
Despite the United States' relative success in early international tournaments, soccer remained a niche sport in the U.S. for many years. In the three decades after the 1950 World Cup the only victories for the United States came against Haiti, Bermuda, Honduras, Canada, Poland, and China.
[edit] The 1980s
After the enthusiasm caused by the creation and rise of the North American Soccer League in the 1970s, it seemed as though the U.S. men's national team would soon become a powerful force in world football. Such hopes were not realized, however, and the United States was not considered a strong side in this era. From 1981 to 1983, only two international matches were played.
[edit] Team America in the NASL
To provide a more stable national team program and renew interest in the NASL, U.S. Soccer entered the national team into the league for the 1984 season as Team America. This team lacked the continuity and regularity of training that conventional clubs enjoy, and many players were unwilling to play for the team instead of their own clubs. Embarrassingly, Team America finished the season at the bottom of the league. Recognizing that it had not achieved its objectives, U.S Soccer cancelled this experiment, and the national team was withdrawn from the NASL.
[edit] The 1984 Summer Olympics
U.S. Soccer made the decision to target the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California and the 1986 World Cup as means of rebuilding the national team and its fan base. The International Olympic Committee provided what appeared to be a major boost to the United States' chances of advancing beyond the group stage when it declared that Olympic teams from outside Europe and South America could field full senior teams, including professionals. U.S. Soccer immediately rearranged its Olympic roster, cutting many collegiate players and replacing them with professionals. Despite this, the U.S. finished 1-1-1 and failed to make the second round.
[edit] Failure to qualify for the 1986 World Cup
The United States did bid to host the 1986 World Cup after Colombia withdrew due to economic concerns. However, Mexico beat out the U.S. and Canada to host the tournament, despite concerns that the tournament would have to be moved again because of a major earthquake that hit Mexico shortly before the tournament.
In the last game of the qualifying tournament, the U.S. needed only a draw against Costa Rica, whom they had beaten 3-0 in the Olympics the year before, in order to reach the final qualification group against Honduras and Canada. Controversially, U.S. Soccer scheduled the game to be played at El Camino College in Torrance, California, an area with many Costa Rican expatriates, and marketed the game almost exclusively to the Costa Rican community, even providing Costa Rican folk dances as half time entertainment.[1] A 35th minute goal by Evaristo Coronado won the match for Costa Rica, and kept the United States from reaching a second World Cup finals.[2]
[edit] Rebuilding for the 1990 World Cup
By the end of 1985 the NASL had folded, and there was no senior outdoor league operating in the United States.[8] As a result, many top American players, such as John Kerr, Paul Caligiuri, Eric Eichmann, and Bruce Murray moved overseas, primarily to Europe.
In 1988, U.S. Soccer attempted to reimplement its national-team-as-club concept, offering contracts to national team players in order to build an international team with something of a club ethos, while loaning them out to their club teams, saving U.S. Soccer the expense of their salaries. This brought many key veterans back to the team, while the success of the NASL a decade earlier had created an influx of talent from burgeoning grass-roots level clubs and youth programs. Thus U.S. Soccer sought to establish a more stable foundation for participation in the 1990 World Cup than had existed for previous tournaments.
[edit] The 1990s: Rebirth for American soccer
[edit] The 1990 World Cup
In 1989, FIFA named the United States hosts of the 1994 World Cup, but it did so under significant international criticism because of the perceived weakness of the national team and the lack of a professional outdoor league. This criticism was diminished somewhat when a 1-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago, its first away win in nearly two years, in the last match of the 1989 CONCACAF Championship earned the United States its first World Cup finals appearance in 40 years.
For the 1990 World Cup in Italy, two of the team's more experienced players, Rick Davis and Hugo Perez, were recovering from serious injuries and unavailable for selection, and manager Bob Gansler selected many inexperienced players and recent college graduates. . They were beaten 5-1 by Czechoslovakia in its opening game, Caligiuri scoring the consolation goal. The match against host team Italy resulted in a 1-0 defeat. In the U.S.’s last game, the team fell 2-1 to Austria. The U.S. were eliminated with a 0-3 record.
[edit] CONCACAF success
In March 1991 the United States won the North America Cup, tying Mexico 2-2 and beating Canada 2-0. This was followed in May by a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in the World Series of Soccer. The national team then went undefeated in the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup, beating Mexico 2-0 in the semifinals and Honduras 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw in the final. In 1992, the U.S. continued its run of success, taking the U.S. Cup with victories over Ireland and Portugal, followed by a draw with Italy.
[edit] Hosting the 1994 World Cup
Having qualified automatically as host, The U.S. opened its tournament schedule with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, the first World Cup game played indoors. In its second game, the U.S. faced Colombia, then ranked fourth in the world, at the Rose Bowl. Aided by an own goal from Andrés Escobar, who was later murdered in his home country, it is believed, for this mistake, the United States won 2-1. Despite a 1-0 loss to Romania in its final group game, the U.S. made it to the knockout round for the first time since 1930.
In the second round, the U.S. lost 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil.[9]
[edit] 1998 World Cup: 32nd out of 32
In the 1998 World Cup in France, the team lost all three group matches, 2-0 to Germany, 2-1 to Iran, and 1-0 to Yugoslavia, and so finished in last place in its group, and 32nd in the field of 32. Head coach Steve Sampson received much of the blame for the performance as a result of abruptly cutting team captain John Harkes, whom Sampson had ironically named "Captain for Life" shortly before, as well as several other players who were instrumental to the qualifying effort, from the squad.[10]
[edit] The 2000s: a power in CONCACAF
[edit] The 2002 World Cup: quarterfinalists
The United States, now led by successful MLS and college coach Bruce Arena, won their second Gold Cup as hosts of the 2002 tournament. Arena used the competition as preparation for his team's campaign in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. The establishment of Major League Soccer had an effect on the development of the national team similar to that of the NASL during the 1980s. Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley emerged as talented, young stars, while experienced veterans like Brian McBride, Cobi Jones, and Claudio Reyna entered the prime of their careers. These players helped form the core of the team that earned the United States' best finish at the World Cup since 1930. In the Group Stage, a 3-2 win over Portugal, a 1-1 draw with co-host and eventual fourth place finisher, South Korea, and a 3-1 defeat to already eliminated Poland were sufficient to reach the knockout rounds. In the Round of 16 the U.S. faced continental rivals Mexico for the first time in a World Cup, defeating them 2-0. In the quarterfinals the United States lost 1-0 to eventual runners-up Germany.
The United States followed up this success by winning its third Gold Cup, and second out of three, in 2005.
[edit] The 2006 World Cup: disappointment
After finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. was drawn into Group E along with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. Since three of the teams were ranked in the top 10 of the FIFA World Rankings at the time, it was considered a Group of Death.
The United States opened its tournament with a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic.[11] The team then drew 1-1 against Italy, and was knocked out of the tournament when beaten 2-1 by Ghana in its final group match.[12]
[edit] 2007 and beyond
After failing to maintain his 2002 success at the 2006 World Cup, Bruce Arena was eventually replaced by his assistant with the national team and Chivas USA manager Bob Bradley, whose reign began with four wins and one draw in friendlies leading up to the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, hosted by the United States.
They won all three of their group stage matches, against Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and El Salvador. With a 2-1 win over Panama in the quarterfinals, they advanced to face Canada in the semifinals, in which the U.S. registered a 2-1 win. In the final, the United States came from behind to beat Mexico 2-1.[13]
The team's disappointing Copa América 2007 campaign ended after three defeats in the group stage against Argentina, Paraguay, and Colombia. The decision by U.S. Soccer to field what many considered a second tier team was questioned by fans and media alike.[14]
After winning seven of eight matches against Barbados, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba in the Second and Third Rounds of qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the U.S. will compete throughout 2009 in the Fourth Round, or hexagonal, against Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and El Salvador. Due to its victory in the 2007 Gold Cup, the United States will also participate in the 2009 Confederations Cup, and has been drawn against Italy, Brazil, and Egypt for the Group Stage. Finally, the U.S. will also compete in the 2009 Gold Cup, and has an automatic berth into the competition along with Canada and Mexico.
One of the hallmarks of Bradley's tenure as national team manager has been his willingness to cap a large number of players, many of whom for the very first time. This practice has been praised by those wanting to see a more diverse player pool for the national team, as well as criticized by those hoping for more consistency and leadership from core players.[15] This has coincided with many young American players like Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Freddy Adu, and Maurice Edu making their first moves to European clubs, meaning that more American players are gaining experience at the highest levels of club and international soccer than at any other time in the team's history.
[edit] Schedule and recent results
Matches from the past six months, as well as any future scheduled matches.
[edit] World Cup Qualifying
[edit] Third Round Group 1
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[edit] Fourth Round
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[edit] Confederations Cup
[edit] Group Stage Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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| United States |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Italy |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Brazil |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Egypt |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
[edit] Current squad
[edit] Squad for January training camp
The following 25-man squad was named for the January training camp beginning on January 4, 2009 in Carson, California. The training camp will be made up of players from MLS and Scandinavian leagues, all of which are currently in the offseason or on winter breaks, and will allow the coaching staff to observe players on the fringes of the national team. The training camp will culminate with the friendly match against