United States men's national soccer team

"U.S. football team", "U.S. national football team" and "American national football team" redirect here. For the U.S. national team for American football, see United States national American football team.
United States
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) The Yanks
The Stars and Stripes[1][2]
Association United States Soccer Federation
Confederation CONCACAF
Head coach Bob Bradley
Asst coach Mike Sorber
Lubos Kubik
Jesse Marsch
Pierre Barrieu
Zak Abdel
Captain Carlos Bocanegra
Most caps Cobi Jones (164)
Top scorer Landon Donovan (45)
FIFA code USA
FIFA ranking 18
Highest FIFA ranking 4 (April 2006)
Lowest FIFA ranking 35 (October 1997)
Elo ranking 26
Highest Elo ranking 4 (November 1885 – November 1886)
Lowest Elo ranking 85 (October 1968)
Home colors
Away colors
First international
Unofficial:
United States United States 0–1 Canada 
(Newark, USA; November 28, 1885)
Official:
 Sweden 2–3 United States United States
(Stockholm, Sweden; August 20, 1916)
Biggest win
United States United States 8–0 Barbados 
(Carson, USA; June 15, 2008)
Biggest defeat
 Norway 11–0 United States United States
(Oslo, Norway; August 11, 1948)
World Cup
Appearances 9 (First in 1930)
Best result Third Place, 1930
Gold Cup
Appearances 10 (First in 1991)
Best result Champion, 1991, 2002, 2005, 2007
Confederations Cup
Appearances 4 (First in 1992)
Best result Runner-Up, 2009

The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international soccer competition and is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation.

The team is, according to the FIFA World Rankings, ranked 18th in the world and first in CONCACAF[3] and has appeared in the last six FIFA World Cups, including hosting the 1994 edition.

The team's best finish in the FIFA World Cup came in the inaugural 1930 tournament where it finished third. More recently, it finished fourth in the 1995 Copa América, reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, and took second place in the 2009 Confederations Cup. The United States has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup four times in ten tournaments.

Contents

History

Early years

In 1885, the United States and Canada played at Newark, New Jersey, making it the first international match held outside of the United Kingdom; the Canadians won the match 1-0. The following year, a reverse fixture at the same venue resulted in the U.S. winning after scoring the only goal of the game.[4] Thirty years later, the United States played its first official international match under the auspices of U.S. Soccer against Sweden in Stockholm, which the U.S. won 3–2.

The U.S. won both the silver and bronze medals in men's soccer at the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri. The tournament featured only a 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. Christian Brothers defeated St. Rose in a third match after two scoreless draws.

In the 1930 World Cup, the U.S. won its first match in World Cup history, beating Belgium 3–0 at Estadio Gran Parque Central in Montevideo, Uruguay. The match occurred simultaneously with another across town at Estadio Pocitos where France defeated Mexico.

In the next match, the United States earned a 3-0 victory over Paraguay. For many years, FIFA credited Bert Patenaude with the first and third goals and his teammate Tom Florie with the second.[5] Other sources described the second goal as having been scored by Patenaude[6][7] or by Paraguayan Ramon Gonzales.[8] 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.[9]

Having reached the semifinals with the two wins, the American side lost 6–1 to Argentina. Using the overall tournament records, FIFA credited the U.S. with a third place finish ahead of fellow semifinalist Yugoslavia.[10] The finish remains the team's best World Cup result and is tied for the highest finish of any team from outside of CONMEBOL and UEFA, the South American and European confederations, respectively.

Due to FIFA not wanting interference with the newly founded FIFA World Cup no official tournament was fielded in the 1932 Olympic Games. FIFA claimed the tournament would not be popular in the United States, so it would not be cost efficient to assist in the running of the tournament during struggling economic times. As a result, an informal tournament was organized including local rivals with the United States finishing first, followed by Mexico and Canada. The Olympic Tournament was reinstated in the 1936 Olympic Games.

Post WWII

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. Sports Illustrated and Soccer Digest have called the game the "Miracle on Grass,"[11] a reference to the Miracle on Ice. The older Independência Stadium, in the city of Belo Horizonte, hosted this legendary victory. At last, a 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 made another appearance at the World Cup Finals.

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.

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 soccer. 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.

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 1983 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.

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 as long as those senior players had never played in a World Cup, 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.

By the end of 1984, the NASL had folded and there was no senior outdoor soccer league operating in the United States.[12] As a result, many top American players, such as John Kerr, Paul Caligiuri, Eric Eichmann, and Bruce Murray, moved overseas, primarily to Europe.

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 the U.S. had beaten 3–0 in the Olympics the year before, in order to reach the final qualification group against Honduras and Canada. 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 halftime entertainment.[13] A 35th minute goal by Evaristo Coronado won the match for Costa Rica and kept the United States from reaching its fourth World Cup finals.[14]

In 1988, U.S. Soccer attempted to re-implement 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.

1990s: the rebirth of American soccer

In 1989, FIFA named the United States as the host 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 diminished somewhat when a 1–0 win against Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S.'s first away win in nearly two years, in the last match of the 1989 CONCACAF Championship, earned the United States its first World Cup 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. The U.S. went on to lose all three games to Czechoslovakia, Italy and Austria.

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 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.

Having qualified automatically as the host of the 1994 World Cup, the U.S. opened its tournament schedule with a 1–1 draw against Switzerland in the Pontiac Silverdome in the suburbs of Detroit, 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, the United States won 2–1.[15] (Escobar was later murdered in his home country, possibly in retaliation for this mistake.[16] ) 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 the eventual champion Brazil.[17]

In the 1998 World Cup in France, the team lost all three group matches, 0–2 to Germany, 1–2 to Iran, and 0–1 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.[18] It emerged in February 2010 that Sampson removed Harkes from the team due to Harkes having an affair with teammate Eric Wynalda's wife.[19]

21st century

2002 World Cup Cycle

The United States won the 2002 Gold Cup to set up the team's best performance since 1930 in the 2002 World Cup, where the U.S. team reached the quarterfinals. The team reached the knockout stage after a 1–1–1 record in the group stage. It started with a surprising 3–2 win over Portugal, followed by a 1–1 tie with co-host and eventual fourth place finisher, South Korea. It then lost its third and final match 3–1 to Poland but still qualified for the second round when Park Ji-Sung of South Korea stunned Portugal with the eventual game winning goal.

This set the stage for a Second Round face-off with familiar continental rivals Mexico. Although the teams had played many times in both friendlies and in qualifying, they had never met in the World Cup. The U.S. would win the game 2-0. Brian McBride opened the scoring early in the match and Landon Donovan scored a second goal from a header off an Eddie Lewis cross. That victory advanced the team to the quarterfinals, where they met Germany. The team lost 1–0; after being denied a penalty when Torsten Frings controversially and arguably handled the ball to prevent a Greg Berhalter goal. Germany went on to finish runners-up, losing to Brazil in the final.

2006 World Cup Cycle

The United States followed up this success by winning its third Gold Cup, and second out of three, in 2005.

In the 2006 World Cup, after finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. was drawn into Group E along with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. The United States opened its tournament with a 3–0 loss to the Czech Republic. The team then drew 1–1 against Italy, ending up being the only opponent together with France the Italian side failed to defeat in the tournament (officially, according to FIFA, France and Italy drew 1-1, although Italy won the tournament after a penalty shoot out).[20] The United States was then knocked out of the tournament when beaten 2–1 by Ghana in its final group match.[21]

2010 World Cup Cycle

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 Gold Cup, hosted by the United States.

The U.S. won all three of its group stage matches, against Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and El Salvador. With a 2–1 win over Panama in the quarterfinals, the U.S. advanced to face Canada in the semifinals, winning 2–1. In the final, the United States came from behind to beat Mexico 2–1.[22]

The team's disappointing Copa América 2007 campaign ended after three defeats in the group stage to 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.[23]

One of the hallmarks of Bradley's tenure as national team manager has been his willingness to cap a large number of players, many for their 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.[24] This has coincided with many young American players like Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, Eddie Johnson, and Michael Parkhurst making their first moves from MLS 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.

In Summer 2009, the United States had one of the busiest stretches in its history. For the 2009 Confederations Cup the U.S. was drawn into Group B with Brazil, Egypt, and Italy. After losing 3–1 to Italy and 3–0 to Brazil, the United States made an unlikely comeback to finish second in the group and reach the semi-final on the second tie-breaker, goals scored, having scored four goals to Italy's three. This was achieved on the final day of group play when the United States beat Egypt 3–0 while Brazil beat Italy 3–0.[25]

In the semifinals, the U.S. defeated Spain 2–0.[26] At the time, Spain was atop the FIFA World Rankings and was on a record run of 15 straight wins and 35 games undefeated (a record shared with Brazil). With the win, the United States advanced to its first-ever final in a men's FIFA tournament; however, the team lost 3–2 to Brazil after leading 2–0 at half-time.[27]

Only a few days after the Confederations Cup Final, the United States hosted the 2009 Gold Cup, and was drawn into Group B with Grenada, Haiti, and Honduras. Due to the fact that the U.S. had just played in the Confederations Cup and still had half of its World Cup qualifying campaign to go, Bob Bradley chose a side consisting of mostly reserves who had never really played together on the international stage and was criticized for selecting a "B Side" for the Continental tournament.[28] The U.S. began group play with a pair of victories over Grenada and Honduras, and won the group with a draw against Haiti.

In the quarterfinals, the United States defeated Panama 2–1 after extra time. In the semifinals the U.S. faced Honduras for the second time in the tournament, and the third time in less than two months. The United States beat Honduras 2–0 and advanced to its third consecutive Gold Cup final where the team faced Mexico in a rematch of the 2007 Gold Cup final. The United States was beaten by Mexico 5–0, surrendering its 58-match unbeaten streak against CONCACAF opponents on U.S. soil. It was also the first home loss to Mexico since 1999.

2010 World Cup qualification

Main articles: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), and 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF Fourth Round
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United States 10 6 2 2 19 13 +6 20
 Mexico 10 6 1 3 18 12 +6 19
 Honduras 10 5 1 4 17 11 +6 16
 Costa Rica 10 5 1 4 15 15 0 16
 El Salvador 10 2 2 6 9 15 −6 8
 Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 3 6 10 22 −12 6
  Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Mexico Trinidad and Tobago United States
Costa Rica  – 1–0 2–0 0–3 4–0 3–1
El Salvador  1–0 – 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–2
Honduras  4–0 1–0 – 3–1 4–1 2–3
Mexico  2 –0 4–1 1–0 – 2–1 2–1
Trinidad and Tobago  2–3 1–0 1–1 2–2 – 0–1
United States  2–2 2–1 2–1 2–0 3–0 –

The U.S. won seven of eight matches against Barbados, Cuba, Guatemala, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Second and Third Rounds of qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This qualified the United States for the Fourth Round, or Hexagonal, against Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The U.S. began the Fourth Round by defeating Mexico 2–0, a win that extended the United States' unbeaten streak against Mexico on U.S. soil to 11 matches.[29] Six weeks later, in the second match of the Fourth Round, the United States made a late rally to earn a 2–2 draw away to El Salvador.[30] Four days later, Jozy Altidore became the youngest U.S. player to score a hat-trick, and lead the United States to a 3–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.[31] Following another six week break from qualifying, the U.S. travelled to Costa Rica, where they were soundly defeated 3–1.[32] The United States rebounded three days later when they defeated Honduras 2–1. When qualifying resumed near the end of the summer of 2009, the United States suffered a 2–1 loss to Mexico at Estadio Azteca. A few weeks later, the United States came from behind to defeat El Salvador 2–1 at home after being down 1–0. The next week, the U.S. beat Trinidad and Tobago 1–0. On October 10, 2009, the United States secured qualification to the World Cup with a 3–2 win over Honduras. Four days later, the U.S. secured first place in the Fourth Round with a dramatic 2–2 draw against Costa Rica.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United States 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
 England 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5
 Slovenia 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
 Algeria 3 0 1 2 0 2 −2 1

After tying matches against England (1–1) and Slovenia (2–2), USA beat Algeria through an injury time goal and thus won Group C, the first time that the USA has won its World Cup group since 1930. As in 2006, USA lost to Ghana, with Ghana once again winning 2-1, although this time in the round of 16, and the USA was eliminated from the tournament.[33]

On July 13, FIFA released their post tournament ranking of World Cup teams and the USA finished in 12th place.[34] This finish was one spot above fellow Group C side England and two above CONCACAF rival Mexico.

2014 World Cup Cycle

As a result of his performance during the previous four year cycle, Bob Bradley signed a four year contact extension in early August of 2010. Prior to his re-appointment, Bradley and the US team got the cycle underway with a 2-0 loss to Brazil in the Meadowlands stadium.

Schedule and recent results

The following is a list of matches from the past six months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Date Venue Opponent Competition Result U.S. scorers
May 25, 2010 Rentschler Field,
 United States		  Czech Republic F 2–4 L Edu Goal 17'
Gomez Goal 66'
May 29, 2010 Lincoln Financial Field,
 United States		  Turkey F 2–1 W Altidore Goal 58'
Dempsey Goal 75'
June 5, 2010 Ruimsig Stadium,
 South Africa		  Australia F 3–1 W Buddle Goal 4' Goal 31'
Gomez Goal 90+3'
June 12, 2010 Royal Bafokeng Stadium,
 South Africa		  England WCF – GP 1–1 D Dempsey Goal 40'
June 18, 2010 Ellis Park Stadium,
 South Africa		  Slovenia WCF – GP 2–2 D Donovan Goal 48'
Bradley Goal 82'
June 23, 2010 Loftus Versfeld Stadium,
 South Africa		  Algeria WCF – GP 1–0 W Donovan Goal 90+1'
June 26, 2010 Royal Bafokeng Stadium,
 South Africa		  Ghana WCF – R16 1–2 L Donovan Goal 62' (pen.)
August 10, 2010 New Meadowlands Stadium,
 United States		  Brazil F 0–2 L
October 9, 2010 Soldier Field,
 United States		  Poland F
October 12, 2010 PPL Park,
 United States		  Colombia F
Key

      Win       Draw       Loss

Key

Current squad

The following players were named for the friendly against Brazil on August 10th, 2010. The caps and goals are current as of the August 10th, 2010 friendly against Brazil, and the club affiliation is current as of August 10, 2010.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Tim Howard March 6, 1979 (1979-03-06) (age 31) 56 0 England Everton
18 GK Brad Guzan September 9, 1984 (1984-09-09) (age 26) 17 0 England Aston Villa
2 DF Jonathan Spector March 1, 1986 (1986-03-01) (age 24) 26 0 England West Ham United
3 DF Carlos Bocanegra (captain) May 25, 1979 (1979-05-25) (age 31) 84 12 France Saint-Étienne
5 DF Omar Gonzalez October 11, 1988 (1988-10-11) (age 22) 1 0 United States Los Angeles Galaxy
6 DF Steve Cherundolo February 19, 1979 (1979-02-19) (age 31) 64 2 Germany Hannover 96
12 DF Jonathan Bornstein November 7, 1984 (1984-11-07) (age 26) 35 2 United States Chivas USA
21 DF Clarence Goodson May 17, 1982 (1982-05-17) (age 28) 15 2 Norway Start
4 MF Michael Bradley July 31, 1987 (1987-07-31) (age 23) 48 8 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
10 MF Landon Donovan March 4, 1982 (1982-03-04) (age 28) 128 45 United States Los Angeles Galaxy
11 MF Alejandro Bedoya April 29, 1987 (1987-04-29) (age 23) 4 0 Sweden Örebro
16 MF Sacha Kljestan September 9, 1985 (1985-09-09) (age 25) 25 4 Belgium Anderlecht
19 MF Maurice Edu April 18, 1986 (1986-04-18) (age 24) 17 1 Scotland Rangers
22 MF Benny Feilhaber January 19, 1985 (1985-01-19) (age 26) 36 2 Denmark AGF
9 FW Herculez Gomez April 6, 1982 (1982-04-06) (age 28) 8 2 Mexico Pachuca
14 FW Edson Buddle May 21, 1981 (1981-05-21) (age 29) 6 2 United States Los Angeles Galaxy
17 FW Jozy Altidore November 6, 1989 (1989-11-06) (age 21) 30 9 Spain Villareal
20 FW Robbie Findley August 4, 1985 (1985-08-04) (age 25) 10 0 United States Real Salt Lake

Recent call-ups

The following players were named to a matchday squad in the last six months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Callup
GK Marcus Hahnemann June 15, 1972 (1972-06-15) (age 38) 8 0 England Wolverhampton Wanderers v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
DF Jay DeMerit December 4, 1979 (1979-12-04) (age 31) 23 0 Unattached v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
DF Oguchi Onyewu May 13, 1982 (1982-05-13) (age 28) 56 5 Italy Milan v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
DF Heath Pearce August 13, 1984 (1984-08-13) (age 26) 31 0 United States FC Dallas v.  Czech Republic; May 25, 2010
MF DaMarcus Beasley May 24, 1982 (1982-05-24) (age 28) 93 17 Germany Hannover 96 v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
MF Ricardo Clark March 10, 1983 (1983-03-10) (age 27) 30 2 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
MF Clint Dempsey March 9, 1983 (1983-03-09) (age 27) 66 19 England Fulham v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
MF Stuart Holden August 1, 1985 (1985-08-01) (age 25) 15 2 England Bolton Wanderers v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
MF José Francisco Torres October 29, 1987 (1987-10-29) (age 23) 11 0 Mexico Pachuca v.  Ghana; June 26, 2010
MF Robbie Rogers May 12, 1987 (1987-05-12) (age 23) 12 1 United States Columbus Crew v.  Czech Republic; May 25, 2010
FW Brian Ching May 24, 1978 (1978-05-24) (age 32) 45 11 United States Houston Dynamo v.  Czech Republic; May 25, 2010
FW Eddie Johnson March 31, 1984 (1984-03-31) (age 26) 40 12 England Fulham v.  Czech Republic; May, 25, 2010

Competitive record

World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
Uruguay 1930 Third place 3 3 2 0 1 7 6
Italy 1934 Round 1 16 1 0 0 1 1 7
France 1938 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
Brazil 1950 Round 1 10 3 1 0 2 4 8
1954 to 1986 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
Italy 1990 Round 1 23 3 0 0 3 2 8
United States 1994 Round of 16 14 4 1 1 2 3 4
France 1998 Round 1 32 3 0 0 3 1 5
South KoreaJapan 2002 Quarter-finals 8 5 2 1 2 7 7
Germany 2006 Round 1 25 3 0 1 2 2 6
South Africa 2010 Round of 16 12 4 1 2 1 5 5
Total 9/19 29 7 5 17 32 56
*Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

The United States has competed at the Summer Olympics (that tournament was considered a full international tournament), the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup, as well as NAFC and CONCACAF regional tournaments. The U.S. has also played in the Copa América by invitation, as well as several minor tournaments.

During the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup the United States appeared in their first ever international tournament final. The United States upset top ranked Spain, 2–0, to advance to the final. In the final, the United States took an early 2–0 lead through goals from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Brazil scored 3 second half goals to beat the United States, 2–3, and win the cup.

The best result for the United States in a World Cup came in 1930 when they finished in third place. The U.S. took the silver and bronze medals at the 1904 Olympics. In the Confederations Cup, the United States has finished in third place in both 1992 and 1999, and were runner-up in the 2009 Confederations Cup.

In regional competitions, the United States had never finished higher than runner-up until the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the first competition in the Gold Cup format. Since then, they have finished as winners four times. In 1995, the U.S. finished in fourth place at the Copa América.

Most-capped players and top scorers

The United States has had more players with 100 caps than any other nation. The following players have won 100 or more caps with the national team:

Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Cobi Jones 164 15 1992–2004
2 Jeff Agoos 134 4 1988–2003
3 Landon Donovan 128 45 2000–
Marcelo Balboa 128 13 1988–2000
5 Claudio Reyna 112 8 1994–2006
6 Paul Caligiuri 110 5 1984–1997
7 Eric Wynalda 106 34 1990–2000
8 Kasey Keller 102 0 1990–2007
9 Earnie Stewart 101 17 1990–2004
10 Tony Meola 100 0 1988–2006
Joe-Max Moore 100 24 1992–2002

The following players are the top scorers in national team history:

Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Landon Donovan 128 45 2000–
2 Eric Wynalda 106 34 1990–2000
3 Brian McBride 95 30 1993–2006
4 Joe-Max Moore 100 24 1992–2002
5 Bruce Murray 86 21 1985–1993
6 Clint Dempsey 66 19 2004–
7 DaMarcus Beasley 93 17 2001–
Earnie Stewart 101 17 1990–2004
9 Cobi Jones 164 15 1992–2004
10 Hugo Pérez 73 13 1984–1994
Marcelo Balboa 128 13 1988–2000

Players in Bold are on the current squad.

Head coaches

Current head coach Bob Bradley in July 2009

Honors

International

Silver Medal (1): 1904
Bronze Medal (1): 1904
Third Place (1): 1930
Runners-Up (1): 2009
Third Place (2): 1992, 1999

Regional

Winners (4): 1991, 2002, 2005, 2007
Runners-Up (4): 1989, 1993, 1998, 2009
Third Place (2): 1996, 2003
Fourth Place (1): 1995
Gold Medal (1): 1991
Bronze Medal (2): 1959, 1999

* – Before the FIFA World Cup began in 1930, the football tournament at the Summer Olympics was, between 1908 and 1928, considered both a full international tournament and the World Championship of Football. Since then, it has become a mostly youth international tournament (currently U-23 plus 3 "overage" players), at least for men.

Media coverage

As with other national soccer federations in the world, U.S. Soccer owns the broadcast rights to all U.S. matches played in the United States, and all United States international friendlies. It negotiates deals with media outlets to maximize revenue and exposure from the matches.

Different media outlets hold different portions of the broadcast rights to games. ESPN owns the U.S. English language broadcast rights for every match in the World Cup and Confederations Cup, as well as for select matches in Major League Soccer until the completion of the 2014 World Cup. ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel split the rights to friendlies as part of contracts which also give FSC the U.S. Open Cup television rights. Univision holds exclusive Spanish-language rights to home qualifiers and all friendlies. Broadcast rights (including U.S. broadcast rights) to away qualifiers are owned by the federation governing the United States' opponent, and can be sold to any company, although ESPN and Univision usually obtain direct rights or sublicenses for the majority of these games.

Uniforms

Since their first unofficial game against Canada, the uniforms have frequently featured white tops with blue shorts. In 1950, the US adopted a "Peru" style kit by putting a diagonal stripe across their shirts. The stripe has been featured on "third" kits for 2003, 2004, and 2006, as well as on the current 2010 home and away uniforms. Adidas was the uniform provider for the United States from 1984 until 1994. Since 1995, Nike has been the uniform supplier.[35]

Supporters' groups

The main supporter groups backing the United States men's national soccer team are Sam's Army and The American Outlaws. Sam's Army started shortly after the 1994 World Cup in the United States, it now claims to have over 15,000 members.

The American Outlaws was started in Lincoln, Nebraska as a local supporters' group. The group's membership attempted to address a lack of consistency from game to game in supporter organization and social events on match days. To achieve this goal the American Outlaws became a nationwide, non-profit, supporters' group.

Sam's Army members wear red to matches, sing or chant throughout the match, and often bring huge American flags and other banners to the game. The American Outlaws can be further distinguished by the fact that they wear American flag bandanna over their faces. The two groups are usually put together in a "supporters' section" at US home games.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Goal.com – World Cup 2010 Preview: USA – Algeria". http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2890/world-cup-2010/2010/06/22/1989278/world-cup-2010-preview-usa-algeria. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
  2. ↑ "Newsweek". http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/22/algeria-the-other-french-team.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
  3. ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  4. ↑ Neither match was officially recognized. The first officially recognized match outside of Britain was held in 1901 between Argentina and Uruguay.
  5. ↑ "FIFA: USA – Paraguay match report". FIFA. http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/pwc/mr_1097.html. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  6. ↑ "CNN/Sports Illustrated – Bert Patenaude". CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/patenaude/. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  7. ↑ "Planet World Cup – World Cup Trivia". PlanetWorldCup.com. http://www.planetworldcup.com/STATS/statrecs.html. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  8. ↑ "The Football Association 20 World Cup Facts". The FA. http://www.thefa.com/Features/EuropeanLeagues/Postings/2002/05/12004.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  9. ↑ "FIFA World Cup hat-tricks" (PDF). FIFA. http://www.fifa.com/infoplus/IP-399_03A_hat-tricks.pdf. Retrieved 2006-11-10. 
  10. ↑ "1930 FIFA World Cup Uruguay – Awards". Fifa.com. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1/awards/index.html. Retrieved 5 January 2010. 
  11. ↑ AFP/Getty Images. "1950 World Cup vs. England - Biggest Wins in U.S. Soccer History - Photos - SI.com". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0906/soccer.biggest.us.wins.in.history/content.10.html. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  12. ↑ "U.S. Soccer Team Hindered". Select.nytimes.com. April 22, 1985. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00C1EFA355C0C718EDDAD0894DD484D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fS%2fSoccer. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  13. ↑ "CNNSI.com – Inside Game – Michael Lewis – Offside Remarks – CNNSI.com's Lewis: Learning from history – Friday November 10, 2000 07:29 PM". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/michael_lewis/news/2000/11/10/lewis_history/. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  14. ↑ http://us-soccer.com/secured/articles/viewArticle.jsp_3063.html
  15. ↑ Lewis, Michael. "Escobar's memory lives on". CNN Sports Illustrated. July 1, 2000. Retrieved on July 4, 2009.
  16. ↑ "CNNSI.com World Cup Hall of Fame – Andrés Escobar". CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/escobar/. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
  17. ↑ Palmer, Kevin (2006-06-09). "ESPNsoccernet – World Cup – 'Winning is the only option'". Soccernet.espn.go.com. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=370490&root=worldcup&&cc=5901. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  18. ↑ "Sampson destroyed US unity with late changes to lineup". SoccerTimes.com. http://www.soccertimes.com/oped/1998/jun27.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-08. 
  19. ↑ Blum, Ronald (3 February 2010). "John Harkes Affair? Soccer Captain Allegedly Slept With Teammate's Wife". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/03/john-harkes-affair-soccer_n_447704.html. Retrieved 5 May 2010. 
  20. ↑ "Match Report: Italy – USA". FIFA. 17 June 2006. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/results/matches/match=97410025/report.html. Retrieved June 16, 2006. 
  21. ↑ "Ghana 2–1 USA". BBC Sport (BBC). 22 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853408.stm. Retrieved 12 February 2009. 
  22. ↑ "U.S. defeats Mexico again in Gold Cup final". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19392141/. Retrieved 2007-06-30. 
  23. ↑ "South American soccer federation miffed at U.S.". ESPNsoccernet. 2007-07-04. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=443456&cc=3888. Retrieved 2007-07-04. 
  24. ↑ Krishnaiyer, Kartik (2008-08-15). "Bob Bradley’s US Squad Stale and Predictable". Major League Soccer Talk. http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/bob-bradleys-us-squad-stale-and-predictable/341. 
  25. ↑ "Egypt 3–0 USA". BBC Sport. 2009-06-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8109905.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 
  26. ↑ "Spain 2–0 United States". BBC Sport. 2009-06-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8114585.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 
  27. ↑ United States 3–2 Brazil – BBC Sport
  28. ↑ http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2009/06/usa_gold_cup_roster.html
  29. ↑ Davis, Noah (2009-02-12). "United States Rain On Mexico's World Cup Hopes". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en/news/8/main/2009/02/12/1105528/united-states-rain-on-mexicos-wc-hopes. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
  30. ↑ "Hejduk, Altidore lead U.S. rally for draw in El Salvador". USA Today. Associated Press. 2009-03-29. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/national/2009-03-28-usa-elsalvador_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
  31. ↑ Blum, Ronald (2009-04-01). "Altidore hat trick against Trinidad & Tobago". USA Today. Associated Press. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-04-01-3106056220_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
  32. ↑ Galarcep, Ives (2009-06-04). "U.S. team overwhelmed in every facet by Costa Rica". ESPNsoccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=652582&sec=us&root=us&cc=5901. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
  33. ↑ "U.S. Falls to Ghana (in Soccer)". http://jumpinginpools.blogspot.com/2010/06/us-falls-to-ghana-in-soccer.html. 
  34. ↑ "USA Finishes 12th In World Cup". http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/ussoccerplayers/2010/07/usa-finishes-12th-in-world-cup.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Ussoccerplayers+%28USSoccerPlayers%29. 
  35. ↑ "Better know a kit: A history of the modern U.S. soccer jersey". [Project 2010]. http://project2010.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/better-know-a-kit-a-history-of-the-modern-u-s-soccer-jersey/. Retrieved 2010-06-07. 

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