History of the United States men's national soccer team

In 1988, 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 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 their 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 of their 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 host, the U.S. opened their 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, and the United States won 2–1.[13] 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.[14]

In the 1998 World Cup in France, the team lost all of their 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 named "Captain for Life" shortly before, as well as several other players who were instrumental to the qualifying effort, from the squad.[15]

The United States won the 2002 Gold Cup to set up the team's best performance since 1930 in the 2002 World Cup, when the U.S. team reached the quarter-finals. The knockout stage was reached through a 3–2 win over Portugal and a 1–1 tie with co-host and eventual fourth-place finisher, South Korea, rendering a 3–0 loss to Poland in the final game irrelevant.

This set the stage for a Round 2 face-off with familiar continental rivals Mexico. The U.S. emerged victorious in the first World Cup showdown between the two old adversaries, 2–0. The team lost 1–0 to eventual runners-up Germany in the quarterfinals after a controversial no-call on a handball committed by the Germans thwarted an American goal. The United States followed up this success by winning their third Gold Cup, and second out of three, in 2005.

After finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. were 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 their tournament with a 3–0 defeat to the Czech Republic. The team then drew 1–1 against Italy,[16] the only game which the Italians failed to win before the tournament final against France. The United States were then knocked out of the tournament after being beaten 2–1 by Ghana in their final group match.[17]

MLS coach Bob Bradley was named interim manager on December 8, 2006, following the team's disappointing showing in the 2006 World Cup.[18] Bradley started with a series of friendly matches and led the team to a 3–0–1 record. This included wins over Ecuador, Denmark, and rival Mexico. After this early success, the U.S. Soccer Federation removed Bradley's interim title on May 15, 2007, and he became the 33rd coach in the history of the Men's National Team.[19]

From 2007 to 2009, the United States national team played 16 international friendly matches with a record of 9–4–3. Notable matches include a 2–0 victory over Mexico, a 0–0 tie with Argentina, 2–0 victories over Sweden in 2008, and 3–2 victory against Sweden in 2009.[20]

The U.S. played in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[21] The United States won their 3 games in the group stage to win their group. In the elimination round, the U.S. defeated Panama 2–1 in the quarter-finals. The United States then defeated Canada in the semi-finals 2–1. This set up a championship match between the United States and Mexico at Soldier Field in Chicago. The United States trailed 1–0 at halftime. The United States scored in the second half with goals from Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber, and held on to win 2–1 for their second straight Gold Cup title.[20][22]

Copa America is a tournament hosted by CONMEBOL (Confederation of South American Football). The team played three matches in this tournament. The Copa America games were played very shortly after the Gold Cup, so the majority of the players who played in the Copa matches were the substitutes for the team. These three matches were against Argentina, Paraguay, and Colombia; all losses for the American team. The team failed to advance out of the group stage and many blamed Bob Bradley for bringing a weakened squad to the tournament.[20]

The highlight of summer 2009 was the 2009 Confederations Cup, where the U.S. was drawn into Group B with Brazil, Egypt, and Italy. After losing 3–1 to Italy and 3–0 to Brazil, on the final day of group play the United States beat Egypt 3–0. This meant that the United States finished second in the group and reached the semi-finals.[23] In the semifinals, the U.S. defeated Spain 2–0.[24] 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.[25]

The United States hosted the 2009 Gold Cup. Coach Bob Bradley chose a side consisting of mostly reserves.[26] The U.S. concluded group play with two victories and a draw. In the quarterfinals, the United States defeated Panama 2–1, and in the semifinals the U.S. defeated Honduras 2–0. In the 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.

In 2008, the team started 2010 World Cup Qualifications. The U.S. defeated Barbados in a 2-leg home-and-away competition. The U.S. won seven of eight matches 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 beating Mexico 2–0, a loss that extended Mexico's losing streak against America on U.S. soil to 11 matches.[27] Next, the United States earned a 2–2 draw away to El Salvador.[28] 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.[29] Next, the U.S. travelled to Costa Rica, where they were defeated 3–1.[30] The United States rebounded three days later when they defeated Honduras 2–1. 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 defeated El Salvador 2–1 at home. 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 2–2 draw against Costa Rica.

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. team were drawn in Group C against England, Slovenia and Algeria. After drawing against England (1–1) and Slovenia (2–2), the US defeated Algeria through a Landon Donovan stoppage time goal, the first time the U.S. had won its group since 1930. In the round of 16, the U.S. was eliminated by Ghana, 2–1.[31] On FIFA's ranking of World Cup teams the U.S. finished in 12th place.

In preparation for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U.S. played three friendlies; a 1–1 draw to Argentina, a 1–0 loss to Paraguay, and a 4–0 loss to Spain.

The United States hosted the 2011 Gold Cup. The U.S. advanced past the group stage with a pair of victories over Guadeloupe and Canada, despite losing to Panama 2–1. This was the first defeat for the U.S. in a Gold Cup group stage match, and its first ever loss to Panama. In the quarterfinals, the United States defeated Jamaica 2–0. In the semifinals the U.S. avenged their group stage defeat with a 1–0 victory over Panama, and advanced to its fourth consecutive Gold Cup final, where the team faced Mexico in a rematch of the 2009 Gold Cup final. The United States was beaten by Mexico 4–2, extending Mexico's winning streak against the U.S. to three matches. It was also the second consecutive loss to Mexico on American soil.

Following the loss, Bob Bradley was relieved of his duties as coach. On July 29, 2011, Jürgen Klinsmann was named as the national team's head coach.

After their first six matches resulted in only a win and a draw against four losses, the U.S. embarked on a five-game winning streak. On February 29, 2012 the team won 1–0 in Italy, the first ever win for the United States over Italy. In 2012, the team began its World Cup qualification, and topped their third round qualification group with four wins, one draw and one defeat.

On June 2, 2013, the U.S. played a friendly against 2nd-ranked Germany in its Centennial celebration match at a sold out RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. The US won 4–3. This was the USMNT's first win over a top 2 ranked team since the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

On June 6, 2013 the US beat Jamaica 2–1. On June 11, the U.S. beat Panama 2–0 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle[32] in front of almost 41,000 fans, the seventh largest crowd for a World Cup Qualifier on U.S. soil.[33] The game also drew the second largest TV audience on ESPN for a U.S. World Cup Qualifier.[34] On June 18, the U.S. followed with a 1–0 victory over Honduras at Rio Tinto Stadium.[35] In July 2013, the US hosted and played in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup where they went undefeated in the group stage and won with a 1–0 victory over Panama in the final,[36] a victory which represented a record 11th straight win.[37] A 4–3 victory over Bosnia in an international friendly match in Sarajevo[38] represented the 12th straight win for the USMNT, the longest winning streak for any team in the world at that time.[39] In the win, Jozy Altidore scored a hat trick (the second of his career) and in doing so became the first U.S. player to score a goal in five consecutive games.[40] The match was also the USMNT's first-ever come-from-behind win in Europe.[41]

On September 6, 2013, the 12 game winning streak came to an end when the U.S. lost to Costa Rica 3–1 at San Jose, Costa Rica.[42] By defeating Mexico four days later, followed shortly thereafter by a 2–2 draw between Panama and Honduras, the U.S. clinched a spot in the 2014 World Cup.[43] Next the United States beat Jamaica on the score 2–0 two late goals by Zusi and Altidore. The U.S. then defeated Panama 3–2 with two goals in stoppage time from Graham Zusi and Aron Jóhannsson.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. was drawn into Group G, along with Ghana, Germany, and Portugal.[44] In game 1 the U.S. defeated Ghana 2–1. After Clint Dempsey scored the first goal just 29 seconds into the match, the U.S. held onto a 1–0 lead until a pass by Ghana in the box allowed André Ayew to score and tie the match 1–1 in the 82nd minute. Then, just 4 minutes later, the U.S. scored on a header off of a corner kick taken by Graham Zusi, first headed by Geoff Cameron, and then headed immediately by John Brooks, to give the U.S. the winning goal. Brooks was the first U.S. substitute player to have scored a goal in World Cup play.[45] The Americans then played against Portugal, drawing 2–2 after conceding a last-second goal. They held Germany to a surprising 1–0 defeat in the final group game. In the Round of 16, the American team faced off against Belgium. Despite a goal in the 2nd half of the extra time scored by Julian Green, it was not enough from losing 2–1 against the Belgians, thus resulting in their second straight elimination since the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The national team's next tournament under Klinsmann was the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. After qualifying from the group stage with wins over Honduras and Haiti and a draw against Panama, the U.S. defeated Cuba in the quarterfinals. However, the U.S. were eliminated by Jamaica in the semi-finals by a 2–1 score before losing to Panama on penalties in the third place match. The fourth-place finish was the worst Gold Cup performance by the national team since 2000, and the first time the team failed to make the tournament final since 2003. In the 2015 CONCACAF Cup playoff to determine the region's entry to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the U.S. were defeated 3–2 by Mexico at the Rose Bowl.

After their disappointing fourth-place finish at the 2015 Gold Cup, the United States finished at the top of their group stage at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with a 1–1 draw with Panama, a 3–2 win over Martinique and a 3–0 win against Nicaragua.[46] In the quarterfinals, they beat El Salvador 2–0, with both goals scored in the first half. They also got a 2–0 win over Costa Rica in the semi-finals. In the final, they faced against Jamaica, who knocked them out in the semi-finals of the 2015 tournament. They won the game 2–1, thanks to a winner from Jordan Morris in the final minutes of the game, and the Stars and Stripes earned their 6th ever Gold Cup triumph.[47]

On November 13, 2015, the United States played their first 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the CONCACAF Fourth Round, whom they beat 6–1.[48] Four days later, they got a 0–0 draw with Trinidad and Tobago. Six months after that in March 2016, the United States would suffer a 2–0 loss to Guatemala,[49] but win the return leg 4 days later, with a 4–0 win at Mapfre Stadium. They would win their remaining two matches, and qualify for the CONCACAF Fifth Round, at the top of their group stage, with Trinidad and Tobago finishing second. Their qualification campaign in the Fifth Round started shaky, with consecutive losses to Mexico and Costa Rica. They wouldn't earn their first win until March 2017, with a 6–0 win against Honduras.[50] Four days later, they got a 1–1 draw with Panama, when the U.S. conceded Panama's equalizer in the 43rd minute. They would earn only 5 points in their next 4 games, before they defeated Panama 4–0 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida. They needed at least a draw in their final match against Trinidad and Tobago, to automatically qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals, but a shocking 2–1 win for the Soca Warriors ended America's streak of competing in every World Cup since 1990.[51]