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USMNT: Celebrating the 10-Year Anniversary of the Upset over Portugal
Published: June 5, 2012
June 5, 2002 marked the Americans' opening game of the 2002 FIFA World Cup against Euro 2000 semifinalists Portugal.
Not much was expected of the United States after they floundered in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, losing all three group stage matches, scoring one goal and finishing last in the field of 32 teams.
But 2002 ushered in a new era.
The United States raced out to a 3-0 lead within the first 36 minutes of the match, putting the Portuguese players on their heels. The U.S. scores came from John O’Brien, an own goal and a diving header from Brian McBride.
Portugal would claw back within one goal, thanks in part to a Jeff Agoos own goal, but the U.S. team held strong and finished the game with the victory.
It not only was the start of the best World Cup run for the U.S. since 1950, but the win sparked a whole new attitude and set of expectations for the nation.
The team would escape the group stage and face Mexico in the round of 32, where they would defeat their archrivals 2-0. It was the second consecutive match the teams played that ended with that score line in the USMNT’s favor and continued in a string of “dos a cero” matches in a decade of dominance in the region.
It saw the Americans reach the quarterfinals of the tournament, the first time since 1950, where they would lose a 1-0 heartbreaker to eventual runners-up Germany.
It was only the third time an American player—Claudio Reyna—was named to the All-Tournament team and the first since 1950. It established the idea that American players could compete with and against the world’s best.
It was the beginning of a fantastic (and still ongoing) career for Landon Donovan. In that game ag...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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