Review: Most impressive tournament game in USMNT history?

The answer depends on what impresses you. A total annihilation of a decent opponent is something that impresses me. Paraguay was erased from the map by the US at every level: physically, tactically and technically. The most complete game I have ever seen. This is the first time I have seen the glimmer of a US that can be a world champion and not just a Cinderella or a tough underdog.

 

I think this is a good sleeper pick in this argument. It's overlooked because it was a loss. But it was a game we had every right to win. Kahn had a miraculous game. And we got robbed on the handball.

 

Friday night's game may prove in retrospect to have been the most impressive ever. I hope that it does. But isn't it awfully early to be making that sort of call?

 

Ok, I messed it up, it was berhalter’s shot that Frings slapped. So, not sure whose sht Frings saved off the line with a super quick-reaction slide at the end of the match

 

Agreed. If they had VAR back then this might be #1 on a lot of people's lists. I was at the Portugal game, but we were sweating bullets in the second half. I'll put the Mexico knockout game first because everything was on the line.

Honorable mention to our practically pub team's near draw in the 1990 WC against the Italians and their 73,000 fans in Rome. That would have been so epic. We hit the post!

 

I really had a hard time deciding but finally went with the 2--0 over Mexico in 2002 match. Could have chosen Friday night or the 3-2 win over Portugal too. Just a tough choice.

Now my editorial comment. Too many options were given. Should have kept this to WC only. Those other tournaments are nice but come on man. Its the WC.

 

For the confed cup game, it was a later game in a knockout round, and not the opener of a group stage.

For me, the immediately subsequent results do matter. The draw with S Korea and the loss to Poland suggest that there was some luck involved in the Portugal match (but mitigated by how well we did against Mexico and Germany).

These aren't large differences for me, though. I go back and forth between the Paraguay, Portugal, and Spain matches as "most impressive."

 

World Cup fever is fantastic, by all means catch it.

It’s great to have fans involved. They carry the team a bit and will be a huge factor heading forward.

I Encouragecaution, at this stage.

Paraguay, while it finished tied on points with Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia, finished sixth in CONMEBOL qualifying on goal differential and would not have qualified under the previous format.

and, certainly we are off to a great start.

 

I was looking in the list for that 1-1 against Italy in 2006, because that might have taken my vote instead of this Paraguay game. Others may say the 1-0 against England in 1950, or some other win from even earlier cups, but there's probably no one alive who watched those games and we don't really have any idea how any of them were actually played. The 2002 Germany match would be probably my third.

 

I went with Mexico '02 even though, qualitatively, Paraguay may have been the better match. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that we outplayed our biggest rivals (who arrogantly thought they owned us) in a knockout round at the World Cup. Bonus points for being the birth of Dos a Cero, the beginning of the Mexicutioner myth, and the "rats and dogs" hysteria. Taking all of that into account, I gave it the edge. Had the Paraguay match happened in the knockouts, there would be no question.

Another game that I thought should get some attention was USA-Brazil Gold Cup '98, although what was impressive about that game was more individual effort than team play.

 

I instinctively picked the Portugal game before scrolling all the way. The Spain team we beat was the best they had and, iirc, they hadn't lost a game in some time. I watched that with my Costa Rican and English buddies and we couldn't believe what was happening. Btw, we do have a list of some very good wins. Also, as for personal biggies, Tim Howard against Belgium was pretty outstanding.

 

I would agree if the US didn't have such a paltry record at the World Cup. Specifically when it comes to dominating play, and turning that dominance into goals. I've seen the US play up to their opponent and get credible losses, draws, and even the occasional win. But what I haven't seen is a US team, at the World Cup, go out and dominate. Literally never seen it.

 

In order for a win to be really impressive, doesn't the opponent have to be an impressive one? I'd say the jury is still out on whether the current Paraguay team fills that bill or not. Paraguay isn't one of South America's traditional powers. It did make the quarterfinals of the World Cup once, but it has only made it past the group stage of the World Cup three times (we've done it six times before this year, and nobody is calling us a powerhouse).

 

I think that's a really good point, but have we ever beaten an impressive opponent in a World Cup? Columbia were a dark horse but we now know, and probably should have suspected at the time, that there was a lot of turmoil in their camp. We'd already beaten Mexico in the qualifiers. Portugal is probably the best case since they made the semi's in Euro 2000, the Final in '04, and the Semi's in W.C. '06. Their failure to advance far was the exception rather than the rule. But they still couldn't beat an already qualified South Korea and if my memory serves me they had a lot of turnover going into their home Euro in '04. The reality is we just don't have that many good performances at this level.

 

The original premise of this thread wasn't to choose the most impressive win in a World Cup, it was to choose the most impressive win in a tournament. So I'll still hold out for the win over Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup. Spain was ranked No. 1 in the world at the time and had a 35-game unbeaten streak, the longest by a national team in soccer history.

And I do still have my doubts about whether this Paraguay team is really all that great. What I heard over and over before this World Cup about our group was that we maybe could win all three games and we maybe could lose all three. So Paraguay was rated about even with us, not a very awe-inspiring description.

 

The win against Spain in 2009 was a great win against the undisputed best team in the world. We’ve had several very good wins over the years, but none compare to Spain 2009.

 

The best... is yet... to come!!!!

 

A landmark victory in a knockout round vs a Germany or France would be the rallying cry for decades to come