Top Ten USMNT Victories Of All Time

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by nyrmetros, Nov 23, 2004.

  1. nyrmetros

    nyrmetros Member

    Feb 7, 2004
    Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    Here's a question for ya'll....... If the US were to pull off the win in Mexico at Azteca (or Toluca?) in a WCQ Hex, where would this rank on the all time US top 10 wins? And speaking of which, what are the top 10 US wins (in all competitions) of all time ?

    Please list your ranking from bottom (10) - to top (1)

    10 -
    9 -
    8 -
    7 -
    6 -
    5 -
    4 -
    3 -
    2 -
    1 -

    After you've posted your top 10 list, feel free to post the reasons for your selections below your list. Try to avoid labeling a game great just because you were there. Think of the historical significance of the game first in terms of US National team history.
     
  2. YTFC

    YTFC New Member

    Apr 9, 2000
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    I won't give you ten. That would require thought :) But I'll tell you my first choice.

    I'd put T&T 0-1 USA (qualifier for the 1990 WC) at the head of any list. If that doesn't happen, today we'd probably be the equal of Canada.

    The two wins in Korea are probably top-five material.

    We should be able to qualify for Deutschland without getting three points in Mexico, which takes some of the criticalness (if that's a word) from the match.
     
  3. Jimjamesak

    Jimjamesak New Member

    May 3, 2003
    Anchorage Alaska
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    Before I make my list I need a few facts: 1. What teams did we beat at Copa America 95? 2. The victory over Brazil in the Gold Cup was in 95 or 94?
     
  4. Carson Galaxy

    Carson Galaxy Member

    Jun 14, 2001
    Downey, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    Preki scored the goal in '98 against Brazil. He scored in the game before against Costa Rica with a much sweeter upper 90 shot which enabled the US to play Brazil in the semifinal or else they would have gone home.
     
  5. Jimjamesak

    Jimjamesak New Member

    May 3, 2003
    Anchorage Alaska
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    98, hmmmm guess I got my years off, I knew Preki scored that goal (Keller was in net wasn't he?).
     
  6. Carson Galaxy

    Carson Galaxy Member

    Jun 14, 2001
    Downey, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    Keller was in net and made incredible save after save. Romario gave Keller high praise after the match.
     
  7. yellowbismark

    yellowbismark Member+

    Nov 7, 2000
    San Diego, CA
    Club:
    Club Tijuana
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    1--US 2-0 Mexico in World Cup 2002
    2--US 2-1 Colombia in World Cup 1994
    3--US 1-0 Trinidad & Tobago in WCQ 1989
    4--US 1-0 England in World Cup 1950
    5--US 3-2 Portugal in World Cup 2002
    6--US 3-0 Argentina in Copa America 1995
    7--US 1-0 Brazil in Gold Cup 1997(?)
    8--US over Mexico in Copa America 1995 (can't remember result)
    9--US 2-0 Mexico in WCQ 2001
    10--US 2-1 Honduras in WCQ 2001


    These are victories of top 10 merit, the order is certainly debatable.


    And a WCQ win in Azteca would easily make this list, probably around 6 or 7 unless there is a special significance (like it being the last match needing 3 pts to qualify and pulling it off in Mexico, but that is probably unlikely).


    I top the list with the second round victory over Mexico because it will probably be the only time we will ever face Mexico-our big rival, in the World Cup, so the bragging rights are for 50 years minimum. The game was meaningful for how many times we hear from our opposition that 'the game was meaningless' 'we didn't have our top players' etc. This was the game to end all of that nonsense (we knew what we were capable of, and we did it). It was the little brother socking the big brother in the mouth. So I give that win top consideration.

    #2 the win vs Colombia. This was big because it would have been an embarassment to not qualify for the second round in your own World Cup. And I think it really got the country interested, I can't quite remember a buzz quite like that when we won. I don't think even 2002s run got that kind of attention.

    3# the win at T&T, which gave birth to the modern history of the USNT. Without that game, there is no WC 94 (or MLS), and probably not the spike in the team's development that we are seeing now. Plus it was a spectacular goal in hostile enviorns.

    4# the England win. It's a significant achievement in and of itself to beat the country who invented the game in the game's greatest tournament, the former colonizer, etc. But the game did not bring us achievement in the tournament itself or in the following years. I believe we went home after the first round, and then the 40 years of darkness. So it goes below the top 3.
     
  8. CbR

    CbR Member

    Nov 10, 2000
    Bergen County NJ
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    even though beating mexico in the WC was huge ,for me the Portugal game gave me the most chills
     
  9. babytiger2001

    babytiger2001 New Member

    Dec 29, 2000
    Melbourne
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    From U.S. Soccer's media guide, circa 2000:

    2-1 win over Chile, and after a 1-0 loss to Bolivia, we beat Argentina 3-0 to get to the next phase. We beat Mexico on PK's after a scoreless 90 minutes before losting 1-0 to Brazil in the semifinal and losing to 4-1 in the 3rd place match.

    So to answer the query here, we beat Chile, Argentina and Mexico in the Copa America that year.
     
  10. Carson Galaxy

    Carson Galaxy Member

    Jun 14, 2001
    Downey, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    1. USA - TRI 1-0 1989 WCQ
    2. USA - MEX 2-0 2002 WC
    3. USA - COL 2-1 1994 WC
    4. USA - POR 3-2 2002 WC
    5. USA - BRA 1-0 1998 Gold Cup
    6. USA - MEX 2-0 2001 WCQ
    7. USA - ARG 3-0 1995 Copa America
    8. USA - JAM 2-1 2001 WCQ
    9. USA - GER 0-1 2002 WC
    10. USA - ENG 1-0 1950 WC

    1. there would be no 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 or 9 on this list and I might not be here
    2. ultimate scoreboard against our rival
    3. continued evolution of a power in the making (not there yet mind you)
    4. too much excitement for an early morning
    5. 1st victory against the masters
    6. confidence builder that probably enabled us to get to such a great start in the hex
    7. unexpected 3 - nil against a power
    8. patriotic clincher
    9. proud of our boys
    10. a footnote in the history of football, but worthy of top ten

    The list would change from day to day.
     
  11. nyrmetros

    nyrmetros Member

    Feb 7, 2004
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    Excellent post. Let's see more posts like this one. :)
     
  12. babytiger2001

    babytiger2001 New Member

    Dec 29, 2000
    Melbourne
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Top 10 USMNT victories of all time ?

    I just might fire up that tape tonight. :)

    It was one of the few USA soccer tapes I was able to bring with me over here from back home when I moved in December of '01.
     
  13. SABuffalo786

    SABuffalo786 New Member

    May 18, 2002
    Buffalo, New York
    Top Ten USA Victories Of All Time

    https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152360


    Yes, I'm a crook, I blatantly stole this idea from the "Beating Mexico in Mexico Thread" (credit babytiger and NYR Metros for the excellent idea.)


    So, to the question: What would you have as your top ten USMNT wins of all time?



    1. USA v. Portugal. June 5th, 2002. Suwon, South Korea.

    USA-3
    Portugal-2

    Portugal own goal - Friedel, Hejduk, Agoos, Pope (Llamosa), Sanneh, Mastroeni, Beasley, O'Brien-1, Stewart (Jones), Donovan (Moore), McBride-1

    You could make cases for Jeonju and Belo Horizonte, but this game really had it all. No one outside of us fans(and even then, only the truly hardcore really believed) were betting on us getting three points from the opener. It was perfect really, the underdog story, the stunning start and commanding lead, the nail biting finish, the game ending just as the morning news shows were coming on, front page of the USA Today, fans partying in the streets outside of the bars showing the game, watch parties in C-Bus and KC...................it was nirvana, the Miracle on Grass. The entire 2002 World Cup experience summed up in one game.


    2. USA v Mexico. June 16th, 2002. Jeonju, South Korea.

    USA-2
    Mexico-0

    Friedel, Berhalter, Pope, Sanneh, Mastroeni (Llamosa), Lewis, Reyna, O'Brien, Donovan-1, McBride-1 (Jones), Wolff (Stewart)

    You could draw parrallels to Suwon, in the fact that we were underdogs with the way the Mexicans took control of their group and the way we snuck into the second round. But, really, we all knew we could win this. And did we ever. Passage to the quarters, putting a stamp on our dominance in CONCACAF, if Suwon wasn't so perfect, this could easily be number one.


    3. USA v England. June 29th, 1950. Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

    USA-1
    England-0

    Borghi, Keough, Maca, McIlvenny, Colombo, Bahr, Wallace, Pariani, Gaetjens-1, J.Souza, E.Souza

    Undoubtedly our most famous win in the bad old days. A bunch of immigrants and kids from St. Louis humble arguably the best team in the world at the time. I called Suwon the "Miracle on Grass", well I was wrong. If anything in this list can compare to our famous Ice Hockey victory over the Soviets in 1980, it's this game. Upset in every sense of the word. A shame it happened during a time when global communication was a matter of days, not seconds.

    4. USA v Colombia. June 22nd, 1994. Pasedena, California, USA.

    USA-2
    Colombia-1

    Colombia own goal- Meola, Clavijo, Balboa, Caligiuri, Lalas, Ramos, Harkes, Dooley, Sorber, Wynalda (Wegerle), Stewart-1 (Jones)

    Our first and one of only 3 total World Cup finals wins in the period from 1990 to 2002. While the result ended in tragedy for Andres Escobar, the win continued the hope that we wouldn't be the first host nation to fail to qualify for the second round.



    5. USA v. Trinidad & Tobago. November 19th, 1989. Port-au-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

    USA-1
    Trinidad & Tobago-0

    Meola, Doyle, Trittschuh, Windischmann, Bliss, Krumpe (Stollmeyer), Ramos, Harkes, Caligiuiri-1, Murray, Vermes

    Paul Caliguri scores the shot heard 'round the world as the USA qualifies for it's first World Cup in 40 years. This game would come to be seen as the turning point for the USA on its road to unbelievably rapid growth and success over the next decade.


    6. USA v Mexico. February 28th, 2001. Columbus, Ohio, USA.

    USA-2
    Mexico-0

    Freidel, Regis, Agoos, Pope, Sanneh, Jones, Armas, Reyna (Mathis), Stewart-1, McBride (Wolff-1), Moore (Llamosa)

    The legendary cold war game, and most likely one of the best hex games ever. A freezing night, an absolutley electric American crowd, the emergence of Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff for the national team, and the perfect start to the 2002 Hexagonal.


    7. USA v Jamaica. October 7th 2001. Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA.

    USA-2
    Jamaica-1

    An equally bizzare, emotional, and euphoric game with ABC pre-empting match coverage with news that we had started to bomb Afghanistan. I'll never forget freaking out and trying to find audio and a chatroom for the game on my computer. Luckily Radio Jamaica and the Matchnight chatroom came to the rescue, and I'm sure like many other USA fans, I went completely mental when the results from Honduras and Mexico City came in. Qualifying in this game meant so much more as it was the first national team game after 9/11.


    8. USA v. Costa Rica. September 7th, 1997. Portland, Oregon, USA.

    USA-1
    Costa Rica-0

    Keller, Pope, Balboa, Dooley, Agoos, Stewart, Reyna (Burns), Sorber, Ramos-1, Wegerle (Preki), Lassiter (Jones)

    Another legendary Hex game. PGE Park absolutley rocked that day with deafening American support. A tense game througout, but Tab Ramos' winner paved the way to an unbeaten final stretch of the 1998 hex.



    9. USA v Panama. October 13th 2004. Washington D.C., USA

    USA-6
    Panama-0

    Panama Own Goal - Keller, Hejduk, ,Pope (Onyewu), Berhalter, Bocanegra, Zavagnin (Mastroeni), Beasley, Donovan-2, Lewis, McBride, Wolff (Johnson-3)


    The USA has always been criticized for not convincingly defeating the "minnows" of CONCACAF. Well, this night shut those critics up. The Panamanians only lasted 20 minutes of pressure when the sublime Landon Donovan opened up the scoring and added another in the second half. The real story of the night, though, was Eddie Johnson as the Grown Ass Man scored the first substitute hat-trick in USA history.


    10. USA v Brazil. February 10th, 1998. Los Angeles, California, USA

    USA-1
    Brazil-0

    Keller, Burns, Lalas, Pope, Agoos, Hejduk, Harkes, Moore, Jones, Wynalda (McBride), Wegerle (Preki-1)

    One of the most memorable friendlies ever played by the USA. This was the game where Romario stated that it was an honor to play on the same park as Kasey Keller. Preki's winner sealed this classic's spot in the top 10.
     
  14. babytiger2001

    babytiger2001 New Member

    Dec 29, 2000
    Melbourne
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Top Ten USA Victories Of All Time

    Thanks for the props. :)

    Anyway, I'm merging this with the existing thread in USA Men N&A, and moving the lot over to the main USA Men's forum.
     
  15. nyrmetros

    nyrmetros Member

    Feb 7, 2004
    Re: Top Ten USA Victories Of All Time

    cool. Great post by the Bison burger !
     
  16. GIO17

    GIO17 Member

    Nov 29, 1998
    Re: Top Ten USA Victories Of All Time

    This match wasn't a friendly SABuffalo. This was the 1998 Gold Cup Semi-Final. We defeated Brazil 1-0 to move into the Gold Cup Final against Mexico.
     
  17. SABuffalo786

    SABuffalo786 New Member

    May 18, 2002
    Buffalo, New York
    Re: Top Ten USA Victories Of All Time

    Sorry, my mistake.
     
  18. SoulflyTribeFC

    SoulflyTribeFC New Member

    Mar 24, 2002
    My list would look like Carson Galaxy's.

    However, I might put the US-Costa Rica WCQ in 97 on there. Tab Ramos' goal was probably one of the best I've ever seen the US score, in terms of beauty, power and importance. Just thinking about that game and that goal gives me chills.

    Not 100 percent sure, but I think this is right after that goal.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Thomas A Fina

    Thomas A Fina Member

    Mar 29, 1999
    Hell
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A) Those are my favorite USMNT unis ever

    2) This is the first game where everyone was asked to wear one color. White.

    iii) This game is automatically disqualified from any and all lists because it introduced ThunderSticks to the world.
     
  20. Thomas A Fina

    Thomas A Fina Member

    Mar 29, 1999
    Hell
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My list :


    1) US 1, T & T 0 1989 : "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" and a lifetime of luxury for the Trinidadian keeper. Everything else that happens from US Soccer comes from this game. I wonder if we could ever get ESPN classic to run this game

    Now from here on out, the list changes on a day to day basis so I can't rank them

    US 3, Portugal 2 (2002) - The bad taste of 1998 was wiped out in about 25 minutes.

    US 2, Colombia 1 (1994) - US's signature (uh, make that only) win in the 94 World Cup against the supposed favorite of the group

    US 2, Mexico 0 (2002) - The ultimate bitchslap game. Beating your biggest rivals on the biggest stage.

    US 2 Honduras 1 (2001) - One moment of Clint magic - and our first away win in Central America. One more barrier down

    US 2 Mexico 0 (2001) - Probably as mentioned elsewhere the best Hex game

    US 1 Guatemala 0 (2000) - If you thought Portland was intense, this game was much much more so.

    I would put the next games below the above mostly because they are one-offs :

    US 1 Brazil 0 - The Kasey Keller Memorial game

    US 3 Argentina 0 (1995) - Uh, it was against the Argentine U-23s.

    US 1 England 0 (1950) - Important at the time, now just a footnote.

    I'd also like to nominate three other games that could be on this list, save that the US didn't win them.

    Italy 1, US 0 (1990) - possibly a more inconceivable result than any others on this list. And one Zenga ass cheek away from equalizing

    Germany 1, US 0 (2002) - any doubt the US belonged on the world stage is totally erased. Outplayed them, but couldn't finish the job.

    South Korea 1, Portugal 0 (2002) - any other team would have sat on the lead and KOd the US. and 2002 would have ended in the sam manner as 1998 - in the first round. and Bruce would be an ex-coach. Warrants mentioning
     
  21. dfb547490

    dfb547490 New Member

    Feb 9, 2000
    The Heights
    1. USA 1-0 England, 1950 WC
    2. USA 2-0 Mexico, 2002 WC
    3. USA 1-0 Trinidad, 1989 WCQ
    4. USA 3-2 Portugal, 2002 WC
    5. USA 2-1 Colombia, 1994 WC
    6. USA 2-0 Mexico, 2001 WCQ
    7. USA 1-0 Brazil, 1998 Gold Cup
    8. USA 3-0 Belgium/USA 3-0 Paraguay, 1930 WC
    9. USA 3-0 Germany, 1999 friendly
    10. USA 2-1 Jamaica, 2001 WCQ
     
  22. GringoTex

    GringoTex Member

    Aug 22, 2001
    1301 miles de Texas
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    1) U20's: USA 2 - Mexico 1 (2004)

    My top USMNT win of all time is whichever one the mexicans happen to be most pissed about at the time.


    [​IMG]
     
  23. Jeff Wyatt

    Jeff Wyatt New Member

    Apr 20, 2004
    not really here to rate the games, just want to say that if anyone thinks Andres Escobar was killed because of an own goal... well I've got a bridge to sell you. It's called Colombia, it's called drug and mob affiliations. think about it.
     
  24. SABuffalo786

    SABuffalo786 New Member

    May 18, 2002
    Buffalo, New York

    Yes he was shot by gang members, but not for any drug related activities. Several of the gangesters had been harrasing him all throughout the night about the own goal at a nightclub. In the parking lot, they got into a shouting match, and another gangster who wasn't involved in the heckling came to Escobar's car and shot him. At the time he had no clue who he had just shot.


    So yes, he was shot by Drug dealers, but not for drugs. And the issue of the own goal was involved in the shooting, but it wasn't the direct cause. Such violence was just so common in Colombia, the shooter didn't give it a second thought when he fired into the car.
     
  25. babytiger2001

    babytiger2001 New Member

    Dec 29, 2000
    Melbourne
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just changed my sig, just to include a link to this thread. :)

    Keep up the good work of recalling the great memories, all...
     

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