Worst USMNT matches of all-time

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by Flyin Ryan, Nov 28, 2004.

  1. NASL Fan

    NASL Fan Member

    Nov 23, 1999
    Los Angeles, USA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    El Camino College. It's a community college. And yes, the stadium is still there. They should have a big black cross underneath those goal posts to show the site of the infamous goal.

    I saw another qualifier there, in 1990, USA 1, Trinidad 1

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire

    Chyzowych is probably this guy:

    http://www.soccerhall.org/builders/walter_chyzowych.htm

    EDIT: Yup. I like how the link mentions the match we're talking about.
     
  3. Delsocfan

    Delsocfan New Member

    Oct 23, 2004
    Wilmington, DE
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Only one I can think of that wasn't mentioned yet is a 4-1 loss to Colombia in the 3rd place game in '95 Copa America. Didn't look like the team was into that game. I know it was just for 3rd place but a win would have been nice to cap off the run.
     
  4. miked9

    miked9 Member+

    May 4, 2000
    Philadelphia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not sure if it's been mentioned under different circumstances, as I was so enraged I don't even remember the opponent...

    but the Peter Prendergast game has to be up there. UGH.

    also, can't possibly put that WC02 Germany loss there....we played brilliantly.

    Iran WC98 though...cripes.
     
  5. kenosha

    kenosha New Member

    Sep 19, 2001
    West Vancouver, BC
    The brilliant, cough cough, Seamus Malin once called this the field of broken dreams for the USMNT.
     
  6. Carson Galaxy

    Carson Galaxy Member

    Jun 14, 2001
    Downey, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Born and raised in So Cal all my life and I was at that stadium once...for a 4th of July fireworks show.

    Whenever I saw that the US played in Torrance, I could only think that they played on a rec league field at a park like maybe Lomita Park or something.

    What kind of support was there for the US and Trinidad in that '90 WCQ?
     
  7. TravisMinor_23

    TravisMinor_23 New Member

    Oct 16, 2001
    United States
    For me it was the home match against Honduras we lost in RFK and the away match where we simply got dominated by CR.

    Before the Mexico game I thought (along with everyother soccer fan) qualification would be no more than a formality with the points we had already earned. I remember that I was @ the Taste of Chicago watching the Mexico game in one of the Spanish TV stations booths. I wasn't particularly worried at the time.

    After the Honduras match I was a little worried, and after the CR match I was sure we would not qualify if we continued to perform like we had been. Luckily a combination of JMM and Honduran choke artistry saved our campaign, and gave a major injection into American soccer. But I still remember I have never been as afraid for the sport as after that CR game where I thought despite all of MLS's positives we still would not qualify for a WC and that would have been a crushing blow.
     
  8. SoulflyTribeFC

    SoulflyTribeFC New Member

    Mar 24, 2002
    Something like this

    [​IMG]
     
  9. NASL Fan

    NASL Fan Member

    Nov 23, 1999
    Los Angeles, USA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There were 11,000 people according to the LA Times story of the day, written by my friend Graham Jones (yeah, the same guy who still writes about soccer for the Times). That seems about right to me. In other words, the stadium was about half full. The Trinidadians had a big contigent of maybe a couple of hundred, but of course they made a lot of noise with drums and all of that, more than the thousands of mostly quiet people who I'm assuming were either neutral or US fans. I remember the crowd just stood around and watched and clapped, like at a baseball game. I was with an Argentine friend who tried to stand up and start a chant like they do in that country but of course no one noticed or even seemed to understand what he was doing.

    All of this was several years pre Sams Army and all that. There really was no atmosphere whatsoever.
     
  10. Aquarius21

    Aquarius21 New Member

    Aug 15, 2004
    Plano, TX
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    the three matches of WC '98. Burns should never have let that ball through him... he's got one job on the post and he blew it. Iran and Yugoslavia were just embarrassing.
     
  11. USAin2006

    USAin2006 Member

    Sep 7, 2004
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The game in the hex leading up to the 1998 WC against Jamaica at RFK sticks out in my mind -- nearly cost us a spot in the WC. I seem to remember a REALLY ILL-ADIVSED backpass from Agoos that allowed Jamaica to steal a point (one mistake of many from Agoos, yet he still regularly was capped through the 2002 WC -- here he again made many mistakes).

    Thank god we are much richer with young, talented players in the back now!!!
     
  12. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Man! I was at that game. It gets a "1" in the 416/Snipes rating system, for being unwatchable crap. However, it turned out to be one of the best days of my young life in spite of the match.

    U.S.-Iran, no question. For me, nothing else even comes close. The Honduras loss at RFK might be next.

    The U-23 loss to Mexico would be worse, except that we were up against an absolute buzzsaw that day. The scoreline, sadly for us, actually doesn't do justice to Mexico's dominance in that match. Gotta hand it to them.
     
  13. USAin2006

    USAin2006 Member

    Sep 7, 2004
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The game in the hex leading up to the 1998 WC against Jamaica at RFK sticks out in my mind -- nearly cost us a spot in the WC. I seem to remember a REALLY ILL-ADIVSED backpass from Agoos that allowed Jamaica to steal a point (one mistake of many from Agoos, yet he still regularly was capped through the 2002 WC -- here he again made many mistakes).

    Thank god we are much richer with young, talented players in the back now!!!
     
  14. gaucho

    gaucho Member

    Dec 17, 2001
    NYC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have to put this number two to US-Iran. Any time you lose to Mexico in a meaningful game it is a candidate for this list. Not to mention that I had to get Luis Hernandez header impressions for the next six months from my Mexican soccer playing friends.
     
  15. Jimjamesak

    Jimjamesak New Member

    May 3, 2003
    Anchorage Alaska
    All three 1998 World Cup matches, it makes me sick just thinking about it.

    And the numbers 3-6-1 can send me into a rage to make The Hulk jealous.
     
  16. Adam Zebrowski

    Adam Zebrowski New Member

    May 28, 1999
    the 1997 jamaica match at rfk did have the agoos back-pass disaster...but don't forget the phoney HAND ball outside the box call by the paraguyan ref...


    too many just recall the bad PK calls in centrasl american and forget they have gone both ways too!!
     
  17. flanoverseas

    flanoverseas New Member

    Mar 2, 2002
    Xandria
    Why do you care about these matches if your English?
     
  18. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As a relatively newbie to soccer fandom, one of the worst moments for me as a U.S. Soccer fan was in the 3-1 loss to Poland in the 2002 World Cup. Let me explain:

    As a Californian, I was thrilled to get up at 4 a.m. to watch the USMNT smoke Poland, a team that had lost miserably to South Korea and Portugal. I was excited to see the U.S. come out on top of Group D and stun the world, just as they had when they defeated Portugal 3-2 only a week before. This was a game that also had a special meaning for me because it was the last game I would be able to see live until the Semi-Final round.

    When 4 rolled around, my alarm went off and I lept awake and ran into the living room to turn on the television. No sooner do I turn it on, then I see Emmanuel Olisadebe put one past Brad Friedel on a poorly defended corner. It's only the third minute. I'm stunned, speechless, numb. "Okay," I tell myself, "this is no big deal; Korea and Portugal put two and four goals past these guys, this shouldn't be a problem." Moments later, I appear justified. The US quickly played the ball downfield to Landon Donovan who appeared to have scored a vital tying goal. My ecstasy turned to disgust and dismay when the referee reversed the goal, citing what was, in my opinion, a ridiculous foul.

    Things just got worse from then on. What was nearly the momentum shift that the US needed; the tying goal that would settle their nerves and help them qualify, turned into more disaster. Only two minutes after Olisadebe scored, did Poland score again. This time, a return seemed nearly impossible. "It's only the fifth minute though," I told myself. "There's still plenty of time to score two equalizing goals." However, after watching the US struggle for another forty minutes, things looked even more bleak. The US would not score until the eighty-third minute; by then, far too late for the US to come back. Hopes of winning the group and even hopes of advancing to the next round seemed to come crashing down. "Another disaster."

    I switched frantically between the Poland match and the on-going match between South Korea and Portugal. My heart lifted when I heard the Korean fans cheering their team on to score. While Korea was content with a tie, the Korean fans were not. Sure enough, in the seventieth minute, Ji Sung Park put the Koreans on top. However, Portugal now only needed a tie because of the U.S.'s lopsided loss to Poland. My heart felt like it was going to burst. I was waiting on the edge of my seat for stoppage time to begin as the Portugese threw everything they had on goal. Sure enough, in the eighty-ninth minute Sergio Conceicao's shot richocheted off the Korean post and was cleared away. That morning, when I trudged back to bed at six, I was unable to sleep; the very thought that we were so close to elimination kept me awake for hours.

    The Poland game was a disaster, it was gut-wrenching. A game the U.S. only had to tie and they conceded three goals (to a team that had not scored any in the tournament) and lost by two. To think, the U.S. was a goal-post away from World Cup elimination.

    Yes, I haven't been a fan as long as many here, but that's a game I never want to see again, and one that I'll never forget.
     
  19. SoulflyTribeFC

    SoulflyTribeFC New Member

    Mar 24, 2002
    Via: Good description of a horrible game.

    One crossbar away from elimination. Scary thought.
     
  20. The Lieutenant

    Dec 29, 1999
    Lupburg, Bayern
    I was at that game, front row behind the goal Poland was scoring on. I was so depressed I thought I would just walk around Korea for the next two months, until Korea scored. It became probably one of the best nights of my life, celebrating our advance with the other Sammers as we walked around town, the entire nation was going nuts at the same time as Korea had won the group.
     
  21. nicodemus

    nicodemus Member+

    Sep 3, 2001
    Cidade Mágica
    Club:
    PAOK Saloniki
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The loss to China in 1997 was one of the lowest moments for me as a US fan.

    That, however, was put to shame by our entire World Cup 98 "performance." So depressing.

    The Haiti thing was really bad too.

    Our recent game in Panama was also dreadful to watch.
     

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