To commemorate this 20th year anniversary for the United States Men's National Team's impressive run through the quarterfinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, ussoccer.com offers a two-part look back at the best team of the modern-day World Cup finish.
Then, let's take a look to what was the World Cup Qualifying campaign:
When two U.S. and Mexico teams stood in the tunnel of cold Columbus Crew Stadium on Feb. 28 2001, goalkeepers of the opposite teams were placed themselves next to each the other.
Brad Friedel, who grew in a town that was 2 half hours away from Bay Village, Ohio, was dressed in shorts, long sleeves and goalkeeper gloves. He noticed what his fellow goalkeeper, Jorge Campos, was wearing.
"He looked over at me and he just said the word, 'loco,'" Friedel stated. "When I saw him, he had hand warmers on plus goalkeeping gloves. He had three pair of bottoms, two pair of tights and then long pants. He had a neck warmer ... definitely a T-shirt on, like a thermal thing. He was like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. He couldn't even move because he had so many clothes on."
After years of struggle through difficult conditions in Central America and the Caribbean, U.S. Soccer used its own gamesmanship.
It was a perfect match and the Americans were unable to stop Mexico in the opening Hexagonal in 2002's World Cup in Korea/Japan with the score of 2-0. This legendary game was an initial of 5 "Dos a Cero" results in FIFA World Cup Qualifying in Ohio.
A few months prior to the USA-Mexico match in the summer of 2006, the USMNT were subjected to a tough Concacaf-based learning curve that included a game that was played in an unforgiving forest and a frightening illusion hand ball which caused the team to lose an entire point, and playing an qualifier on a field badly damaged.
"Every step of the way is challenging," said Bruce Arena, then the U.S. head coach. "At the time there were no rules. Every nation is trying to improve its competitiveness. It's a fact that the United States rarely thought about this.
"They didn't cut the grass. The officiating stinks. We go to Costa Rica, we got cheated at the end with the penalty call. So classic stuff. Fans throwing things at us. The bathrooms in the locker room that weren't cleaned, probably for weeks. You could throw up walking in there. All of that kind of stuff before you even step on the field."
U.S. Men's National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter, who also had the experience of WCQ while playing has a motto: "Stay calm and realize that you expect the unexpected."
"Concacaf throws you sort of unexpected challenges as you go through it," said midfielder Claudio Reyna, who captained the 2002 World Cup squad. "The traveling is not the best. The field conditions are from being as good as they are today. The majority of nations have improved their quality of their fields. The refereeing process was differently from game-to-game.
"Similar to what you saw on this most recent cycle, you never knew who was either going to be fit or whether somebody was suspended. There's very little continuity in qualifying, unlike a club team, because you're just getting together every couple of months. That really is the challenge. It's a grind. You're just never really getting into a momentum."
After the USA's pathetic performance in 1998's World Cup, Arena was assigned to get the team back on the right track. Arena was seen as the right choice following the success of directing D.C. United to the first two MLS Cup championships and into third place in the final.
"One of Bruce's major qualities is putting a collection of guys together that becomes a group," midfielder Earnie Stewart said.
Arena played 37 players during the qualification process, including four goalkeepers.
The USMNT began the semifinals in two venues that are a challenge two of which are Guatemala as well as Costa Rica.
Instead of playing in the nation's stadium located at Guatemala City on July 16 in 2000 in 2000, the Guatemalan Federation made a last-minute change made the decision to select Mazatenango which is a town of around 40,000 people located in the jungle , and close to active volcanoes. The only option to reach it was to fly to Guatemala City and take a three-hour bus journey.
"I'm sure that one has to go down as gamesmanship at its highest level," defenseman Eddie Pope said. "I believe that they got in trouble for that. You're only supposed to be so far from your national airport."
The problem was made worse by local DJs playing music until 12:30 a.m. outside of the extremely secured U.S. motel-restaurant, using an PA device "which did not help us sleep-wise," midfielder Earnie Stewart admitted.
"People were lined up outside of the facility," Pope stated. "They were playing the music on the huge speakers and throwing M-80s into the compound. The cold water was not working. There was only scalding hot water. AC, I can't remember if that was working. It pretty much checked every box in regards to gamesmanship that they possibly could."
Arena was not in the best lineup. Four of the starters were out with injuries, including forwards Brian McBride (broken cheekbone) and Joe-Max Moore (knee), Ben Olsen (sprained ankle) and the defender Jeff Agoos (knee surgery). At the beginning of the game, Pope injured his left knee, and was then substituted.
In a game that was marred by scorching temperatures (93 degrees) as well as a high humidity level and unreliable referee decisions the Americans were ejected from the Estadio Municipal Carlos Salazar with 1-1 draw before a sold-out crowd of 9,000 spectators from the nearby rooftops.
Ante Razov scored his first goal for the international team the 17-yard deflection that he scored in the final 45 minutes. Carlos Ruiz, who became an important player for LA Galaxy, scored a goal in the LA Galaxy, connected for the equalizer in the 88th minute.
"It seemed like we ran out of gas," Stewart stated. "The heat started to play a role later on in the game."
The level of difficulty was higher in Costa Rica on July 23.
The mere act of reaching Estadio Saprissa was a surreal trip.
"There were riot police on horses, beating people down," Berhalter stated. "That amount of people outside the stadium, and how aggressive they are to the opposing team is something special. I mean, it is crazy. The fans were lined on the streets and just going crazy. At Saprissa, its special because you have to wind into the stadium, really condensed and the bus can't move. And there's all these people. It makes it crazy."
It was also the case with the crowd in the stadium.
Stewart declared that Stewart Saprissa was which is not Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, was the US's toughest venue.
"Fans were on right on top of you," the player declared. "The field was not good. It was really difficult to play. It was always the hardest place to play in Concacaf."
Rolando Fonseca's 8-yard shot gave the Ticos a 10-minute lead however, Stewart scored a second goal, securing the rebound of a Razov goal in the 65th minutes.
As the game was getting closer to the final whistle, U.S. TV announcer Ty Keough surmised that Frankie Hejduk's unwise tumbling onto Austin Berry in the penalty area in the 89th minute might be a cause for a penalty call. He was on the mark.
Then, a minute later Hernan Medford smashed his cross to the goal that Berhalter kicked over the line to create an apparent corner kick. In a still baffling decision the Referee Peter Prendergast ruled a handball and pointed towards where the spot for penalty.
"I remember right after the play actually holding my temple because that's where I got hit," Berhalter claimed. "It stung a little and I'm rubbing my temple. I look and he's pointing to the penalty spot. This can't be."
This was before Video Assistant Referee, and the USA was forced to accept the requirement.
Medford made a PK over goalkeeper Kasey Keller. After a few minutes, Costa Ricans won an unpopular 2-1 win.
Arena and Reyna became a riot. They were restraining by security personnel and U.S. team officials from attacking Prendergast.
"I told him he cheated us," Arena declared before exiled from the press conference following the match. "The call was disgraceful" and "that's not the way to decide a game."
Reyna was seen throwing an armband from his captain's hand at Prendergast. "Concacaf referees are miles behind the rest of the world," the captain stated at the moment. "I don't think the referee was awful the whole time, but that particular play was the game. It was terrible."
This created an absolute win-or-lose situation in the USMNT's debut home game with Barbados at Foxborough, Mass. on August. 16. Utilizing two red cards in the first half in the second half, on Aug. 16, the U.S. rolled to a 7-0 win.
"Getting early goals against teams like that, where the longer the game goes on, the more momentum they build, the more confident they get and you're in a little bit of trouble," said Popewho kicked off the loss by heading at Stewart's corner kick in the 11th minute. "Can you break the seal early? And then hopefully the rest will come."
McBride in his debut appearance in the qualifying cycle for 2002 He doubled the score at the end of 28 minutes. The crowd was partisan and offered the USA an ovation lasting three minutes. Joe-Max Moore was the only player to score two times. John O'Brien, Tab Ramos and Stewart also spotted the net.
In a different must-win situation The USMNT took on Guatemala in RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on September. 3. The Americans played a game that they had developed. Organisers sold tickets to the seats in the field at USA fans and other groups. They also put the Guatemalan fans on higher decks.
A lot of enthusiastic U.S. fans also got involved outside of the field. The plan was called Project Mayhem - as they were able to run across the venue and screamed at the Guatemalan team's playing field in suburb Virginia on the night prior to the game.
Through the majority of a scorching and humid afternoon an angry American side was unable to resolve Guatemala. The situation got even more complicated after Eddie Lewis was shown a 65th-minute red card for elbowing Fabricio Benitez. This forced to the USA to go the remainder of the game as with a man in the hole.
McBride encouraged the players with an incredible strike in the 72nd minute to win 1-0 by slipping to score Cobi Jones his cross from the right. "We had to bear down," McBride declared. "We did not have any time to get worried."
On September. 15th, FIFA suspended Arena and Reyna for three and two games respectively, due to their conduct at Costa Rica - almost two months before. Arena was handed an amount of $5,000, and Reyna with a $3,500 fine.
This left assistant coach Dave Sarachan in charge. Arena was in the stands with the 24,430 people who gathered who gathered at Columbus Crew Stadium in a uncontested draw against Costa Rica on Oct. 11.
When asked if he'd change his ways in the absence of on the bench Arena said, "Cursing on the sideline as opposed to be cursing in the stands."
Arena was able to block media regarding his roster announcement. In a few gamesmanship attempts to deter the Central American antics, Arena did not release the roster until Monday afternoon, for Wednesday's night game. Arena was determined to allow Costa Rica as little time as it could to prepare.
It was actually simpler to determine who wouldn't be participating. Without suspended Arena and Reyna in the U.S., it was clear that the U.S. was also missing McBride because of an enlargement of blood discovered in his arm and the suspended players in midfield Eddie Lewis (red card) and Earnie Stewart (yellow card accumulation). The draw ended 0-0 and set up another crucial win scenario in Barbados on the last day of the final round.
The day before on the day of. 15 match the two teams were not allowed to practice in the National Stadium in Waterford, Barbados due to the fact that the field was in such a bad state. The Americans played on the field that had an up-to-date sprinkler system that players could get tripped over.
"There were glass and rocks on the field," Arena explained. "They told us they weren't sure if we could warm-up on the field because they didn't want us to mess it up."
Adds Berhalter: "The field was probably one of the worst 've ever played on. It had four-inch high grass at places, dirt in other places. It was horrible."
In deciding against the idea of importing Friedel as well as Keller or Keller from Europe, Arena chose Tony Meola who led his team the Kansas City Wizards to the MLS Cup title exactly a month before. Meola's most recent appearance in the qualifying tournament was 11 years ago in the back of his country USA in the well-known 1-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago to boost the Americans to the very first World Cup in 40 years on November. 19 1989.
Meola did not break his part of the bargain when the teams fought until a scoreless deadlock at halftime.
"We're sitting there and we're looking at ourselves because it's 0-0 and everybody's like, 'We're out like this,' " Stewart declared.
"Facing elimination if you don't win that game is scary," Berhalter declared. "At halftime, Dave was really calm. We were confident."
The situation got more tense just after the break, when Llewellyn Riley's shot from the 50th minute was saved initially by Meola but it rebounded from centre right back Carlos Llamosa and careen off the cross bar.
Averted disaster, this U.S. final was put to the scoreboard shortly just after an hour. Clint Mathis, who had just completed a fantastic campaign with the MetroStars and broke through the Ice in the 63rd minutes by securing the right-wing shot of Moore. Stewart scored a rocket from 16 yards at the end of the third minute. Cobi Jones was on the scoreboard just four minutes later. Razov finished the scoring just two minutes into the end of time.
"I try to say this with the most respect, but it wasn't necessarily the opponent at the time that was hindering us," Stewart declared. "The opponent was the field, it was the conditions, it was the environment. But once we had the first goal, it became really comfortable."
Adds Mathis: "The guys did really well. No matter who you're playing, we had to win this game. You can't depend on another result."
The second-ranked team was in the final day of the match winning, both the U.S. finish on top of the group in its semifinal round with Guatemala's win in the final minute of the game against Costa Rica forced a one-game match between the two teams two months after. Costa Rica would win it with a 2-1 win in Miami which allowed them to advance to the Hexagonal with the U.S.
Jorge Campos wasn't the only Mexico player with apprehensions concerning playing the frigid temperatures and chilly Columbus, Ohio in the Hex opener on February. 28th 2001. The entire team didn't go out for warm-ups and instead decided to get ready for the game inside the dressing room.
"Most of us grew up in areas where it gets quite cold in the winter. It's not really a big deal," Pope stated. "You're eight or nine-years-old on the soccer field and you're playing in very cold temperatures. We were used to it. Mexico made the mistake of warming up inside. It's like sitting in your car before you go outside. When they came out for the national anthem, they weren't used to it. It looked like they were freezing to death."
Half an hour into the game, things was not looking good for the U.S., which had lost its top scorer, McBride (swollen eye) and the best playmaker, Reyna (strained groin muscle).
The two who replaced them The two that replaced them Georgia players Josh Wolff and Clint Mathis joined forces to score the opener just after the half-time. Mathis dropped a ball to Wolff who slid through an old Chicago Fire teammate Campos, before scoring into an empty net.
In the final moments of the game, Wolff - who had only four caps before and was able to put the stage for Earnie Stewart to win his first "Dos a Cero" in Columbus.
"I was fortunate enough to score against Mexico in Los Angeles at the end of 2000," Wolff stated. "So, there was some familiarity there."
It was three times that the U.S. had beaten El Tri in qualifying. The previous occasion was a 2-1 victory on the field in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 23, 1980. it was the day following the time that El Tri had been eliminated. Americans lost to the Americans.
"Obviously, it was huge," Arena declared. "They were a team that had our number of years so to win that game and to have outstanding support in Columbus, it was a great day for U.S. Soccer."
The outcome sparked the Americans to a fantastic start towards the Hex.
"We ran with it to three good results," Wolff declared. "The group was off and running. That had a big influence and gave the American fans and soccer community good belief."
On the 28th of March on, the USMNT won 2-1 against Honduras on the field in San Pedro Sula, the first time that the team been able to win at home in Central America in 11 1/2 years (since an 1-1 WCQ victory against El Salvador in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on September. 17th 1989).
Arena was named Stewart captain, and it coincided with the midfielder's birthday. Stewart enjoyed the celebration by scoring an injury-time goal in the 33rd minute. Mathis was the one to set up Stewart for an unorthodox 30-yard shot.
"Those times that I was captain, I did that with a lot of pride. ... That's something I'll never forget. Winning on our birthday and being able to captain the team was something that was special."
After the Hondurans scored an equalizer on Julio Cesar De Leon's 59th-minute goal, Mathis scored the game-winner in the 87th minute, scoring an uninvolved free kick of 22 yards.
"Any time you score a goal of this magnitude in a World Cup qualifier, it's a great feeling," the player said.
The USA have now won three wins in a row with a 1-0 win against Costa Rica in Kansas City, Mo. on the 26th of April. In the press conference following the game at the podium Wolff displayed a smile which would've impressed the Cheshire Cat proud. He was aware that the players and he were able to get away with just one mistake - a handball which was not ruled out, which led to the sole goal in the game's 70th minute.
Television replays revealed that the ball hit the right arm of Mathis before Wolff hit it within three meters. If asked if it was a handball Wolff said, "I didn't see anything," as he broke into a laugh.
The Americans were the 6th Concacaf squad since 1950, to win three consecutive wins before their final game.
The USA were granted an entire month of rest before they played twice over five days. Two of the catalysts for the first wins, Mathis (torn ACL) and Wolff (fractured left foot) had to be ruled out for the remainder of the the qualifying campaign.
If they were able to win two times in a row, the Americans would be able to score 15 points which is thought as the ideal qualifying number. This would have happened just halfway through their 10 game program.
"There is a buzz," midfielder Chris Armas said. "You hear different guys saying, 'Can we clinch with the next two wins?' Everyone is thinking it and feeling it but it's not going to get any easier."
As of the June 16 match, Jamaica was riding a amazing streak of 50 games without a loss on the National Stadium in Kingston, known as "The Office." The final opponent to be crowned victorious? It was the U.S., behind a 3-1 win on November. 22nd in 1994.
The gates to the stadium were opened in the early hours of 6 a.m. and the nation's most popular Reggae superstars entertaining the fans throughout the game until the kickoff. The majority of the 32,000 fans were a mass of yellow wearing the colors of the nation, and with an intense smell of marijuana lingering in the air.
The USA did not break the streak, escaping with a draw that was scoreless and a road goal as temperatures reached 100 degree on the surface made of rock that didn't produce beautiful soccer.
"It's a great result because we're taking away two points from Jamaica at home," Reyna declared. "We're sitting really good right now."
The Americans have continued their streak of unbeaten on June 20 by sweeping Trinidad & Tobago in Foxborough. Razov scored in just 774 second after kickoff. It was making it the speediest U.S. qualifying goal in at least twelve years. Stewart added an insurance goal at the end of the twenty-first minute of the game, becoming the U.S.'s record-setting scorer (seven goals) and breaking the tie held by National Soccer Hall of Famers Willy Roy.
"Fantastic," Stewart said at the time. "Thirteen points out of 15 - can't get much better than that. This is a great start."
Five games remain within the Hex, the USMNT (4-0-1 13 points) held a strong advantage and appeared to be nearing being able to qualify. However, the team started an downward slide after the loss of 1-0 in Mexico in a game with a brand coaching change, Javier Aguirre, in charge on the field at Estadio Azteca on July 1.
The USA was not helped by John O'Brien's team, Ajax, refused to let the midfielder go, citing the fact that he was required to train for their UEFA Cup qualifying tournament. This was before FIFA establishing WCQ date for playing.
"It's a classless thing to do," Arena declared in the moment.
An offside trap that was not properly executed allowed Jared Borgetti to score off a 12 yard strike within the sixteenth minute, which sailed past Keller.
"We were the most dangerous Mexican player," the defender Jeff Agoos said of the loss. "I don't think we deserved to win. We were our own worst enemy."
It was the Honduras fixture in RFK Stadium on Sept. 1 was scheduled to begin at an uninteresting time which was 10 a.m. A kickoff that was early could be a sign of gamesmanship attempt to gain the advantage but, due to ESPN being the only TV network with a contract that was the only chance the game could be broadcast on the first Saturday of college football in the regular season.
When Pope left to warm-up before the game and was hoping to hear 54,032 supporters cheering. However, Honduran fans dominated the stadium.
"That's a perfect example of you accidentally putting it in the wrong location," the official said. "Your intention is to ensure that it is an home crowd, but it's the reverse. We've seen all these blue and white shirt. It caused a ripple. You're searching for your supporters. The stadium is more raucous for the opposing team and you're playing an away match at home.
"You've already experienced being away and taking the abuse from the other team's fans. Now you're at home. You look up and you're looking for your fans. It can be deflating."
A teenager of 19 Landon Donovan made his World Cup qualifying debut on the day. "My introduction was like, oh [crap], this is real stuff," said Donovan. "It simply was unlike anything else I've ever experienced in my entire life. It was an amazing adventure."
At times, the Americans appeared as if they were asleep on defense during a crushing 3-1 loss. Stewart scored in the 7th and 84th minutes. However, this was only the one goal did not come in that stung the visitors. Stewart's PK is saved by Noel Valladares, switching the direction of the game.
"It's not so much missing a penalty kick," Stewart told reporters when he was in that situation. "It's when you look at your teammates and see that you've let them down."
Instead of securing an advantage of 2-1 at halftime however, it was the U.S. saw its fortunes slide after Carlos Pavon converted a 53rd-minute penalty. Milton Nunez also tallied for Honduras (27th and 77th minutes).
"The most painful thing is actually we started off well," Stewart stated. "We didn't score, had the chance to go up and then I missed the PK. Those really weigh on your mind. Then they started to play really well."
The result was U.S.'s second consecutive loss in qualifying and the first time it has occurred since the year the year 1980. The Americans also had their 19-game home qualifying streak of unbeaten, ended when they lost to the United States for the first time in May, 1985. They conceded three goals during an at-home qualifier to start the game for the first time since 1960.
A few days later, on Costa Rica, the U.S. played a redesigned team that looked like they was determined to win Saprissa in a draw that was a 2-0 defeat. Ronaldo Fonseca had a brace (40th and the 68th minute).
When the USMNT entered the Foxboro Stadium field in on October. 7th The players were aware that they had a huge responsibility.
Beyond the fact that they needed to break a losing streak, and boost the chances to qualify losing would have eliminated them from qualifying The Americans believed they played for their country, too.
The nation is still in mourning after the terrible terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and an aircraft which was destroyed into Shanksville, Pa., which killed more than 3,000 and a total of 25,000 injured on September. 11.
"It was very emotional," Reyna remembered. "It was the first time we had all gotten together as a group after September 11th. We're playing a game with the opportunity of getting a step closer to the World Cup but more than anything, we were playing for something more than ourselves and something bigger. Before the game Bruce told us that we would just that day began the invasion. He felt he wanted to let us know not in terms of something to motivate us, but I just think he thought it was something that we needed to know as Americans back then."
Despite three straight losses and three straight losses, the USMNT did have an opportunity, though not huge towards qualification on the day when two other outcomes were required.
"The mission was simple," Stewart declared. "We had to win games and then you have to wait on the rest that you don't have any influence on. You try to block that out for as much as possible because it doesn't help the game."
The game is only four minutes of its existence The U.S. gave 40,483 fans something to celebrate. Reyna delivered an unintentional kick towards the post near by, and a jumping Moore kicked the ball in at six feet. In the end, The Reggae Boyz retaliated 10 minutes later, when James Lawrence took advantage of the shoddy marking and beat Friedel.
In the 81st second, Tyrone Marshall took down Donovan on the left edge of the penalty box to earn a penalty kick. The team had not converted the three penalties Arena had given them during his WCQ time.
Moore offered his assistance, launching an uninspiring shot with a right foot to the upper right-hand corner.
"I think Bruce had chosen Claudio or Earnie [Stewart] and I to take any penalties that day, so when Landon got taken down in the box, I just remember looking at those guys and saying 'I feel good,' " Moore stated. "After I scored, my reaction was a little strange, but that was ust in response to one of the Jamaican players talking some smack before I took it. He said something nasty to try and throw me off."
Following Moore's penalty there were rumors within the arena that USA were already qualified.
"Someone was warming up behind the goal said to me like, 'Waste as much time as you can. We've qualified,' " Friedel stated.
The fifth second of the stoppage in the fifth minute of stoppage time, referee Rodolfo Sibrian called the match over, and the U.S. won 1-1 victory. A few minutes later after, media agent Michael Kammarman informed the team that they were saluting the crowd, of two scores that were finalized:
Costa Rica 0, Mexico 0
Trinidad & Tobago 1, Honduras 0
The results helped propel that U.S. into the World Cup. The final match for qualification in Trinidad on November. 11 was a non-starter.
"All of a sudden you've accomplished what you've set out to do," Stewart declared. "It just gives an amazing feeling that you're going back to the world stage once again because [you're going to] compete with those players; the best in the world."
Reyna was a player on Four World Cup teams, agreed.
"Going to go to another World Cup was amazing," the player said. "All the competitions I've gone through, it's been a great challenge. It's incredibly satisfying to be able to play in World Cups because you just don't think about it. If I get to be a part of one, it's amazing. Therefore, for every chance that you get, you're happy.
"What transpired the day that was memorable. It was possible to take the mind away from what transpired, show our country's strength and, in the end, that was a huge win for our country was what was required. Sports helped everyone come back from the attacks of 9/11. We were sure that we had played our part in the aftermath as well."