United States World Cup 2006

Country: United States
Capital City: Washington
Continent: America
Manager: Bruce Arena

How did they qualify - The U.S. opened with a 2-1 over Trinidad & Tobago, followed with a 1-2 loss to Mexico, then a 2-0 win over Guatemala, 3-0 win over Costa Rica, a 3-0 win over Panama, a 1-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago, and clinched the World Cup berth with a 2-0 over Mexico, followed by a 0-0 tie to Guatemala, a 0-3 loss to Costa Rica and finished 1-0 with a 2-0 win over Panama.

After losing out on getting a seed, the U.S. could be in for a tough time. Arena has stated that not getting seeded doesn't bother him, because the World Cup is tough no matter what. Making it to the 2002 quarters against Germany was a great accomplishment for the U.S. It would again be great to make it that far, the team is better, the younger players have matured, and there is some young talent that should help. Anything higher then the last 16 is a stretch, but in the World Cup who knows what can and will happen.

Founded in 1913 as the United States Football Association (USFA). It was granted a provisional membership by FIFA. Then at the annual meetings in Oslo, Norway, FIFA granted the U.S. full membership. The U.S. National Team has been known by three different names since its start. From 1913-1944 it was known as the U.S. Football Association. From 1945-1973 is was known as the U.S. Soccer Football Association and from 1974 to the current date it's known as U.S. Soccer Federation. In 1930, the U.S. was one of the 13 countries to participate in the first Fifa World Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay. In 1950, the U.S. stunned England 1-0 in the World Cup in Brazil. It was called the largest upset in international football.

The U.S. bid for the 1994 World Cup and on July 4th, 1988 FIFA awarded the games to the U.S. In 1989 Paul Caligiuri scored arguably one of the biggest goals for the U.S. against Trinidad & Tobago from 35 yards out in front of 35,000 Trinidadians which gave the U.S. a 1-0 win and sent them to the World Cup for the first time since 1950. The goal also knocked T&T out who only needed to tie to qualify. 1990 the U.S. competed in the World Cup for the first time in 40 years.

1994 arrived and so did the World Cup on U.S. soil. With more than 3.5 million attending the games, the previous attendance record was broke by 1 million (1990 Italy). The U.S. advanced to the round of 16 losing to the eventual winners Brazil 1-0 at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. The U.S. finished in last place at the 1998 World Cup after Tough matches with Germany and Yugoslavia, and losing to Iran. Coach Steve Sampson resigns, and Bruce Arena is hired to take his place.

2001 see's the U.S. advance to the 2004 World Cup in Japan and Korea, there fourth straight World Cup. The U.S. men advance to the quarter finals where they lose to Germany 1-0. On the way to the quarters they team shocks Portugal 3-2 in the first group match, followed with a draw against the host Koreans. Of note, midfielder Claudio Reyna is voted to the All-Tournament team. Coach: Bruce Arena. Today's Main Players: Keeper Kasey Keller, midfielders Claudio Reyna, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and strikers Eddie Johnson along with Brian McBride.

See the United States National football team pictured above.

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Team History
First International:	Unofficial: USA 0 - 1 Canada (Newark, USA; November 28, 1885) Official: Sweden 2 - 3 USA (Stockholm, Sweden; August 20, 1916)
Largest win:	USA 8 - 1 Cayman Islands (Mission Viejo, USA; November 14, 1993) USA 7 - 0 El Salvador (Los Angeles, USA; December 5, 1993) USA 7 - 0 Barbados (Foxborough, USA; August 20, 2000)
Worst defeat:	USA 0 - 10 England (New York City, USA; May 27, 1964)
World Cup Appearances:	8 (First in 1930) Best result 3rd Place, 1930
CONCACAF Gold Cup Appearances:	8 (First in 1991) Best result Winners, 1991, 2002, 2005
World Cup Record:	1930 - Semifinals 1934 - Round 1 1938 - Withdrew 1950 - Round 1 1954 to 1986 - Did not qualify 1990 - Round 1 1994 - Round 2 1998 - Round 1 2002 - Quarterfinals 2006 - Qualified
Selected Famous Players:	Chris Armas, DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard Edward Johnson, Cobi Jones, Kasey Keller, Clint Mathis, Brian McBride John O'Brien, Oguchi Onyewu, Eddie Pope, Claudio Reyna, Josh Wolff