Monthly Archives: June 2002

By Paul Kennedy in Seoul Daegu suddenly becomes the place to be Monday afternoon: South Korea-USA, the meeting of the surprise leaders of Group D. The U.S. players and coaching staff tried to put the big win over Portugal quickly behind them. Coach Bruce Arena said he was in bed by 11 o'clock. ''You've got […]

Friday, June 7 in Sapporo (7:30 am ET) GROUP F: ARGENTINA (1-0-0, 3 pts.) vs. ENGLAND (0-1-0, 1 pt.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 7:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 3 pm ET/PT) The most-anticipated match of the first round takes place at the Sapporo Dome. Both teams might make changes on their left side. The only […]

Friday, June 7 in Jeonju (5 am ET) Group B: SPAIN (1-0-0, 3 pts.) vs. PARAGUAY (0-1-0, 1 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 5 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 12:30 pm ET/PT) Spain will be out for revenge. Four years ago, a 0-0 tie with Paraguay cost the Spaniards a spot in the second round. Fernando […]

Friday, June 7 in Kobe (2:30 am ET) Group F: SWEDEN (0-1-0, 1 pt.) vs. NIGERIA (0-0-1, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 2:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) Sweden is riding high after a great second-half performance in its 1-1 tie with England. Nigeria was not expected to beat Argentina, but the […]

GROUP H: Russia takes group lead with Tunisia win (2-0) * Tunisia, dubbed by some to be the worst team in the field — a distinction emphatically taken by Saudi Arabia — gave a creditable performance, but for two costly blunders. The Tunisians fell on two Russian goals within five minutes. Tunisia keeper gifted the […]

By Ridge Mahoney in Suwon One team fought for every ball and flew into every tackle. The other team didn't. One team knew it needed its best game to win. The other believed it could play below its best and still win comfortably. The United States was right, and won. Portugal was wrong, and lost. […]

World Cup Group D June 5 in Suwon USA 3 Portugal 2. Goals: OÆBrien 4, own goal (Jorge Costa) 30, McBride 36; Beto 39, own goal (Agoos) 71. USA — Friedel, Sanneh, Agoos, Pope (Llamosa, 80), Hejduk, Stewart (Jones, 46), Mastroeni, OÆBrien, Beasley, Donovan (Moore, 75), McBride. Portugal — Vitor Baia, Jorge Costa (Jorge Andrade, […]

USA-Portugal goal summaries: 4th minute: Earnie StewartÆs long-range free kick is headed out for a corner kick. Stewart takes it and finds Brian McBride, whose sharp header is deflected by Portugal keeper Vitor Baia to John OÆBrien at the inside corner of the penalty area. OÆBrien hammers the ball into the net. (USA 1 Portugal […]

U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena talked with Soccer America after the 3-2 win over Portugal. He didn't appear to be surprised at most of what went right for the U.S. Nor was he fazed when circumstances started to go against the Americans' favor in the second half. Interview by Paul Kennedy SOCCER AMERICA: It […]

Press conference quotes following the USAÆs 3-2 win over Portugal on June 5: Bruce Arena. U.S. coach ''I think this victory will grab the attention of a lot of people in the United States. However, this World Cup is not over. We've got to prepare for Korea, and our goal is to win that game.'' […]

The USAÆs 3-2 win over Portugal in its opening game of World Cup 2002 marks the AmericansÆ fifth win in World Cup history. In six previous World Cup appearances, the USA notched four wins, lost 12, and tied once. The three goals notched in the win over Portugal matches the USAÆs most productive performances at […]

The USA pulled off a World Cup shocker, beating Portugal 3-2 on June 5. The USA took a 3-0 lead on goals by John OÆBrien, a Portugal own goal (Jorge Costa deflecting a Landon Donovan cross into his own net) and Brian McBride (a diving header). Beto pulled Portugal — considered by many a World […]

By Ridge Mahoney in Seoul The final days of preparation for the U.S. World Cup opener against Portugal (June 5) have read like a mystery novel. Several spots in the starting lineup are still publicly unknown. But it's no secret the Americans are facing one of the best teams they have ever faced in a […]

USA 1 FRIEDEL Brad 2 HEJDUK Frankie 3 BERHALTER Gregg 4 MASTROENI Pablo 5 O'BRIEN John 6 REGIS David 7 LEWIS Eddie 8 STEWART Earnie 9 MOORE Joe-Max 10 REYNA Claudio 11 MATHIS Clint 12 AGOOS Jeff 13 JONES Cobi 14 CHERUNDOLO Steve 15 WOLFF Josh 16 LLAMOSA Carlos 17 BEASLEY DaMarcus 18 KELLER Kasey […]

Group H: RUSSIA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. TUNISIA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 2:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) Russian coach Oleg Rmantsev says reaching the second round is the minimum to expect. The Russians, who got a break when Japan and Belgium tied, will be heavily favored against Tunisia. ROSTERS […]

Wednesday, June 5 in Ibaraki (7:30 am ET) Group E: GERMANY (1-0-0, 3 pts.) vs. IRELAND (0-1-0, 1 pt.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 7:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 3 pm ET/PT; Tape, June 6, 3 pm, ESPN Classic) Germany put to rest any doubts that it would not being a factor, putting eight goals past […]

On June 4, one day before the U.S. opener against Portugal, U.S. coach Bruce Arena is still unsure about the status of his captain, Claudio Reyna Bruce Arena, U.S. coach On Claudio ReynaÆs injury status: ''We will see how he feels today or tomorrow. Whether you realize it or not, there are a lot of […]

Thursday, June 6 in Daegu (2:30 am ET) Group A: DENMARK (1-0-0, 3 pts.) vs. SENEGAL (1-0-0, 3 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 2:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) Will Senegal's Lions of Terenga be in for a letdown? They won't be able to sit back as they did against France, opening up […]

GROUP C: Former MLS player helps Costa Rica past China (2-0) * Defender Mauricio Wright, formerly of the San Jose Earthquakes and New England Revs, rewarded coach Alexandre Guimaraes for making him a late World Cup selection by scoring Costa Rica's second goal. Former Earthquake Mauricio Solis also started for the Ticos. * The game […]

Group A: DENMARK (1-0-0, 3 pts.) vs. SENEGAL (1-0-0, 3 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 2:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) Will Senegal's Lions of Terenga be in for a letdown? They won't be able to sit back as they did against France, opening up space for speedster El-Hadji Diouf. The Danes' hard […]

Thursday, June 6 in Busan (7:30 am ET) Group E: FRANCE (0-0-1, 0 pts.) vs. URUGUAY (0-0-1, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 7:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 3 pm ET/PT) The pressure will be on defending champion France to rebound from its opening loss to Senegal. Youri Djorkaeff, a bust in the opener in […]

Thursday, June 6 in Saitama (5 am ET) Group E: CAMEROON (0-1-0, 1 pt.) vs. SAUDI ARABIA (0-0-1, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 5 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 12:30 pm ET/PT) Will the Saudis suffer another rout? Unlikely. Cameroon is highly fancied in this World Cup, but the Lions rarely pour it on. ROSTERS: […]

Monday, June 4 in Gwangju (2:30 am ET) Group C: CHINA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) vs. COSTA RICA (0-0-0, 0 pts.) (TV: Live, ESPN2, Univision 2:30 am ET; Tape, Telefutura, 10 am ET/PT) The big day for China arrives. Thousands of Chinese fans flew to Korea for China's World Cup debut, and a TV audience of […]

By Ridge Mahoney in Seoul Steeped in soccer he is, but not because he's an American playing for a Dutch team. And it was not because of USA '94 that he first dreamed of playing in the World Cup. U.S. midfielder John O'Brien left Southern California after his senior year in high school to test […]

Three days before his teamÆs opener against Portugal, U.S. coach Bruce Arena discussed the strengths of Claudio Reyna, the tribulations of Jeff Agoos, speculation his starting lineup, and more: Bruce Arena, U.S. coach On whether he is close to deciding on his starters against Portugal, and on whether he will divulge the lineup: ''Yes, we […]