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Gaetjens, who was not an American citizen at the time but eligible to play for the National Team after he’d expressed his intention to become naturalized (something allowable under FIFA rules at the time), would only earn three caps with the US. They shook our hands and were respectful.”īorn and raised in Haiti, Gaetjens moved to New York to study at Columbia University and worked part-time as a dishwasher. The English players were really good sports. The crowd had really been behind us for most of the game. That never happened.”īahr recalled that the Brazilian crowd “ran onto the field and lifted Joe (Gaetjens) on their shoulders and paraded him around the field. There are also stories about how we walked around in straw hats and smoking cigars before the game. In a 2010 interview with US Soccer Players, Bahr recalled the win, saying, “It was no fluke. Editors around the world questioned the wire reports following the game, figuring the score was a typographical error. The headed ball went past goalkeeper Bert Williams and the Americans took a lead they would never relinquish. The game’s only goal came in the 37th minute when Joey Gaetjens redirected Walter Bahr’s 25-yard shot into England’s goal. Before a crowd of 10,000, the Americans and English squared off in what would become one of the most talked about games in history. After losing to Spain 3-1, the USA took on England on June 29 at Estadio Independencia in Belo Horizonte. Placed in Group 2 with England, Spain and Chile, pundits at the time expected an early trip home for the Americans. To call the USA underdogs fails to grasp what was at stake in Brazil. The squad of part-time players, the USA returning to the World Cup for the first time since a semifinal finish in 1934, and the disinterest of the American public. Friendlies between major powers were still a big deal in this era, and two years before England had scored a landmark victory when it beat Italy 4-0 in Turin.” Going into this World Cup, it probably was co-favorite along with Brazil. “This was the first World Cup it had entered and it had not yet been dethroned as masters of the sport.
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“England was considered pretty good (at the time),” noted historian Roger Allaway.
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Hall of Fame induction for the squad in 1976, the 2005 movie about the game, and the United States once again meeting England at World Cup level in 2010.
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For the players involved, the game seems to return to prominence every few years. Although the Americans would fail to get out of the opening round, it did produce arguably the biggest win in World Cup history. After crashing out of the 1934 World Cup in the first round, the United States failed to qualify for the 1938 edition in France.įollowing World War II, the USA fielded a team of semi-pros and qualified for the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil by virtue of 1-1 draw and a 5-2 victory over Cuba. On an international level, the United States was a non-factor. Soccer remained the preferred game of immigrants in this country but struggled to find the mainstream acceptance baseball and football enjoyed. Twenty years after the United States reached the semifinals of the 1930 World Cup, the National Team found itself in a vulnerable position.
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To this day, it is considered by many to be one of the biggest – if not the biggest – victories in National Team history. When the USA defeated England 1-0 at the 1950 World Cup, it sent shockwaves across the soccer world. By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Feb 25, 2013) US Soccer Players – Nearly 63 years later, it remains one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.