(football fans chanting)
- [Narrator] Believing in something that is
proven totally wrong makes you feel like a fool,
especially when it's something that
in retrospect, seemed destined for failure.
When that failure comes on a global stage, it's even worse.
That's exactly what happened in 2017 when the US mens
national team barely needed to do anything to qualify
for the World Cup, and decided to soil themselves instead.
This is The Worst US Men's National Team Match.
(frightening music)
October 10th 2017, Ato Bolden Stadium in Trinidad.
The United States men's national team is facing off
against Trinidad and Tobago with a great chance
to book their ticket to Russia for the 2018 World Cup.
All that they need to do is win or draw.
As long as they don't lose they'll advance
to their eighth consecutive World Cup.
Hell, even with a loss, they have a decent shot.
Panama and Honduras, who have games simultaneous
to this match-up, both need to win to keep the US out.
If they each lose, then the American result
doesn't matter at all.
And those teams are facing Mexico and Costa Rica,
the two top teams in the group.
while the American squad plays a country with a population
nearly 250 times smaller than the US.
Even if just one of them loses, then the American squad
has a playoff against Australia to make the tournament.
So it's not exactly a guarantee, but they've been given
a 93% chance of advancing to the World Cup.
Their opponent, as far as the tournament goes,
has nothing to play for.
Trinidad and Tobago entered the match-up on a
six game losing streak and already
eliminated from a trip to Russia.
The computers say that the US has an 83% chance
of winning the contest outright,
I mean that's pretty good, right?
I don't know numbers, but it seems decent.
Once the first half kicked off, it became clear they
wouldn't just play this match on paper,
which I suppose is entirely reasonable.
The US got the first chance of the match,
which Jozy Altidore shot over the bar in the seventh minute.
Neither team really took control, but that didn't stop
the American commentators from spewing confidence.
- [Commentator] The US knows it is practically assured
of a trip to Russia, all they have to do is not lose,
play for the draw, but sometimes that can be dangerous.
- [Narrator] Oh come on, this is the US of A,
as a country we're weened on danger.
I mean, as the Trinidadians attack just look how calmly
Omar Gonzalez goes to clear this cross, uh.
- [Commentator] Winchester, not even sure how he did it,
it's a trick shot of sorts.
- [Narrator] Yeah, a trick shot, lets call it that
instead of a seventeenth minute own goal,
which happens to be the first time Trinidad and Tobago
scored against the US since 2008, woof.
Barely a minute later, Trinidad had a chance that
gave Gonzalez an opportunity at redemption,
which he definitely didn't screw up.
- [Commentator] It's putting themselves in a dangerous
situation, and that's a penalty.
- [Narrator] Thankfully, the ref saw it differently.
So for now, Gonzalez won't be forced to walk home.
From there not much went right for the US in the first half.
In the 21st minute they turned the ball over without
making the opposition really have to work for it.
After surviving that turnover,
they quickly gave the ball away again in the same minute,
and once they eventually got it back near
Trinidad's defensive third, they were flagged for offside.
In the 27th minute, for the very first time tonight
the US made the Trinidadian keeper do some work,
but he handled the situation easily
and then the follow up chance by Pulisic rolled wide.
It did look like the Americans were
finally waking up though.
Considering they technically have scored the only goal
in the match and they haven't given out many chances,
there's still reason to hope,
or at least until the 36th minute.
Alvin Jones absolutely crushes a ball from over 30 yards out
and Tim Howard's 38 year old bones
can only watch it sail into the net.
Now down 2-0, the US just looks bad.
While they attempt to stem the tide and limp into half time,
Jones nearly manages another bomb,
but Howard handles this one, albeit awkwardly.
Once the whistle mercifully sounded,
the teams made their way to the locker room
in very different states of surprise.
So the bad news, the Americans are down 2-0 to a team
with a goal differential of negative 13
in the hex entering this match.
But the good news is that both
Panama and Honduras are also losing.
If every result holds, the US will
still be heading to Russia,
despite the fact that for the last year plus
they haven't played the most inspired football.
They dropped their first two contests in this
qualifying round, blowing a chance to draw with Mexico
by giving up a goal in the 88th minute,
then suffering their worst loss to the Ticos
in the history of the USMNT.
That lead to Jurgen Klinsmann getting the boot,
and Bruce Arena reclaiming the position
he had held a decade earlier.
That move has mostly paid off.
Since then, Arena led the squad to
a three three and one record.
The wins came against Trinidad and Tobago,
Panama and Honduras, the three squads below them
in the table coming into tonight.
They won those games by a combined score of 12-0,
but in the other four matches,
they managed just three goals.
In the September match-up against
allegedly over-matched Honduras,
the US barely escaped with a draw thanks to
this 85th minute goal by Bobby Wood.
So thanks to some Jekyll and Hyde performances,
tonight means more than many expected,
and it seems like Arena has finally recognized that.
He subbed in Dempsey to start the second,
hoping to provide an offensive spark,
and the team actually came out firing.
Less than 80 seconds into the half,
Nagbe found Pulisic who calmly got the US closer
to where they feel they deserve to be.
The American fans in attendance absolutely erupt.
(fans cheering)
With the uncontrollable masses urging them on,
the US found more chances.
Bradley sent one in that Altidore got his head on,
but couldn't keep it down.
In the 69th minute, Bradley once again sent a nice ball in
which Dempsey put on goal, but it was parried away.
They continued to create good looks,
and in the 77th, Dempsey sent one in that
kissed the post and rolled away.
With time getting scarce, Altidore tried to make something
happen from the end line, but it was easily corralled.
A couple minutes later, Pulisic centered one that
Bobby Wood put on net, only to once again be turned aside.
One final gasp came in the 94th minute.
Bradley took the corner,
but Gonzalez couldn't find redemption.
Trinidad and Tobago found the corner, dribbled out the clock
and as the final whistle sounded,
the US received a not-so-swift punch to the gut.
A second and third strike followed
as the other results became known.
Honduras and Panama had both pulled off
come from behind upsets.
Honduras had used the Mexican keeper's face
to draw even in the 54th, then just a few minutes later,
took a 3-2 lead that they wouldn't give up.
As for Panama, they had a controversial goal to tie it up
that didn't seem to exactly cross the goal line,
but Roman Torres had a more definitive game winner
in the 88th minute to serve as the
final nail in the American coffin.
But considering the US had made themselves so comfy
in their self-dug grave, they really didn't deserve to have
gotten help from Costa Rica or Mexico.
They had just failed to show up against a team
that they had already beaten 2-0 a few months earlier.
Maybe that created some misguided confidence,
or maybe they didn't understand that from a historical view,
this Trinidadian team that had nothing
to play for in the moment, had their mind set on revenge.
In 1989 these teams faced off with each needing a win
to qualify for the 1990 World Cup.
The US hadn't made the tournament since 1950,
and Trinidad and Tobago hadn't qualified since, ever.
In front of a massive home crowd, Trinidad and Tobago
gave up a 30th minute goal to Paul Caligiuri,
the only goal scored that day.
That sparked the US run of
seven straight World Cup appearances,
a streak that ended thanks to the boot of Alvin Jones,
whose father was on the losing side in '89.
What made the result extra sweet for the victors
was some misguided complaints by
the American squad leading up to the game.
Before the match, Trinidad had been hammered by a rain storm
which is not unusual for an island country.
The US caused a fuss over the fact that
their practice fields essentially had a moat,
and naturally that fuss snowballed
into a media talking point, aimed at the host country
as though they could control the weather.
The Trinidadians felt the disrespect,
and played like a team looking to prove a point.
Now, other defeats contributed to the end
of the World Cup streak, but this was the one where they
knew for a fact what was at stake,
and had complete control over their future.
As Americans, we're more than used to being disappointed,
but with regularity, that turns us numb to the failure,
and we gain a sick sense of optimism that it will
never be as bad as the time before.
We see a glimpse of something we want
and blindly give chase until the failure washes over us,
leaving nothing but the thought that
it will be different in four years.
So the next time that you believe, you believe
that, you believe that we will win, just maybe keep in mind
that anything is possible, nothing is guaranteed,
and even in a perfect world,
we never would have beaten France.
(frightening music)
Thanks for watching, and I'm sorry to
put you through that match.
For a terrible game not involving Team USA,
check out the Worst World Cup match,
or enjoy this more recent episode.
Subscribe to SB Nation, and we'll see you soon.
(upbeat music)