On this date 15-years ago, the United States shocked the world with their dramatic 3-2 victory over a vaunted Portugal squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
The United States led by Bruce Arena were heavy underdogs against Portugal’s Golden Generation squad that included world greats Luis Figo, Rui Costa, and Pauleta. The Americans upset the Portuguese with a dramatic 3-2 win that ultimately propelled the USMNT to a quarterfinal finish at the World Cup.
The Americans went up by three in the first half after notched three first half goals from John O’Brien, an own goal, and an acrobatic finish by Brian McBride. Portugal roared back with a finish from Beto and an own-goal, but the Americans held on for the victory.
The match was loaded with Galaxy connections as Cobi Jones went 45 minutes in the win, while future players Tony Sanneh, Pablo Mastroeni, and Landon Donovan featured. Meanwhile, ex-head coach Bruce Arena and his deputy Dave Sarachan were on the sideline for the USMNT.
Highlights of the match are below:
#OTD in 2002, Presented by @Zyrtec: The #USMNT kickstarts a historic World Cup run with a bang pic.twitter.com/COIlLcAn2Y
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) June 5, 2017
