Over There, U.S. Soccer Team Finally Wins, 4-1
For the first time in almost 11 years Wednesday, the United States soccer team beat another national team in a full international game played in Europe.
In 1979, Luxembourg was vanquished, 2-0. This time, it was Liechtenstein, 4-1.
The United States is not so accomplished in international soccer that it can throw back any victory, no matter how small. But it is a sign of this particular team’s maturity that some players reacted with as much enthusiasm as if they had been on the winning side of an intra-squad scrimmage.
“‘Don’t get anybody’s hopes up,” forward Bruce Murray warned reporters, looking ahead to the team’s first-round World Cup games in Italy against Czechoslovakia on June 10, Italy on June 14 and Austria on June 19.
The team should have a better idea of the kind of soccer it will have to play after its final warmup game Saturday in St. Gallen, Switzerland, against Switzerland, a formidable opponent by Argentina’s standards. The Swiss recently played Argentina, the World Cup’s defending champion, to a 1-1 tie.
U.S. Coach Bob Gansler said he will use his regular starting lineup against Switzerland, providing that midfielder Tab Ramos and defender Desmond Armstrong are fit after nursing slight injuries.
Besides those two, other regulars who did not play Wednesday include midfielders Paul Caligiuri and John Harkes and defender Steve Trittschuh. Only two regulars, defender Mike Windischmann and forward Peter Vermes, were among the first 11. Goalkeepers Tony Meola and Kasey Keller each played a half.
But while the game might have been nothing more than a full-dress workout for many of the U.S. players, it no doubt will be remembered fondly by San Diego State’s Marcelo Balboa of Cerritos and UCLA freshman Chris Henderson of Everett, Wash. Each scored his first full international goal.
There also was a first of a sort for Liechtenstein. When Donath Marxer scored 11 minutes into the first half to tie the score, it was Liechtenstein’s first goal since a 1-0 victory over Malaysia in 1982.
The drought is not quite as bad as it might seem because Liechtenstein had not played a game since 1986 because of political conflicts within its soccer federation.
The first half was an example of why there are not that many people in the United States interested in soccer.
Henderson started the flurry that led to the first goal by ricocheting a hard shot from about 20 yards out off the leg of a Liechtenstein defender. The ball bounced back to Vermes just outside the penalty area. His left-footed shot found its mark.
While most of the U.S. players were still congratulating Vermes, the Swiss referee started play. With a manpower advantage, Liechtenstein pushed the ball downfield. U.S. midfielder Neil Covone stole the ball, but his attempt to clear it bounced off an opponent and back toward the U.S. goal. Marxer reached it before Windischmann and beat Keller with a shot into the right corner.
“We were still celebrating,” Henderson said. “We can’t let that happen when it counts.”
The action in the remaining 34 minutes of the first half would have registered as a straight line on an electrocardiogram.
“We fell victim to their style,” Gansler said. “It was a low-pressure defense, which is a fool’s paradise for us. You see all that territory and you walk it up. We played too slowly.”
Eight minutes into the second half, Balboa scored on a header from 15 yards out after a crossing pass from defender Paul Krumpe of Redondo Beach.
In the 65th minute, Murray faked a shot right from inside the penalty area and passed left to Eric Wynalda of Westlake Village, who scored into the right corner.
Ten minutes later, Covone’s pass through the defense found Henderson in the open, and he beat goalkeeper Stefan Wolfinger. The defenders thought they trapped Henderson off-sides, but they lost that argument.
By then, the game also was lost.
At 8-6-1 in 1990, the United States is guaranteed a winning record entering the World Cup. In the past seven games, the team is 5-1-1.
