Changes Germane to U.S. Victory, 3-0
The United States has stumbled upon the perfect formula for fielding a competitive soccer team: Send more troops to Germany.
Using no fewer than six players who were either born in Germany or have played there, the U.S. defeated Canada, 3-0, in front of 28,896 at Stanford Stadium on Sunday in a World Cup ’98 qualifying match.
The victory moved the Americans into a first-place tie on points with Mexico, which was held to a 0-0 tie by Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Sunday.
It was Canada’s worst loss to the United States in almost 71 years, or since a 6-2 defeat in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November of 1926.
Coach Steve Sampson made a handful of key changes in the U.S. starting lineup from the team that had been tied, 0-0, in Jamaica two weeks earlier. Key to the victory was the introduction of David Wagner to partner Eric Wynalda up front, moving Thomas Dooley from defense to midfield and bringing Michael Mason on as a second-half substitute.
Wagner, Dooley and Mason all are German-born sons of U.S. servicemen. Wagner and Dooley play for Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga, the German first division; Mason plays for Hamburg in the same league.
The German connection was involved in each of the U.S. goals.
The first came in the eighth minute, when Canada’s goalkeeper, Craig Forrest, clattered into American midfielder Claudio Reyna in the penalty area while both were going for a loose ball. Reyna plays for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
Argentine referee Luis Hector Oliveto pointed immediately to the penalty spot, and Wynalda, who used to play for VfL Bochum and FC Saarbruecken in Germany, improved his all-time record by scoring his 29th national team goal.
The U.S. doubled its lead six minutes later. Jeff Agoos, who played one season for SV Wehen in the German third division, sent a corner kick into the box. The ball was flicked on by Wagner, and Eddie Pope, rushing in at the far post, headed it into the net for his first international goal.
The final goal, in the 89th minute, was the best of the three.
Wynalda sent a pass down the right flank for Mason to run onto. Mason, 25 and making his U.S. debut, cut in toward the net, then fooled the Canadian defense with a superb pass to Ernie Stewart, the Dutch-based winger overlapping to his outside.
Stewart’s shot gave Forrest no chance and capped a game in which the U.S. was clearly the better team.
The Canadians dominated portions of the game, but gave the U.S. defense few problems. As a result, goalkeeper Kasey Keller was able to record his fifth consecutive shutout in qualifying games for France ’98.
The play of the German-American newcomers, Wagner and Mason, and their impact on the rest of the team, suggests U.S. chances of reaching next year’s finals are improving.
“That’s the best we’ve seen anyone combine with Eric,” Sampson said of Wagner’s contribution. “He’s comfortable playing with his back to goal [and keeping possession of the ball], and that gives Eric the freedom he needs.”
Wynalda, who squandered several scoring chances and admitted he should have been sharper, said he enjoyed playing alongside Wagner.
“A lot of people thought we would have trouble communicating,” he said, “but we just spoke German all the time.”
“My impressions are very good,” said Wagner, who was playing in only his second game for the U.S. “I am very proud to be here with the U.S. team, and I hope I have convinced Steve [Sampson] that I can play again.”
Sampson, strangely, was less pleased with Mason’s performance.
“Obviously, the assist on the goal was a brilliant pass,” he said. “It was well-timed and it was a great run by Ernie [Stewart], but defensively I was not pleased. He [Mason] knows that. His understanding of how to play that [midfield] position must improve.”
But Wynalda was impressed:
“It took him a long time to settle down, to be quite honest. He came in with 30 minutes to play and he needed to settle down. He made some mistakes and some bad passes. Everybody got him back into it. In Germany, if you make a mistake you’ve got 10 guys yelling and screaming at you.
“Us being as positive as we are, saying, ‘That’s OK, next play, next play,’ he just kind of lit up, he got this smile on his face and he really loosened up.”
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World Cup Qualifying
North and Central America and Caribbean Finals
Top three teams qualify
*--*
Team W L T GF GA Pts Mexico 1 0 1 4 0 4 United States 1 0 1 3 0 4 Costa Rica 0 0 1 0 0 1 Jamaica 0 0 1 0 0 1 El Salvador 0 0 0 0 0 0 Canada 0 2 0 0 7 0
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Sunday’s Results
United States 3, Canada 0
Costa Rica 0, Mexico 0
March 23
United States at Costa Rica
