Injury Sidelines Wynalda for World Cup Qualifier

Eric Wynalda, U.S. soccer’s all-time leading goal scorer, will miss Sunday’s key World Cup ’98 qualifying match against El Salvador in San Salvador because of a groin injury.

The San Jose Clash forward was released from the U.S. training camp here Thursday and will not travel with the team when it leaves for El Salvador this afternoon.

“I can’t shoot and I can’t sprint; it’s as simple as that,” Wynalda said.

“There’s no way I can play in this game. It simply won’t work. I did this before and it took me five months to recover. I’m not prepared to throw the whole year away for one game.”

Wynalda, who has scored 30 goals in 79 international matches, has been nursing the injury for almost two months.

Steve Sampson, the U.S. coach, declined to say who would replace Wynalda in the lineup Sunday. He could pair either Jovan Kirovski, David Wagner, Claudio Reyna or Roy Lassiter up front.

Soccer Note

The State Department warned Americans in San Salvador of possible danger if they attend Sunday’s World Cup qualifier between the United States and El Salvador. “The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens who may be planning to attend . . . to consider the danger they and their children might confront at such an event,” the State Department said.