Moore Is a Lift for U.S.
It took an inspired performance by a veteran player from Irvine to put the United States into the World Cup on Sunday, but Joe-Max Moore doesn’t deserve all the credit.
The former UCLA standout scored both goals as the U.S. defeated Jamaica, 2-1, in front of 40,483 at Foxboro Stadium, but the victory would have meant little had it not been for Stern John.
John scored the lone goal as previously winless Trinidad and Tobago stunned Honduras, 1-0, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and that result, combined with Mexico’s inability to do better than a 0-0 tie on the road in Costa Rica, secured the Americans a place in their fourth consecutive World Cup.
“I would have bet my house on the result in Honduras not being what it was today,” U.S. Coach Bruce Arena said. “It’s crazy. It’s just an unusual series of events. We’re real happy. We deserve to be through. I’m proud of our team.”
The game was always going to be emotional, featuring pregame tributes to the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but the events of Sunday morning added even more to the atmosphere. Arena said he told the American players in the locker room an hour or so before the game about the retaliatory U.S. aerial attacks on terrorist positions in Afghanistan.
“It wasn’t used as a motivation, the guys were ready to play, but I think it was right to tell them,” he said.
Arena selected his ninth different starting lineup in as many qualifying games this year, the most notable changes being the return of Claudio Reyna and John O’Brien in the midfield and the partnership of Moore and Landon Donovan up front.
It took less than four minutes for the new-look lineup to strike. The U.S. was awarded a free kick on the left flank after Chris Armas was fouled by Jamaican defender Theodore Whitmore. Reyna floated the kick into the goal area and Moore stooped to send a glancing header into the far corner, with Jamaican goalkeeper Aaron Lawrence guarding the near post.
“Claudio played a great ball in to the near post and I was able to beat my man to the spot,” Moore said.
Jamaica, which had to win to keep its qualifying chances alive, took only 10 minutes to pull even.
A throw-in on the left by Robert Scarlett reached Fitzroy Simpson, who sent the ball forward to James Lawrence at the top of the penalty area.
Momentarily unmarked by U.S. defenders, Lawrence chested the ball down, turned and fired an angled shot past U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
Moore almost scored again four minutes into the second half when O’Brien crossed the ball from the left and Moore hit it on the volley from point-blank range only to see the goalkeeper make an unbelievable save, deflecting the ball over the crossbar with his shoulder.
The score remained tied until the 81st minute, when Donovan was upended in the penalty area by Tyrone Marshall. Salvadoran referee Rodolfo Sibrian pointed immediately to the penalty spot.
Moore had no hesitation in demanding to take the kick, and Arena said he wasn’t going to argue. “I don’t really care [who takes it],” he said. “The only thing I care about is that it ends up in the back of the net.”
Moore fired the ball low into the right corner, with goalkeeper Lawrence going the other way.
“There were a few guys who were in line to take the penalty,” Moore said. “Earnie [Stewart] came up to me and said, ‘Do you feel good?’ I said, ‘Yeah,’ and so he just gave me the ball and I picked my corner.”
Five minutes later, Moore came off to a huge ovation and was replaced by Cobi Jones, his former teammate at UCLA.
“He was fabulous,” Jones said of Moore’s play. “He did everything he needed to do. He scored two goals. He stepped up for the penalty kick and said, ‘I want it’ and he slotted it. That’s a good forward.”
Arena figures the team only can get better now that it has qualified.
“We have six, seven, eight months to produce a better team than we’ve been in 2000 and 2001,” Arena said. “I’m optimistic that we will put a better team on the field in the World Cup next year.”
Costa Rica and the U.S. have secured two of the three World Cup places allotted to teams from the North and Central American and Caribbean [CONCACAF] region.
Only one place is left and it will go to the winner of the Nov. 11 game between Mexico and Honduras in Mexico City.
Mexico needs only a tie, but Honduras has to win.
The U.S. doesn’t care which one makes it.
“I guess the scenario couldn’t have turned out any better today,” said U.S. defender Greg Vanney. “We’re in.”
