Though the United States is no longer in contention in South Africa 2010, I thought it would be fun to unearth a few tidbits about American performance in anticipation of tomorrow's two big games, Uruguay vs. Ghana and Brazil vs. Netherlands.(A) Despite everything we've been led to believe, America and soccer weren't always strange bedfellows.
In the first World Cup ever, the United States were considered favorites to win. The USA was the only big country with a professional league that even bothered showing up. The team went on lose to Argentina in the quarter finals, but still, not bad for a team that went 40 years between performances (1950-1990).
(B) Twenty years later, in the 1950 World Cup, the US pulled off one of sport's great upsets of all time by beating the English. By now, we all know this story.
What history books are reluctant to tell us is that in qualifying for the World Cup of 1950, the United States lost five consecutive games with a combined score of 41-3. Yikes.
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