After a 40-year absence from the World Cup, the USA qualified for Italia 90 and on June 10 in Florence opened with a 5-1 loss to Czechoslovakia. After falling behind 2-0 by halftime and 3-0 in the50th minute, defender Paul Caligiuri, who had scored the goal against Trinidad & Tobago that clinched the World Cup spot, gave the USA some hope with a 61st minute strike. But theCzechs scored again in the 79th and 90th minutes.
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