In SA 30 Years Ago: The USA's 1990 World Cup opener 'Baptism of Fire'

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 the 50th 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 the Czechs scored again in the 79th and 90th minutes.

Ridge Mahoney's report from Italy included the USA's highlight: "Caligiuri ran half the length of the field to score with a half hour left to play and a revived U.S. team delighted the crowd with a brief flurry of pressure." But Tab Ramos' half-volley went wide and his shot from 16 yards too high before the Czechs regained momentum.


2 comments about "In SA 30 Years Ago: The USA's 1990 World Cup opener 'Baptism of Fire'".
  1. Santiago 1314, June 10, 2020 at 10:03 a.m.

    Baptism by Fire.!!!  Got a Link to the Game Report you can put in the article.??? Sure would like to see that again.!!!

  2. Matthew Shaddock, June 11, 2020 at 10:19 a.m.

    If you could please upload a sharper picture of the article, I'd love to read it. It's blurry unfortunately. That or a link to the text online? Thanks!

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