If the England team of 2010 are in any danger of complacency about playing the USA in the Group Stages of the World Cup in South Africa, they need only open their history books, and find the last time the two sides met in the competition. Sixty years ago the countries met for the first time in international football during the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, and the USA caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament by beating England 1-0 thanks to a first half goal from Haitian-born player Joe Gaetjens.
England Beat USA in Friendly Internationals
England gained some revenge for this defeat in two friendly internationals during the 1950's . In 1953 the teams met at the Yankee Stadium in New York, with England recording a 6-3 victory thanks to two goals apiece from legendary forwards Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse. Six years later the sides met again at the Wrigley Stadium in Los Angeles, and although the USA took an early lead, England hit back to win 8-1, with Bobby Charlton scoring a hat-trick.
The next encounter proved even more humbling for the USA, when in 1964 the teams played a friendly match at the Downing Stadium in New York. England led 3-0 at half-time with two goals from Roger Hunt and one from Fred Pickering. In the second half things deteriorated badly for the Americans, as both Hunt and Pickering completed their hat-tricks, with Hunt going on to bag a fourth. Further goals from Terry Paine, and Bobby Charlton gave England a 10-0 win.
As the appetite for soccer began to dwindle in America, and the teams were seldom involved in the same tournaments, the teams did not meet again for more than twenty years, when England travelled to Los Angeles for another friendly fixture. The England team of the eighties were not as formidable as the side from 1964, which had gone on to win the World Cup two years later, but they were still too strong for the USA. Two goals each from Gary Lineker and Kerry Dixon gave them complete control, before Trevor Steven completed a 5-0 rout.
USA Visit Wembley For the First Time
A new interest in soccer was sparked in the USA when the 1994 World Cup was scheduled to be held there. England’s attempt to qualify for that tournament was already in tatters by the time they travelled to Boston to meet the USA in another friendly in 1993, and the match proved to be another unhappy one under the ill-fated stewardship of manager Graham Taylor. Goals from John Dooley and Alexei Lalas gave the USA a shock 2-0 victory, their first over England since 1950, ending a run of four heavy defeats. England did not have to wait long for revenge however. In 1994, after the World Cup in which the USA reached the second round, the American team was invited to play at Wembley Stadium for the first time. The first meeting of the sides away from the American continent ended in a 2-0 win for England, with Alan Shearer hitting both goals.
This proved to be the last match between England and the USA of the Twentieth Century, and the teams have met only twice in the new millennium. In 2005 they played a friendly international at Soldier Field in Chicago, which England won 2-1, Kieran Richardson scoring twice for England before Clint Dempsey replied late on for the USA. The most recent meeting between the teams came at Wembley in 2008, when England managed a third successive win over America, goals from John Terry and Steven Gerrard giving them a 2-0 victory.
In nine matches between the nations England have won seven, with the USA winning two. England have scored thirty-five goals to eight from America. However, the only competitive match between the two teams remains the one played at the Mineiro Stadium in the 1950 World Cup, and that is the result the USA will be trying to repeat when they match up again in South Africa.
Jonathan Squirrell - Jon Squirrell is a freelance writer and 3-dimensional cartoonist currently living on Humberside. As well as writing for Suite 101, Jon ...
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