WASHINGTON, D.C. — The last time the United States hosted a World Cup, Brazil had to get past prime Dennis Bergkamp and the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and outlast Roberto Baggio and Italy in a thrilling penalty shootout.
But 31 years later, and with the US on the cusp of hosting soccer’s greatest competition once more, Brazilian captain Dunga — the man who lifted the trophy all those years ago at the Rose Bowl — still can’t quite get over just how difficult a test the Americans gave them in the Round of 16.
With over 84,000 packed into Stanford Stadium, on Independence Day 1994 no less, the No. 1-ranked Brazilians should have had little trouble with the No. 23 Americans.
Instead, a bevy of missed chances in the first half gave way to controversy when Leonardo picked up a red card three minutes from halftime to put the South American powers down a man.
It did little to deter Brazil from controlling play, and Bebeto ultimately found the winner in the 72nd minute to lift the favorites to a 1-0 victory.
“That was probably the hardest game that Brazil played during that World Cup,” Dunga said through a translator at FIFA’s legends panel to help celebrate the 2026 World Cup Draw on Friday at the Kennedy Center. “It was Independence Day, there was a lot of motivation behind the Stars and Stripes, fair to say.”
It was as commendable a performance as the Americans could have delivered, considering the state of soccer in the country. There was no professional league in the United States; Major League Soccer made its debut two years later.
Only 10 of the 22 members of the 1994 squad played professionally overseas, meaning the other 12 Americans only trained amongst themselves — one of them being center back Marcelo Balboa.
“You dream about it, you breathe it. You’re in your backyard taking that penalty kick,” Balboa began. “So when you do get the play in the World Cup, and you get to play the best team in the world, and you hang in there, and you’re wondering, ‘We’re really in this game.’
“No one gave us a chance in ’94… But to have the respect, and I remember Bebeto saying the same thing that Dunga now is reiterating, that it was one of their hardest games because we were a team that was going to fight, we were going to scratch, and we were going to play until the 110th minute. Whatever it took to try to get the job done.”
The American game has come a significant way over the last three decades. MLS is beginning to cement itself as a viable league on the world stage, and local products are being jettisoned to play in the top leagues in Europe.
It was that 1994 team that provided the spark, helped along by a 4th of July in California when they held their own against the titans of world soccer.
“We laid a great foundation,” Balboa said. “The US is on the global map because people are finally coming to look at our players. They’re looking at our academy players, they’re signing them young, and that’s what we always wanted. The next step is this World Cup. This team has a lot of pressure… This is what we’ve always wanted. We always wanted the pressure from you guys on our players when we don’t perform. We’re going to have an opportunity to show the world how much we’ve grown over 30 years in soccer. Hopefully, we do a good job of that.”
