USA Draw to Open Qualifying with Mexico

On This Day in 1965, a Power Struggle and Penalty Drama Ahead of World Cup Qualifying

As the United States prepared to begin its 1966 World Cup qualifying campaign, internal turmoil threatened to derail the team before it could even take the field. The American federation had assembled what it hoped would be its strongest side since its last World Cup appearance in 1950. However, leadership issues quickly emerged during its preparation camp in Bermuda.

Head coach George Meyer, who had planned to utilize his Hungarian assistant Geza Henni primarily as a goalkeeping coach given Henni's experience as Hungary's national team keeper in the 1940s, found himself in an unexpected power struggle. During a pre-match theory lesson, Meyer carefully drew up tactical diagrams for the team, only to be publicly contradicted by Henni, who declared, "This is all fine and dandy, but this is not the way we are going to do it." The disagreement, previously hidden from the players, created confusion about who was actually leading the team.

The troubles continued right up to the kickoff of their opening qualifier. Walter Chyzowych, slated to start at center forward, was scratched from the U.S. lineup just before the match for violating curfew. Team officials had discovered him in a hotel room with a woman – who turned out to be his wife helping him get settled in a separate room – but the decision had already been made.

Despite these distractions, the Americans took the field at the Los Angeles Coliseum on March 7 before 23,000 spectators for their crucial opening qualifier against Mexico. The visitors struck first in the 35th minute when Jose Gonzalez beat American goalkeeper Victor Gerley with a well-placed 25-yard shot. The U.S. showed resilience in the second half, with Wolodymir Schmotolocha equalizing from an indirect free kick shortly after the restart. Helmut Bicek then gave the Americans a surprising lead on the hour mark, pouncing on a rebound after a shot deflected off Mexican goalkeeper Tony Carbajal.

The game's most controversial moment came late when Gerley, harassed by an opponent, reacted by kicking the ball against the Mexican player instead of clearing it from the area. The referee awarded a penalty, which Reyes converted to level the score at 2-2.

The qualifying road ahead remained challenging. The teams were scheduled to meet again in Mexico City just five days later before a crowd of 75,000. The U.S. would then face Honduras in a must-win situation to keep its World Cup hopes alive. Having already defeated Honduras twice (1-0 and 3-0), Mexico remained in a strong position to advance from the three-team group.

While the draw represented a promising start to the campaign, the match highlighted the growing competitiveness of American soccer and the organizational challenges plaguing the program as it sought to return to the World Cup stage. It was the American's third-ever result against Mexico, with the first being the 4-2 win in 1934 in Rome and the other five years earlier — a 3-3 draw.