On This Day in 1998, with the World Cup Looming, U.S. Shines in Austria After Harkes's Dismissal
With the 1998 World Cup just two months away, the U.S. Men's National Team faced mounting questions. Manager Steve Sampson had decided to drop captain John Harkes – one of the country's most accomplished players – citing "technical and leadership reasons." The injury to Eric Wynalda, the team's career-leading scorer with 32 goals, a few weeks earlier added further uncertainty. The San Jose Clash forward was expected to miss at least six weeks with a ligament injury in his left knee. Against this backdrop of controversy and concern, Sampson boldly predicted that the United States would win a World Cup "in 10 to 15 years," calling his squad "one of the most underrated teams in the world."
On April 22, exactly three years after Sampson took over as head coach, the Americans traveled to Vienna for a critical World Cup tuneup against Austria. The match would mark the debut of Sampson's experimental 3-6-1 formation, featuring a cluster of midfielders – Jeff Agoos, Thomas Dooley, Claudio Reyna, Frankie Hejduk, Cobi Jones and Preki – supported by three defenders in Mike Burns, Alexi Lalas and Eddie Pope, with Roy Wegerle as the lone striker. More significantly, it would be the team's first match without Harkes, who had captained the national team since 1996 and played significant roles in both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.
"Chemistry is one of the most important elements to a team being successful," Sampson had told reporters when explaining Harkes' exclusion. "At the top of chemistry must be leadership that allows players to feel easy about themselves and be relaxed and have a semblance of discipline."
In dropping Harkes, Sampson clarified that he wanted the 24-year-old Reyna to step up and take more responsibility. "I really didn't feel that Claudio was playing with the level of freedom, the level of enthusiasm, that he plays with at Wolfsburg," Sampson had explained. "In part, maybe I haven't been clear enough that I want him to carry the team more and be more responsible for the outcome of the team success."
Reyna's response in Vienna couldn't have been more emphatic. After a listless first half in which the Americans spent the first 17 minutes trapped in their own end, Reyna orchestrated a second-half explosion that resulted in a stunning 3-0 victory over the Austrians before 17,000 spectators.
"I got more room because the whole team played well," Reyna said afterward. "They had to respect the speed of guys like Frankie, and that allowed me to go one-on-one."
Nine minutes into the second half, Reyna sliced through two defenders before feeding Frankie Hejduk for an easy tap-in. The 23-year-old California native – who had previously represented his country as a surfer – celebrated with a dance "worthy of Bob Marley," as one reporter described. The goal came as sweet redemption for Hejduk, who had an earlier effort ruled offside in the 18th minute.
As the match neared its conclusion, Reyna delivered another moment of brilliance in the 89th minute with a backheel pass that found Brian McBride in space. The forward drove home a shot from 18 yards, giving the Americans a 2-0 lead against an increasingly demoralized Austrian defense.
Reyna capped his masterclass in the final minute, embarking on a solo run across the top of the box before unleashing a blistering shot inside the near post. It was his sixth goal in 58 appearances for the national team, putting an exclamation point on what Sampson called an "exceptional" performance.
"The results were super for us," Reyna said, noting that Austria's style was similar to that of the Germans, whom the U.S. would face in their World Cup opener on June 15.
The victory represented a much-needed confidence boost for a team that had struggled since its 1-0 upset of defending World Cup champion Brazil on February 10. In subsequent matches, the U.S. lost to Mexico, the Netherlands, and Belgium but managed only to draw against Paraguay.
"If anything, my decisions [about the final squad] just got more difficult," Sampson said after the match. "But I prefer it that way."
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Indeed, the performance of several young players complicated Sampson's selection process for the final World Cup roster, which would be announced in the coming weeks. Of the four players Sampson had singled out for evaluation, two made strong impressions – goal scorer Hejduk and attacking midfielder Brian Maisonneuve – while Chad Deering needed "another look" and David Wagner was replaced at halftime.
The match also showcased Sampson's dramatic evolution as a coach. Once known for trusting his players and nurturing team spirit, he gradually adopted a more autocratic approach, emphasizing video analysis and tactical adjustments. Harkes, in his autobiography Captain For Life and Other Temporary Assignments, would later describe this transformation: "You've heard of micro-managing? Well, Steve was micro-coaching . . . Not having played professionally, let alone internationally, and without a successful coaching career behind him, Steve's book smarts lacked credibility to a group of guys who had hundreds and hundreds of caps among them. It had been said that the more he coached, the worse we got."
The Austria match seemed to confirm Sampson's belief that fresh blood – and his new 3-6-1 formation – would serve the U.S. well in France. The coach would continue to make bold personnel moves, including the controversial addition of Bundesliga center-half David Regis, a native of Martinique with an American wife who spoke almost no English. Regis would eventually make the final roster and appear in every U.S. match at the World Cup.
The convincing victory against Austria came at a pivotal moment for American soccer off the field as well. The United States Soccer Federation announced a landmark marketing deal with International Marketing Group and Nike just days earlier, expected to generate as much as $500 million over the next dozen years.
"We now have the best of all possible scenarios for soccer in the U.S.A.," said Alan Rothenberg, the outgoing president of U.S. Soccer. "The future is now 100 percent secure for the sport."
As the Austrian fans rose to cheer Reyna's goal in the game's final moments, the World Cup suddenly didn't seem so daunting. However, the optimism generated by the performance in Vienna would prove short-lived.