On This Day in 2004, the US Seizes Control Against El Salvador in World Cup Qualifying
The crucial point salvaged in Kingston's furnace had positioned the United States perfectly for its return to familiar territory. After Brian Ching's dramatic 89th-minute equalizer against Jamaica proved that this American generation possessed the championship mentality to find results when the pressure peaked, Bruce Arena's squad faced a different challenge entirely at Gillette Stadium on September 4: converting opportunities into dominance.
El Salvador arrived in Foxborough carrying the psychological weight of a decade's worth of futility on American soil—no victories in 10 previous visits, no goals scored since 1997. Yet the Salvadorans sat atop Group A after stunning Panama 2-1 in their opener, making them dangerous opponents despite their modest world ranking of 103rd.
Arena understood the delicate mathematics of qualifying. With three of their first four semifinal matches on the road, the Americans needed to bank maximum points at home. The memory of 2000's qualifying campaign—when a tie with Costa Rica in Columbus nearly derailed their World Cup hopes—served as a cautionary tale against complacency.
The Americans wasted no time establishing their authority. Just five minutes into the match, with El Salvador still settling into their defensive posture, Bobby Convey delivered a spinning cross that found Ching in the penalty area. The Hawaiian forward, riding the confidence of his Jamaica heroics, directed a header that ricocheted off the right post before nestling into the net—his second crucial goal in as many qualifiers. "The early goal basically ended the game after five minutes," Arena observed. "They weren't going to be able to generate any chances."
What followed was the most bizarre sequence in the history of World Cup qualifying. In the 26th minute, fourth official Jaggernath Goolcharan noticed that Salvadoran defender Denis Alas was wearing a necklace—a violation FIFA had warned would be strictly enforced. Referee Neal Brizan issued a yellow card, which became Alas's second after an earlier foul on Convey, resulting in a red card ejection. The decision sparked immediate controversy. El Salvador coach Juan Paredes stormed onto the field in protest, earning his own ejection three minutes later. Bottles rained from the largely Salvadoran crowd of 25,266, their frustration boiling over at what many considered an overly officious interpretation of the jewelry rule.
"My suggestion is the better way to manage a game is to [have the player] take the jewelry off," Arena said afterward. "But that's hard to do when you have a young referee." Even American captain Claudio Reyna called the ejection "a joke," expressing sympathy for the Salvadoran players. Yet Santos Rivera, El Salvador's goalkeeper, accepted the decision pragmatically: "The referee told us from the beginning. They even took some of my jewelry off. If he warned Alas before the game, the ejection was correct."
Playing a man up for more than an hour, the United States methodically dismantled El Salvador's resistance. The Americans outshot their opponents 19-1 and enjoyed an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks, demonstrating the significant quality gap between the sides. Landon Donovan provided the exclamation point in the 69th minute, collecting a pass from Steve Cherundolo before cutting across the penalty area and unleashing a left-footed drive from 18 yards that rocketed inside the left post. The goal—Donovan's 17th in 54 international appearances—capped a dominant performance that could have yielded a much wider margin.
The match nearly erupted into violence in the 58th minute when Rivera kicked a diving DaMarcus Beasley in the face while competing for a header in the penalty area. Carlos Bocanegra immediately confronted the goalkeeper as players from both sides converged, but cooler heads prevailed before punches were thrown.
The 2-0 victory moved the United States into first place in Group A with four points from two matches, one ahead of El Salvador. More importantly, it established the psychological dominance that had become Arena's calling card—the ability to impose its will when circumstances demanded it. For Arena, the victory represented his 50th as national team coach and validated his squad rotation philosophy. Starting with an unusually young lineup that included Ching, Conor Casey, Kerry Zavagnin, and goalkeeper Tim Howard, the Americans demonstrated their depth while managing fitness for the upcoming match against Panama.
Four days later in Panama City, that championship mentality faced its sternest test yet. Playing at Rommel Fernández Stadium under inadequate lighting and persistent rain, the Americans found themselves trailing 1-0 to Panama with time running out. The hosts had stunned Jamaica 2-1 in Kingston just days earlier and sensed an opportunity to claim another major scalp. But once again, Arena's substitutions proved decisive. In the first minute of second-half stoppage time—even later than Ching's heroics in Jamaica—Cobi Jones delivered the equalizing goal from a Greg Vanney cross via Donovan's clever touch.
"I think our fitness is showing," Vanney said after the 1-1 draw. "They had the majority of play, but we were not going to let the game end 1-0."
The result extended the United States' unbeaten streak to start qualifying. It reinforced the defining characteristic of Arena's tenure: an unwavering belief that no deficit was insurmountable, no situation irredeemable, until the final whistle sounded. With four points from their first three matches—including two dramatic late goals—the Americans had demonstrated that their championship mentality transcended individual moments or specific players. Whether through Ching's opportunism, Donovan's precision, or Jones's veteran savvy, this generation had internalized the lesson that champions find ways to succeed when the stakes are highest.