On This Day in 2001, Joe-Max Moore Scored Twice Against Jamaica to Send the U.S. to the 2002 World Cup, Including a Clutch Penalty Kick
The United States had started the final round of World Cup qualifying with tremendous momentum, winning four of its first five matches to sit atop the six-nation group. But when captain and playmaker Claudio Reyna went down with a groin injury, the wheels came off. The Americans lost three straight matches—falling to Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica—and plummeted from first place to fourth in the standings. With only the top three nations advancing to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, the Americans found themselves in a precarious position.
The numbers told the story of Reyna's importance. Since the 1998 World Cup, the United States was 10-4-1 (WDL) with their captain in the lineup and just 9-5-8 without him. Coach Bruce Arena was blunt about what went wrong during the losing streak, admitting his team had lost focus and grown complacent after the strong start. The situation heading into the Jamaica match was simple: win both remaining games against Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, or risk missing the World Cup entirely.
Reyna returned for the Jamaica match, as did midfielder John O'Brien, who had missed the three losses with a leg injury. Their presence would prove vital, though the path to qualification would require some help from elsewhere in the region.
Playing at Foxboro Stadium on October 7—Joe-Max Moore's old stomping grounds from his days with the New England Revolution—the Americans got off to the perfect start. In just the fourth minute, Reyna took a free kick from the left side and curled a ball into the box. Moore, all 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds of him, flung his body toward the ball and redirected a header into the corner of the net. The crowd of over 40,000 finally erupted in a pro-American atmosphere after the team had faced a hostile, predominantly Honduran crowd in Washington the previous month.
But the United States couldn't hold the lead. Just 10 minutes later, the American defense suffered another lapse—the kind that had plagued them during the losing streak. On a long throw-in from the left, Jamaica's James Lawrence found himself completely unmarked in the penalty area. He calmly chested the ball down and fired past goalkeeper Brad Friedel into the lower corner to level the score at 1-1.
The match remained deadlocked through the second half, with both teams creating chances but unable to break through. The Americans needed a moment of magic, and in the 81st minute, they got it—along with a crucial penalty call. Reyna threaded a pass into the penalty area, finding Landon Donovan making a run. Jamaican substitute Tyrone Marshall, who had only entered the match in the 63rd minute, slid in from behind and brought Donovan down. Referee Rodolfo Sibrian of El Salvador immediately pointed to the spot.
The penalty kick presented both opportunity and danger. Just one game earlier against Honduras, Earnie Stewart had missed a crucial penalty in the 3-2 loss. Arena later recalled that the team had been given two penalties in recent memory, and both had been missed. Standing on the sideline, he refused to make the call on who would take it—this was a decision the players had to make themselves. Stewart looked at Moore and asked how he felt. Moore stepped up, placed the ball on the spot, and calmly slotted it into the lower-right corner as goalkeeper Aaron Lawrence dove the opposite way. It was Moore's 24th international goal, and perhaps his most important.
When the final whistle blew in Foxboro, the United States had secured three crucial points with the 2-1 victory. But the Americans didn't know they had done more than just keep their hopes alive—they had actually qualified for the World Cup. Minutes after the match ended, word came through of the other results around the region: Mexico and Costa Rica had played to a scoreless draw, and in the day's biggest shock, Trinidad and Tobago had upset Honduras 1-0 on the road.
When the American players learned of the results, they danced together in the penalty area at the north end of the stadium, celebrating with the delighted crowd. It was an improbable turn of events. No one had expected Trinidad and Tobago to win in Honduras. The Americans had controlled their own destiny, but they received an unexpected gift that allowed them to clinch qualification with one match to spare.
Moore, who had been dealing with a tweaked hamstring heading into the match, was stunned by the outcome. Arena praised his striker's toughness, noting that if Moore said he was 80 percent fit, he'd give 100 percent. The coach had told Moore he just didn't want to have to substitute him out after 30 minutes. Instead, Moore went the distance and delivered when it mattered most. The victory was especially sweet for Moore, who had scored crucial goals throughout his career but never one quite this significant. Playing in front of a crowd at Foxboro, where he had enjoyed some of his best moments for both club and country, the Oklahoma native had risen to the occasion under immense pressure.
The match took place against the backdrop of far more serious events. Just before the players took the field, Arena—whose good friend had died in the World Trade Center attacks just a month earlier—informed his team that the United States had begun military strikes in Afghanistan. The news put the game in perspective, and emotions ran high during the national anthem and a moment of silence before kickoff. Moore, who had spent time playing professionally in both Germany and England, acknowledged the emotional weight of the day. But once the match began, he focused on the job at hand, representing his teammates and the passionate supporters of Sam's Army who followed the national team.
The United States finished qualifying with a meaningless trip to Trinidad and Tobago on November 11, a far cry from 1989 when Paul Caligiuri's famous goal in Port of Spain had sent the Americans to their first World Cup in 40 years. This time, thanks to Moore's heroics and some fortunate results elsewhere, they could enjoy the final match without any pressure.
Costa Rica topped the final qualifying standings, followed by the United States in second place. Mexico and Honduras both finished with 14 points, but Mexico claimed the third spot based on goal differential, leaving Honduras heartbroken after their victory over the Americans had seemed so significant just weeks earlier.
For Moore, the goals against Jamaica added to a career full of important moments. He would go on to be named to the 2002 World Cup roster. But on this October day in New England, with his hamstring bothering him and his country's World Cup hopes in jeopardy, Moore delivered the performance of his international career—two goals that sent the United States back to soccer's biggest stage.