Breaking Down the Wall

On This Day in 1994, The Americans Learn to Finish Under Pressure, Starting With a Victory Over Norway

The essential question from December remained unanswered as the calendar turned: Could the United States break down organized opponents willing to sit deep and absorb pressure? Seven goals against El Salvador and eight against the Cayman Islands had proven only that the Americans could finish when given space. Germany had proven it could defend when desperate. But the World Cup would demand something neither blowout nor survival instinct could provide—the composure to find goals against competent opponents protecting narrow leads. January would test whether the pattern could be broken.

Norway arrived at Sun Devil Stadium on January 15 as the fourth-ranked team in the world, bringing most of its first-choice players to face an American side still missing its European-based core. John Harkes remained at Derby County. Roy Wegerle at Coventry City. Eric Wynalda in Saarbrücken, Earnie Stewart in the Netherlands and Tab Ramos in Spain. The absences invited familiar narratives—that the Mission Viejo players were second-string, that victories without the "magnificent seven" couldn't validate American progress, that losses would confirm the domestic-based squad's limitations.

"A lot of people would like to think that it leaves us in trouble," Alexi Lalas said before the match, his voice carrying the edge of someone tired of defending his commitment. "But when they start saying we're amateurs and we're the second-division sort of players, well, that pisses me off because we all made a cognizant decision to stay here at the team's training center in order to help give our team a chance to succeed."

The Americans had lost 1-0 to Norway in Oslo four months earlier, pushed around physically in a performance that suggested intimidation. Against a Norwegian side built around veteran goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt and forward Jostein Flo, the pattern seemed likely to repeat—particularly after Frank Strandli scored in the 45th minute, converting Erik Mykland's cross just before halftime to send Norway into the break with a 1-0 advantage. In December, a halftime deficit against quality opposition would have signaled the final score. Not this time.

Marcelo Balboa, playing only his second match since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in April, had entered in the first half after Desmond Armstrong's injury. Nine minutes into the second half, Joe-Max Moore sent a corner kick from the right side toward the penalty area. Balboa rose above a defender and headed the ball past Frode Grodas from 15 yards, the precision suggesting his knee reconstruction hadn't diminished his timing. Norwegian coach Egil Olsen called the goal "impossible." Balboa, who practiced the same shot a hundred times in training, thought differently.

The tie lasted until regulation's final seconds, when the Americans manufactured the winner through precisely the kind of buildup that had eluded them against organized defenses. Dario Brose, playing in France's second division and making his U.S. debut, spotted Claudio Reyna's run and delivered the pass over the top. Reyna—recently crowned NCAA champion for the third consecutive year at Virginia—fired from a tight angle. Grodas blocked the shot but couldn't control the rebound. Cobi Jones, the 5-foot-7 forward who had hit the crossbar from point-blank range in the first half, drilled the loose ball into the net with his right foot.

The 2-1 victory sent 15,386 spectators into delirium and the American players into an impromptu celebration. More significantly, it revealed something the December results couldn't: the capacity to absorb pressure, maintain composure, and find goals when trailing against legitimate opposition. "We knew we had to get down and dirty, bang a few heads," Lalas said afterward. "We decided to fight today and kick some people around."

A week later at Cal State Fullerton, Switzerland arrived for the World Cup preview both teams needed—the nations would meet June 18 at the Pontiac Silverdome to open Group A. The match unfolded as tactical reconnaissance rather than a definitive test, both squads missing European-based regulars. Sebastian Fournier's 68th-minute goal gave Switzerland the lead their defensive organization seemed prepared to protect. Then Andre Egli, pressured by Lalas on a cross from Jones, headed sharply into his own net in the 88th minute to force a 1-1 draw. "The guy's momentum just put it in," Lalas said, though Egli insisted he'd been pushed. The Americans had outshot the Swiss 6-3 but needed a bit of fortune to salvage the result. The lesson was ambiguous—they'd created chances but required an own goal to convert them.

Seven days later in Seattle, 43,651 fans filled the Kingdome to watch the Americans face a Russian side traveling through chaos. 14 national team members had signed a petition seeking coach Pavel Sadyrin's removal. The team had arrived Friday night after 17 hours of flight and 24 hours of travel. They looked exhausted in warmups, prompting Dominic Kinnear and the Americans to attack immediately, exploiting space on the wings through Chris Henderson and Jones.

Despite controlling the first half, the United States fell behind in the 52nd minute when Dmitri Radchenko finished Oleg Salenko's lead pass, catching American defenders out of position. Late in 1993, the deficit might have hardened into defeat. Instead, the Americans pressed forward with the confidence born from two consecutive comebacks. In the 85th minute, Reyna dribbled free from a charging defender during a set-piece play and spotted Mike Lapper on the right. Lapper's cross found Lalas, whose header tied the match 1-1.

Three matches. Three times trailing. Three times finding equalizers or winners in the final minutes. Milutinovic, rarely given to praise, allowed himself the faintest smile when asked about the month's performances. "These are the best," he said, shrugging with characteristic terseness. The assessment mattered precisely because it came from someone who refused to celebrate hollow victories.

The January results revealed something statistics couldn't capture. The Americans had discovered resilience under pressure, the psychological fortitude to believe comebacks were possible rather than improbable. They'd beaten the fourth-ranked team in the world. They'd drawn with two World Cup opponents while missing their European-based stars. Most significantly, they'd stopped collapsing when trailing at halftime.

Whether this solved the finishing crisis against organized defenses remained unclear. The Norway winner came from individual brilliance and a fortunate rebound. The Switzerland equalizer required an own goal. The Russia draw needed a set-piece play. None demonstrated the sustained ability to break down defensive shape through patient buildup that the Swiss, Colombians, and Romanians would demand in June.

But the Mission Viejo players had proven they belonged, that their decision to sacrifice European paychecks for collective preparation wasn't romantic foolishness. Balboa's knee was holding. Young talents like Reyna and Brose were integrating smoothly. The team had learned it didn't need the "magnificent seven" to compete, even if it would need them to advance.

As February approached, with the Joe Robbie Cup in Miami—featuring Bolivia, Sweden, and, crucially, Colombia—the Americans had replaced one unanswered question with another. They could now finish under pressure against quality opponents. Could they do it consistently enough to escape their World Cup group? The next four months would determine whether January's resilience was a foundation or a mirage.