On This Day in 2006, the US Drew with Jamaica in the Final Audition Before Bruce Arena Named His World Cup Squad
Three weeks after Germany handed the United States a 4-1 lesson in Kaiserslautern, which was a sobering reminder of the gap between being ranked seventh in the world and actually performing on European soil, Bruce Arena's squad returned to familiar ground. SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, had been the site of the team's training camp before the 2002 World Cup, and on April 11, 2006, it would host the last meaningful audition before Arena named his 23-man squad for Germany.
The Germany result had stung. But with the World Cup just eight weeks away, there was no time for extended reflection. Arena had rosters to finalize, fitness questions to answer, and decisions to make that would define an entire cycle of American soccer. Jamaica was a convenient opponent. The United States had never lost to them in 16 meetings, and the Reggae Boyz were carrying a roster heavy with MLS players. The setting, a sold-out SAS Soccer Park with 8,093 fans, was intimate and charged. But Arena was candid about what the scoreline would mean.
"Is the result important? No," he said. "What's important is to see where some of these guys are at and to try to confirm what I'm thinking. We have very little margin for error in this World Cup, and every bit of information we get is going to be helpful."
In his own mind, Arena believed two to five spots remained open. Among those with the most to prove: Steve Ralston, who had torn his quadriceps in January but had scored the September goal against Mexico that clinched World Cup qualification; Pat Noonan, versatile and highly regarded, who had impressed in earlier camp games before a hamstring injury cost him a month; Chris Albright, recovering from a knee injury; and John O'Brien, the most technically gifted American midfielder of his generation, whose body had spent the better part of a year betraying him. O'Brien hadn't played for the national team since the Gold Cup the previous summer.
Then there was the pregame ceremony. And Tony Meola.
No other American goalkeeper had reached 100 international appearances. On Tuesday evening in Cary, Meola became the ninth US player overall to reach the milestone, joining a list that included Cobi Jones, Jeff Agoos, Marcelo Balboa, Claudio Reyna, Paul Caligiuri, Eric Wynalda, Earnie Stewart and Joe-Max Moore. Before kickoff, he received a watch and an autographed ball.
Meola made his national team debut on June 10, 1988, as a teenager from Kearny, New Jersey, recruited by Arena himself while coaching at Virginia. He became the undisputed starter through the 1990 World Cup in Italy and the 1994 tournament on home soil, where his play and his ponytail made him a recognizable face across a country still learning the game. What came after nearly ended his international career: after floating the idea of pursuing a career as an NFL placekicker, he found himself frozen out of the national team setup until January 1999, by which point Keller and Brad Friedel had claimed the positions ahead of him. He came back anyway, earned a third World Cup in 2002 as third-choice keeper, and kept working.
"Any time you get to play for the national team, it is not a gift," Meola said, pushing back on the ceremonial framing. "Every time I play, I have a chance to impress."
The ceremony lasted longer than Meola's clean sheet. Within four minutes, a defensive breakdown undid the Americans. A corner kick headed away by Eddie Pope landed at the feet of Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who pushed immediately forward. Ricketts found Jermaine Hue in midfield, and Hue's pass split a sluggish American defense to release Teafore Bennett. Running past Frankie Hejduk, who Arena said failed to communicate with Pablo Mastroeni on the play, Bennett drew Meola off his line and tucked a shot inside the right post from ten yards.
The Americans regrouped. In the 25th minute, Pat Noonan was fouled, and Landon Donovan spotted Jamaica's wall still organizing. He took the free kick quickly, finding Ben Olsen arriving from the left. Olsen's low shot from twelve yards caught goalkeeper Ricketts's hands and bounced into the net.
"Landon did a great job recognizing that they were a little unorganized on their free kick defense," Olsen said. "They were scrambling for marks, and no one picked me up."
The assist was Donovan's 23rd for the national team, moving him past Galaxy teammate Cobi Jones to set the American record. The Americans dominated the remainder but could not find a winner. Wolff had a goal ruled out for offside in the 41st minute. Arena grew frustrated watching his domestic forwards squander chances. "We haven't gotten consistent enough performances and goals out of our front-runners in 2006," he said. The absence of Brian McBride, who was earning his minutes with Fulham, felt in nearly every attacking sequence.
O'Brien entered in the 67th minute for his first international appearance in nearly eight months. His 23 minutes were careful and encouraging. Albright defended with purpose and nearly scored twice from set pieces. Ralston, making his first appearance of the year, left in the second half with a groin strain. Meola finished with three saves and the result he would have least wanted.
"Bruce did a good job," he said afterward. "His speech yesterday was, 'Nobody's going to make the team tomorrow night, and nobody's going to get cut from the team tomorrow night.' He knows it's a process, and the guys know it's a process."
The United States left Cary unbeaten in 17 games against Jamaica and 4-2-1 (WDL) in friendlies in 2006. Arena would name his 35-player pool the following day and announce the final 23 on May 2, before the team returned to Cary on May 10 for a two-week training camp. The opening World Cup group match against the Czech Republic was on June 12.
Arena told the squad he intended to watch the next three MLS rounds before making cuts. Every player on the 18-man roster retained a theoretical chance.
Meola remained characteristically undefeated in spirit. "If the national team left for Germany today, the goalkeepers would be Kasey (Keller), Marcus (Hahnemann) and Tim (Howard)," he said a few days later. "But the team isn't leaving today. There's always a chance for me. A chance to go to my World Cup again. How would you feel?"
He would not make the trip. The watch and the ball from Cary, the memory of 8,093 fans marking the end of a career that had stretched across 18 years and three World Cups—that would have to be enough. For a team now weeks from naming the 23 that would carry American soccer onto the biggest stage in the world, the clock was running.
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