On This Day in 1990, The US Beat Poland 3-1 to Build World Cup Momentum, Then Announced the Squad Heading to Italy
The Finland win in March had offered a genuine flicker of hope. What followed was a reminder of just how steep the climb remained.
After the 2-1 victory in Tampa, the Americans traveled to Europe for two away matches against continental opposition. In Budapest on March 20, Hungary proved a different class entirely, running out 2-0 winners. Eight days later in East Berlin, the US showed more fight in a 3-2 defeat to East Germany, at least finding the net, at least competing, but two losses in 10 days on foreign soil reinforced the gap between where this team was and where it needed to be.
Back home, the results steadied. A 4-1 demolition of Iceland on April 8 was the most encouraging performance of the year. Eric Wynalda bagging twice, Steve Trittschuh adding a third, Bruce Murray completing the rout, though Iceland, like Finland before them, was hardly World Cup-bound opposition. The Colombian side that visited on April 22 provided a sterner test and won it 1-0, a narrow but sobering defeat. Then came Malta on May 5 in Piscataway, a side that had finished last in their qualifying group without a single win. The US scraped through 1-0 in what the New York Times called a "puzzling" performance, with coach Bob Gansler acknowledging afterward that "finishing is something of a mystery to us."
Entering May, the US sat at 4-0-6 (WDL) against national teams in 1990. They had scored more than one goal only three times all year. The World Cup opener against Czechoslovakia in Florence was 36 days away.
Poland arrived in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on May 9, carrying their own recent form, including a loss to Colombia and a win over Costa Rica in the Marlboro Cup in Chicago the previous weekend. Crucially for Gansler, Poland hadn't qualified for Italy 90, ending a run of five consecutive World Cup appearances, but nine of the players who took the field at Hersheypark Stadium had been part of that qualifying campaign. More to the point, Gansler had specifically sought them out as opponents: their style, their physical directness, their central European organization made them the closest available approximation to Czechoslovakia, the Americans' first World Cup opponent.
Gansler also had a welcome roster development to work with. Peter Vermes, who had been unavailable while his Dutch club Volendam completed their season, was back in the fold. His return prompted a tactical reshuffle. Vermes was partnering Murray at forward, with Wynalda dropping into midfield. Wynalda, candid as ever, admitted the adjustment didn't feel natural. "I'm a natural striker," he said. "I felt like I was getting into a groove up front." With Tony Meola away on duty with the US B team in Vancouver, Kasey Keller started in goal.
The match at Hersheypark Stadium—a few hundred yards, as one reporter couldn't resist noting, from the arena where Wilt Chamberlain once scored 100 points—began badly for the Americans. For the opening 20 minutes, Poland won aerial duels and intercepted passes with ease, and when the breakthrough came, it was gifted. In the 27th minute, Roman Kosecki crossed from the right, and Steve Trittschuh, under pressure, attempted a backpass to Keller. His outstretched foot missed the ball entirely. Jacek Ziober needed no second invitation, knocking in from three yards. Gansler later called it a "cupcake goal."
What happened next was more significant than the goal itself. The Americans didn't fold.
Sweeper Zbigniew Kaczmarek, trying to play out from the back under pressure from Wynalda, turned the ball over inside his own penalty area. Murray read the moment before anyone else, darting in from the blind side, getting a toe to the ball ahead of goalkeeper Jozef Wandzik, and composedly rolling it home from the left. The 33rd minute. 1-1. "We hadn't really created anything up to that point," Murray said, "but that got us back to even."
Gansler wanted more composure from his side in the final third. He'd been saying so all spring, but for once, he had little to complain about. "Even though we gave up a cupcake goal, we didn't hang our heads," he said. "We remembered our confidence, stayed upbeat and got through the bad patch."
The decisive moment arrived 12 minutes into the second half, when Polish defender Piotr Czachowski handled inside the area. Referee John Purcell of Ireland pointed to the spot. Vermes, fresh off the plane from the Netherlands, barely 72 hours back with the squad, stepped up and drilled it inside the right post. 2-1. "The ball was bouncing in the middle, and it took a bad bounce," Vermes said afterward. "I couldn't tell whether he handled it purposely, but he handled it for sure. Luckily, the referee saw it."
Poland's coach, Andrzej Strejlau, was direct about what it meant. "The game would have been different if not for the penalty kick," he said. "We collapsed mentally after that."
With 12 minutes remaining, Tab Ramos, who had been industrious all night, retrieved a looping pass from John Harkes on the right wing, found himself boxed into the corner by a defender, manufactured space with a clever wall pass, and laid the ball back into the middle. Chris Sullivan, arriving unmarked, finished from seven yards for his first national team goal since February and the Americans' third.
The 12,063 crowd at Hersheypark was vocal throughout. In the dressing room, the mood reflected what the result meant. "The bad rap on our forwards should be over for a while, at least," Wynalda said. "More than anything, I'm happy we came from behind. We gave up a goal on a gift, and I'm really happy we came right back and won."
The US record against national teams moved to 5-6. It had been an inconsistent year. But three wins in the last five games, and now this, a composed, come-from-behind victory against a side that had pushed England and Sweden in World Cup qualifying, suggested something might be building at exactly the right time.
Six days after the match against Poland, the United States Soccer Federation made it official. The 22-man squad for Italia '90 was announced, with few surprises for those who had been watching the year unfold: Goalkeepers Tony Meola, Kasey Keller and David Vanole. Defenders Desmond Armstrong, Marcelo Balboa, Jimmy Banks, John Doyle, Paul Krumpe, Steve Trittschuh and Mike Windischmann, midfielders Brian Bliss, Paul Caligiuri, Neil Covone, John Harkes, Chris Henderson, Tab Ramos and John Stollmeyer, and forwards Eric Eichmann, Bruce Murray, Chris Sullivan, Peter Vermes and Eric Wynalda.
The most conspicuous absentee was Hugo Perez, the 26-year-old midfielder who had played in France with Red Star 93. A combination of injuries and limited availability had ultimately cost him his place. The group was strikingly young—an average age of 23, with UCLA midfielder Chris Henderson, just 19, the youngest of the lot.
Gansler addressed what the players had built together over the preceding year. "They have had the opportunity to work together and come together, both on the field and off the field," he said. "The team has improved its play in recent weeks."
Before departing for Europe, the US played out a 1-1 draw with Ajax of Amsterdam in Washington, which was a respectable result that added a final note of quiet confidence, before a send-off dinner in Little Italy that blended the solemn and the sardonic in equal measure. Walter Bahr, a midfielder from the 1950 side, was there, and his presence served as both inspiration and perspective. Asked whether the 1950 team could beat the 1990 squad, he was characteristically dry: "If we played, they would beat us by eight or ten goals. Six of our players are dead."
He turned more reflective when talking about what the new generation's journey meant for the old one's legacy. "When we went in 1950, no one knew we went," he said. "After the game was over, the reports back here were minimal. The first 20 years after 1950, it was still pretty much a secret what we had done. In the last 20 years, I've done more interviews talking about the World Cup than ever."
London bookmakers had the Americans listed at 1,500-to-1 for the tournament. Gansler didn't dispute the odds. "We're going to have to have a bit of good fortune on game day," he said. "Is it possible? Yes, that's why you play games."
Italy was waiting. 40 years of waiting were nearly over.