United States at the FIFA World Cup
The United States men's national soccer team have participated in ten World Cups: their best result occurred during their first appearance at the 1930 World Cup when they finished in third place.[1] After the 1950 World Cup, in which the United States upset England in group play 1–0, the U.S. was absent from the finals until 1990. The United States has participated in every World Cup since 1990 until 2014, but they did not qualify for the 2018 competition for the first time since 1986 after a loss to Trinidad and Tobago. They returned to the World Cup by qualifying for the 2022 edition.[2]
The World Cup is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the World Cup governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II. The current format of the World Cup involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.[3]
Overall record
FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
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Semi-finals [note 1] |
3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | Squad | Invitees | ||||||
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Round of 16 | 16th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | Squad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
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Withdrew | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||
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Group stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | Squad | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 15 | |
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Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | |||||||||
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4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 21 | ||||||||||
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2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||||
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4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||||||
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 9 | ||||||||||
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4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | ||||||||||
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5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||||||||||
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6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | ||||||||||
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Group stage | 23rd | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | Squad | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 4 | |
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Round of 16 | 14th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | ||||||
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Group stage | 32nd | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | Squad | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 27 | 14 | |
![]() ![]() |
Quarter-finals | 8th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | Squad | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 11 | |
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Group stage | 25th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Squad | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 11 | |
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Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | Squad | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 42 | 16 | |
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15th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | Squad | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 14 | ||
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Did not qualify | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 37 | 16 | |||||||||
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Qualified | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 10 | |||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() |
Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | ||||||||||||||
Total | 11/22 | 0 titles | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 37 | 62 | - | 168 | 84 | 40 | 44 | 287 | 191 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out
United States' World Cup record | |
---|---|
First match | ![]() ![]() (13 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay) |
Biggest win | ![]() ![]() (13 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay) ![]() ![]() (17 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay) |
Biggest defeat | ![]() ![]() (27 May 1934; Rome, Italy) |
Best result | Third place in 1930 (0 titles) |
Worst result | Group stage in 1934, 1950, 1990, 1998 and 2006 |
By match
By opponent
FIFA World Cup matches (by team) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opponent | Wins | Draws | Losses | Played | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Results
Uruguay 1930
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 4 | Advance to the knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 | |
3 | ![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
All times local (UYT)
Semi-finals
Italy 1934
Round of 16
Italy ![]() | 7–1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Report |
Brazil 1950
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 | Advance to final round |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 2 |
Italy 1990
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
All times local (CEST/UTC+2)
United States 1994
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
Ranking of third-placed teams
Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | D | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | F | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 | |
3 | A | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
4 | E | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
5 | B | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 3 | |
6 | C | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
Round of 16
France 1998
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
All times local (CEST/UTC+2)
South Korea–Japan 2002
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 3 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 |
All times local (UTC+9)
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Germany 2006
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
All times local (CEST/UTC+2)
South Africa 2010
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 |
All times local (UTC+02)
Round of 16
Brazil 2014
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 4 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 |
Round of 16
Belgium ![]() | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Report |
Qatar 2022
Group stage
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Record players
Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Landon Donovan | 12 | 2002, 2006 and 2010 |
2 | Cobi Jones | 11 | 1994, 1998 and 2002 |
Earnie Stewart | 11 | 1994, 1998 and 2002 | |
DaMarcus Beasley | 11 | 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 | |
5 | Brian McBride | 10 | 1998, 2002 and 2006 |
Claudio Reyna | 10 | 1998, 2002 and 2006 | |
Clint Dempsey | 10 | 2006, 2010 and 2014 | |
8 | Tab Ramos | 9 | 1990, 1994 and 1998 |
Eddie Pope | 9 | 1998, 2002 and 2006 | |
10 | Marcelo Balboa | 8 | 1990, 1994 and 1998 |
Eric Wynalda | 8 | 1990, 1994 and 1998 | |
Michael Bradley | 8 | 2010 and 2014 | |
Tim Howard | 8 | 2010 and 2014 |
Tim Howard world record On July 1, 2014, Howard was named man of the match, despite the United States losing 2–1 to Belgium after extra time in the round of 16.[6] During the match, he broke the record for most saves in a World Cup match with 15.[7][8][9][note 2] After breaking this record, his performance was celebrated worldwide on the internet, with the hashtag #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave trending on Twitter.[10]
Top goalscorers
Player | Goals | 1930 | 1934 | 1950 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Landon Donovan | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
Bert Patenaude | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
Clint Dempsey | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
Brian McBride | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
Michael Bradley | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Jim Brown | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Paul Caligiuri | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Aldo Donelli | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Tom Florie | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Joe Gaetjens | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Julian Green | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Joe Maca | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Clint Mathis | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Bart McGhee | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Bruce Murray | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
John O'Brien | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Gino Pariani | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Earnie Stewart | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Frank Wallace | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Eric Wynalda | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
John Brooks | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Jermaine Jones | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Own goals | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
Total | 37 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
Own goals scored for opponents
- Jeff Agoos (scored for Portugal in 2002)
Notes
- "1930 FIFA World Cup Uruguay 1930". FIFA.com. Retrieved July 17, 2018. The United States earned 3rd place over the loser of the other semi-final, Yugoslavia, because of a better goal differential (+1 to Yugoslavia's 0). No third place match was played.
- FIFA's initial match statistics showed 16 saves, and many news sources continue to use this number. The official FIFA statistics were updated on July 5, 2014, to show 15 saves.
References
- Helms, Andrew (July 1, 2014). "USA 3, Belgium 0! Or, Looking for Hope in the 1930 World Cup". The New Republic. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- Goff, Steven (March 30, 2022). "The U.S. men's national soccer team qualifies for World Cup in Qatar". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage Archived June 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), FIFA.com. Retrieved on June 6, 2007.
- "Referee designations for matches 1-16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. June 5, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
- "Referee designations for matches 17-24" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. June 14, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- "Belgium 2–1 USA". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- "World Cup 2014: Tim Howard makes record number of saves". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- Bandini, Paolo (July 2, 2014). "Tim Howard reflects on 'bittersweet' World Cup record in USA defeat". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- "Official FIFA statistics, updated July 5, 2014" (PDF). FIFA.com. July 5, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- "14 Things you've probably forgotten about 2014 World Cup?". FourFourTwo. Retrieved July 23, 2018.