26 USMNT Moments, Past to Present: Quarterfinal Glory

This is 26 USMNT Moments: Past to Present, a U.S. Soccer content series that covers 26 defining moments in U.S. Men's National Team history. From inspired victories to stunning goals, and the stars and hidden heroes who made them possible, each chapter reminds us that our dreams on the pitch are worth chasing. Together, they’ve built toward the biggest moment yet: the 2026 World Cup on home soil.

2,904 days.

The USMNT hadn’t led in a World Cup match for 2,904 days. That’s all the way back to their stunning 2-1 upset win over Colombia in 1994. The 1994 team put in a few valiant performances afterward, but never led. The 1998 team…well, it could have gone better.

But in 2002, things felt a little different. And in their first match in South Korea, the U.S. immediately proved why.

It took just four minutes for the USMNT to go up 1-0 on Luis Figo and Portugal. John O’Brien found the back of the net in the aftermath of a corner. That moment set the tone for what would become the most successful World Cup appearance since 1930.

"We had a majority of the players playing with clubs in Europe, or the young players like DaMarcus [Beasley] and Landon [Donovan] that were coming up, and the MLS players who had the quality of play in Europe, like Eddie Pope and Jeff Agoos,” goalkeeper Brad Friedel told U.S. Soccer in 2022. “It was just a real quality group of players that were assembled. That was the first time that we had a lot of players playing week in and week out against the players that we were going to face in the World Cup."

That quality instantly went on display against Portugal. The United States overwhelmed them with a high-pressing, direct style. After O’Brien’s opener, the USMNT took advantage of a shell-shocked opponent and added two more goals, with Landon Donovan forcing an own goal in the 29th minute before Tony Sanneh connected with Brian McBride for a diving header in the 36th.  A three-nil lead in the first half against one of the pre-tournament favorites.  The last time they had scored three? 1930. They haven’t scored three in a match since.

Portugal never recovered. The USMNT cruised to one of the program’s best-ever wins.

Next up, the host country, South Korea in a sea of red.

In the middle of an atmosphere Donovan later called “the single best” of his career, Clint Mathis, a mohawk-sporting attacker from Georgia lovingly nicknamed “Cletus,” scored maybe the most important goal of his career.

O’Brien drove forward into empty space in the final third and picked out Mathis slipping in between two South Korea defenders. Mathis brought the ball down and thumped precisely thumped into the bottom right corner with his left foot. 1-0, USA.

“That’s one of the things I always told people during interviews when I played,” Mathis told MLSsoccer.com in 2014. “The best feeling in the game is having 80,000 rooting against you and being able to silence all of them with one goal. You could only hear just the hundred US fans or however many we had in the game on the far side. Otherwise, you could hear a pin drop.”

In the 40th minute, Friedel kept out the first of two penalty kicks he would save during the tournament.

The U.S. held that 1-0 lead until the 78th minute. In the end, that eventual 1-1 draw proved critical.

After two excellent performances, the group stage nearly ended in disaster. Poland, already eliminated from advancing, stunned the USMNT with two goals in the first five minutes. The U.S. never found their footing.

Fortunately, South Korea did. Despite a 3-1 loss to Poland, Korea – who only needed a draw to advance -- went for the win, earning a 1-0 victory over Portugal. The result was enough to push the U.S. into the knockout round and a familiar matchup. Mexico, the winners of Group G, were waiting.

In the biggest match of the rivalry’s long history, the USMNT made a surprise switch to a 3-5-2. El Tri didn’t expect it. And it immediately caused problems.

For the third time in four matches, the U.S. took an early lead. Just eight minutes in, an alert restart from Claudio Reyna down the right and a layback pass from Josh Wolff at the endline found McBride. The veteran striker made no mistake, sending the ball past Óscar Pérez to make it 1-0. That scoreline held until the 65th minute, when Donovan sprinted into the six-yard box to get on the end of an inch-perfect cross from Eddie Lewis. Donovan headed the ball home. 2-0. “Dos a Cero.” The greatest of them all.

“As we pulled out of the long driveway there that led into that stadium, there was a stoplight, so we were waiting briefly, and the Mexican team bus pulled up next to us,” Donovan told MLSsoccer.com in 2019. “And at this point as we're on the bus, we're celebrating – I mean we're still celebrating. Everyone is jumping and laughing, having a good time, and we look over and see the Mexican team bus pull up, and it almost made the situation better because as their heads all turned toward us, they could see us celebrating.”

The U.S., against their archrival, advanced to a World Cup quarterfinal for the first time in history.

With Germany waiting, the odds of a semifinal were slim. But the U.S. pushed them to the brink. Early first half chances were turned away by legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. Midfielder Michael Ballack nodded Germany into the lead just before halftime.

The U.S. pressed in the second half, looking for the equalizer. The best chance came just after the break when Claudio Reyna’s corner kick was nodded on at the near post and fell for Gregg Berhalter. The center back extended his leg and got the ball on target, beating a diving Kahn before hitting the outstretched arm of Germany defender Torsten Frings on the goal line. A play that would have no doubt resulted in a penalty kick if VAR was in use in 2002, but referee Hugh Dallas ruled it wasn’t.

Outplayed by the U.S. in a World Cup quarterfinal, Germany eked out the 1-0 victory and went on to finish as runners up.

With that, a run that hasn’t been matched in the modern era came to a close. But it solidified the USMNT as a genuine threat on the world stage. A long winless streak came to a close in style. And the 2002 will long be remembered for one of the great runs in the modern history of the USMNT.

Sam Jones covers MLS for MLSsoccer.com, and Atlanta United and NWSL Atlanta for FiveStripeFinal.com. Sam has covered MLS and Atlanta United since 2017.