One of the standout moments of the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA™ was the iconic Round of 16 clash between the USA and Brazil on the Fourth of July.
In front of an 84,000-plus audience at Stanford Stadium, earned the respect of the global game after losing star player Tab Ramos to a bad foul and then holding the mighty Seleção for 72 minutes before Bebeto struck the winning goal.
Although the Fourth of July celebrations had a slightly dampener put on them, the match galvanised a football-hungry domestic audience, with the fans bedecked in red, white and blue — both in the arena and watching at home and in bars on TV — fueled with a new sense of optimism about the future of the sport in the United States.
Ahead of today's 250th anniversary match at Philadelphia — where the Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July, 1776 — former USA captain Tony Meola spoke to FIFA about his memories of facing Brazil, the sense of confidence going into the game and flying back with Robin WIlliams afterwards.
Tony Meola: Having been part of three World Cups, I can tell you it's different. It's a different feeling. In the history of our game there are so few players who have ever played in a World Cup in general and fewer who have played in a World Cup at home. You're in an elite category. It's a different atmosphere, it's more familiar. A lot of the [current USA team] play in Europe and some of them weren't born in the United States but they have been here enough to know they're way around. You just feel more comfortable being at home.
Here in the US, there are conversations about sometimes the away team has as many fans as the home team. That's always a narrative here and I don't think we'll ever get far away from that because of the way our country is set up [demographically]. This is an opportunity and you feel the weight of the games on your shoulders to win games, but you also feel the weight of the sport because you impact it and will bring new fans into the game.
That team was together, much like this team, for four years. Back then we didn't have players playing at the biggest clubs in the world... you were constantly trying to convince people that you can succeed at the highest level and that you can compete. This group doesn't have to do that.
We were relatively new to the game with regards to international football even though [in the States] and you could just see it growing every single day. Of course, it was hard to get away from seeing it every time you turned on the TV. We didn't have social media so I can't imagine what it will be now... you won't be able to escape it unless of course you sleep through the whole thing, which is the last thing you want to do!
I think we were really confident. There was Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands... it was all changing [about who our our opponents would be] and it had to do with the result that was taking place in Washington DC between Mexico and Italy. We were watching the game and it's one of those situations where your opponent is changing in real time. There is no real preparing for anything until the game is over.
So we got drawn with Brazil. I did a documentary around six months ago around Romario. A TV crew came to the US and they wanted me to watch a video and react to it. It was an interview with Romario and he was asked who was the toughest opponent you played in 1994 and he said by far it was the US. I was thinking, 'I'm not really into consolation prizes but I thought it was pretty telling that he recognised that.'
I played for [former Brazil coach] Carlos Alberto Parreira in New York [for Major League Soccer's MetroStars] and we were in Italy in pre-season and he told us, 'My God you gave us headaches... we didn't know how to break you down and we couldn't figure it out.' I think in that regard we did well, people looked at us and said. 'This is not going to be easy.'
Before the game started we were missing a key midfielder in John Harkes, who was suspended after getting a yellow card against Romania. So we were down a workhorse in midfield and Tab Ramos was the one guy who had the ability to break a team down on the dribble with one play. He was doing that until the [hard foul by Leonardo, which resulted in a red card] which was a really scary situation. And then you've got to focus on the game and we were really angry, but they were really good. As much as they couldn't find a way to break us down, we couldn't find a way [either] and they turned the heat up in the last 25 minutes of that game.
You recognise what the Fourth of the July is in the US. I understand the importance of it and people still remember the date of the game. People may remember that we played Colombia but they can't tell you the date, but they know that we lost to Brazil on the Fourth of July. It's a really important date in our country.
After that game we had a meal and when you lose like that it's kind of somber. You put a lot of work into it and now you're sitting with a group of guys who you've battled with and then you realse that it's over. Robin Williams and his wife walked in at one point and they flew back on the charter plane with us. It wasn't like he was cracking jokes the whole time... we were still a bit angry and a little uncertain of what the future was.
Eight years ago before [North America] was awarded the World Cup, we did an event in Philly where they talked about how we wanted the July the Fourth game, it's the 250th anniversary, and I have a scarf from the event. It's hard to think eight years down the road it's here, but they were already preparing for this. It was part of the [organisers'] mission statement. It's an important day, there's no doubt about it.
Sources: FIFA Official
