2000 Nike U.S. Cup
Encyclopedia
The 2000 Nike United States Cup (U.S. Cup), a Nike-sponsored, United States Soccer Federation
(USSF)-organized international football tournament, took place in June 2000. It was the seventh and last U.S. Cup in the series, which began in 1992.
The four teams in the competition were the United States team
, Ireland
, South Africa
and Mexico
. Of the three teams invited, Ireland was playing its third cup, Mexico its fifth (plus one U.S. Women's Cup) and South Africa its first. Ireland played in the inaugural cup in 1992 while Mexico won three straight Cups before the 2000 tournament. South Africa was the second African team to compete, after Nigeria in 1995.
. USSF hoped to attract two European nations from the pool of countries that failed to qualify for the Euro Cup. Once Euro Cup qualifications determined the final competitors, the USSF invited Ireland, Russia and Scotland, but only Ireland accepted the offer. The USSF then invited South Africa, an African Cup
semi-finalist six months earlier. However, South Africa elected to use the U.S. Cup to give several younger players international experience and therefore did not bring its full senior team. While both the lack of European participation and South Africa's decision on player selection disappointed USSF, these paled in comparison to the controversy surrounding Mexico's participation.
After the 1999 U.S. Cup
, USSF had negotiated a three year contract with the Mexican Soccer Federation, obliging Mexico to send its full international team to the next three U.S. Cups. By the time the 2000 Cup was staged, three major developments threatened Mexico's participation. First, in May 2000 Alberto de la Torre became the new Mexican Football Association
president. He took control of a federation which had just failed to qualify for the Summer Olympics and had lost badly at the Gold Cup
. He quickly fired Hugo Enrique Kiese, chief of the national team commission and the official most responsible for Mexico's three year contract with USSF. De la Torre was publicly critical of both Kiese and the U.S. Cup contract. To make matters worse, the Mexican League had also extended its season due to weathered out games. This meant that many of the top Mexican players would still be in the post-season during the tournament. Finally, FIFA had pressured CONCACAF to alter its World Cup qualification schedule, making the games earlier than anticipated. In fact, the United States and Mexican teams would leave the U.S. Cup and go immediately into preparation for those games. This meant that Mexican players, coming from their domestic league schedule, would have no time to rest before beginning a World Cup qualification campaign. Therefore, de la Torre, just weeks before the cup, asked USSF to reschedule it for August. With Ireland and South Africa confirmed and stadiums scheduled, USSF refused. De la Torre then told USSF that he would refuse to send the Mexican team, but USSF threatened a lawsuit, as well as FIFA sanctions. De la Torre brought Kiese back into the Mexican Federation and sent him to break the news to USSF, Mexico would send its "national team", but it would look a lot like the UNAM Pumas.http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=52652 After the tournament, USSF considered canceling its U.S. Cup contract with Mexico, a point which became moot as the 2000 tournament was the last played.
with which USSF had contracted, but this was merely one in a series of mis-steps associated with this cup. On the field, the United States dominated South Africa. In the 36th minute, Cobi Jones
took a pass from Chris Armas
, and cut from right to left across the box. As Jones recalls it, "As I was dribbling across the box, the player who was marking me said, 'Shoot it! Shoot it!' So I said, 'OK, I'll shoot it.' I think he was a little bit surprised after the fact." Jones scored again, then assisted on second half goals by Claudio Reyna
and Ben Olsen
. The game was also notable as United States defender Jeff Agoos
reached his 100th cap.
United States - Kasey Keller; Tony Sanneh, Carlos Llamosa, Jeff Agoos, David Regis; Earnie Stewart (Steve Ralston 82'), Chris Armas, Claudio Reyna (captain), Eddie Lewis (Ben Olsen 66'); Brian McBride (Ante Razov 70'), Cobi Jones (Jason Kreis 84')
South Africa - Andre Arendse; Cyril Nzama, Pierre Issa, Andrew Rabutla, David Kannemeyer (Jacob Lekgetho 73'); Helman Mkhalele, Dumisi Ngobe, Thabo Mngomeni, Ivan McKinley (Delron Buckley 33'); Benedict McCarthy (George Koumantarakis 73'), Shaun Bartlett (captain)
where Mexico and Ireland played to a 2-2 tie. Over 36,000 fans attended despite heavy and nearly constant rain. Mexico dominated the first half but Ireland made a late comeback with goals by Richard Dunne
and Dominic Foley
. In the last minutes of the game, both teams had opportunities to score the winning goal, but Ireland's Kevin Kilbane
shot just wide and Mexico's Joaquin Beltran
's header was punched over the bar by Ireland's goalkeeper, Dean Kiely
.
Ireland - Dean Kiely, Stephen Carr, Terry Phelan, Gary Breen, Richard Dunne (Phil Babb 82'), Jason McAteer, Matt Holland, Mark Kennedy, Barry Quinn (Kevin Kilbane 41'); Niall Quinn (captain), Robbie Keane (Dominic Foley 46')
Mexico - Sergio Bernal, Joaquin Beltran, Christian Ramirez (Gilberto Jimenez 69'), Raul Alpizar, Israel Lopez, Gerardo Torrado, Luis Perez, Antonio Sancho (captain) (Gerardo Galindo 81'), Horacio Sanchez, Luis Ignacio Gonzalez, Daniel Osorno
. Once again, the USSF blamed local promoters for the poor numbers. On the field, Ireland's Dominic Foley
scored first, taking a feed from Stephen McPhail
before slipping past United States defender C.J. Brown and beating United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel
. The Irish retained their lead until Ante Razov
evened the match with a controversial goal. Earnie Stewart hit a clearly off-side Razov who scored as the Irish players stood still anticipating that the referee would whistle the ball dead. Instead, the referee and linesmen, all from Mexico, allowed the goal. Three minutes later, the stadium lost power for ten minutes. The game was delayed a further ten minutes as the lights warmed up. The low turnout, off-side goal and power outage merely added to the sense that this was a poorly run tournament.
After the game, the Irish hinted at a conspiracy between the United States and Mexico as an Irish victory would have won the tournament. Whatever the reason the Mexican officials allowed the goal, the USSF secretary general Hank Steinbrecher denied it was a conspiracy, saying, "I wish we were that sophisticated."
United States - Brad Friedel, Frankie Hejduk, C.J. Brown, Gregg Berhalter, Greg Vanney, Steve Ralston (Earnie Stewart 46'), John O'Brien (Claudio Reyna 60), Jovan Kirovski, Ben Olsen (Tony Sanneh 75'); Jason Kreis (Cobi Jones 65'), Ante Razov (Brian McBride 88')
Ireland - Alan Kelly; Stephen Carr, Gary Breen, Phill Babb, Terry Phelan; Stephen McPhail (Jason McAteer 37'), Matt Holland, Gareth Farrelly (Mark Kennedy 72'), Kevin Kilbane, Gary Doherty (Niall Quinn 72'), Dominic Foley (Barry Quinn 88')
. Mexico, clearly the superior side, defeated South Africa 4-2. The Mexican team scored twice in the first half before South Africa staged a brief come-back when Benni McCarthy
scored in the 52nd minute making it 2-1. Mexican substitute and coach's son Horacio Sanchez came into the game in the 79th minute and scored two quick goals. Thabo Mngomeni
of South Africa scored from a penalty kick in the 89th minute.
Mexico - Sergio Bernal, Joaquin Beltran, Christian Ramirez, Raul Alpizar, Israel Lopez, Gerardo Torrado, Luis Perez, Paulo Cesar Chavez (Carlos Cariño 68'), Jesus Olade (Horacio Sanchez 79'), Luis Hernandez (Luis Ignacio Gonzalez 68'), Daniel Orsono (Jaime Lozano 79')
South Africa - Andre Arendse, Cyril Nzama, Fabian McCarthy, Pierre Issa, Jacob Lekgetho, Dumisi Ngobe (Thabo Mngomeni 71'), Helman Mkhalele (Arthur Zwane 85'), Godfrey Sapula, George Koumantarakis (Patrick Mayo 71'), Benni McCarthy, Delron Buckley
on the final day. In the first match, the United States and Mexico faced each other for the Cup title while Ireland and South Africa played for second place.
In the first game, the United States, for the first time in years, easily handled Mexico with a 3-0 win in front of 45,008 fans. In the 33rd minute, Brian McBride
took a cross from Earnie Stewart and easily scored from 10 yards. Mexico kept it close until Christian Ramirez
received his second yellow of the match in the 70th minute for pulling Cobi Jones
to the ground. With Mexico down to ten men, Frankie Hejduk
of the United States scored nine minutes later from a rebound from a Cobi Jones
shot. Ante Razov
scored his second goal of the tournament, when he intercepted a poorly-timed pass between Mexican defender Paul Cesar Chavez and his goalkeeper. With this victory, the United States claimed its third U.S. Cup.
United States - Kasey Keller, Tony Sanneh, Carlos Llamosa (Gregg Berhalter 71'), Jeff Agoos, David Regis, Earnie Stewart (Frankie Hejduk 76'), Chris Armas, Claudio Reyna (captain), John O'Brien (Ben Olsen 64'), Brian McBride (Ante Razov 81'), Cobi Jones (Jovan Kirovski 89') Coach: Bruce Arena
Mexico - Sergio Bernal, Joaquin Beltran, Israel Lopez (captain), Gerrado Torrado, Luis Perez (Luis Ignacio Gonzalez 66'), Paulo Cesar Chavez (Carlos Carino 85'), Horacio Sanchez (Jaime Lozano 46'), Jesus Olalde, Christian Ramirez Raul Lapizar, Daniel Orsono (Ignacio Flores 77') Coach: Hugo Sánchez
----
In the second game of the day, Ireland claimed the second spot in the Cup standings with a 2-1 victory over South Africa. South Africa scored first when captain Shaun Bartlett
fed Benni McCarthy
for a 14th minute goal. Ireland came back with a Stephen McPhail
goal in the 24th minute. Late in the second half, Niall Quinn
scored the winning goal. This was his 20th international goal, placing him in a tie with Frank Stapleton
on Ireland's all time goals list.
Ireland - Shay Given, Stephen Carr, Terry Phelan, Phil Babb, Gary Breen, Jason McAteer (Mark Kennedy 45'), Matt Holland, Stephen McPhail (Barry Quinn 86'), Alan Mahon (Kevin Kilbane 42'), Dominic Foley (Robbie Keane 46'), Niall Quinn (captain)
South Africa - Andre Arendse, Cyril Nzama, Andrew Rabutla, Jacob Lekgetho, Aaron Mokoena, Quinton Fortune (Arthur Zwane 75'), Dumisi Ngobe (Patrick Mayo 46'), Helman Mkhalele (Thabo Mngomeni 75'), Benni McCarthy (Dillon Sheppard 46'), Delron Buckley (Godfrey Sapula 46'), Shaun Barlett (captain)
Two Goals Cobi Jones
Ante Razov
Dominic Foley
Benni McCarthy
One Goal Claudio Reyna
Earnie Stewart Frankie Hejduk
Brian McBride
Richard Dunne
Stephen McPhail
Niall Quinn
Thabo Mngomeni
Jesus Olade Daniel Osorno
Luis Perez
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...
(USSF)-organized international football tournament, took place in June 2000. It was the seventh and last U.S. Cup in the series, which began in 1992.
The four teams in the competition were the United States team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
, South Africa
South Africa national football team
The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is Soccer City, known as FNB Stadium due to a naming rights deal, in...
and Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
. Of the three teams invited, Ireland was playing its third cup, Mexico its fifth (plus one U.S. Women's Cup) and South Africa its first. Ireland played in the inaugural cup in 1992 while Mexico won three straight Cups before the 2000 tournament. South Africa was the second African team to compete, after Nigeria in 1995.
Pre-tournament controversy
The USSF had deliberately scheduled the 2000 U.S. Cup to fall during the 2000 European Championship2000 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, or Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Football Championship, which is held every four years and organized by UEFA, association football's governing body in Europe....
. USSF hoped to attract two European nations from the pool of countries that failed to qualify for the Euro Cup. Once Euro Cup qualifications determined the final competitors, the USSF invited Ireland, Russia and Scotland, but only Ireland accepted the offer. The USSF then invited South Africa, an African Cup
2000 African Cup of Nations
The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa . It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four...
semi-finalist six months earlier. However, South Africa elected to use the U.S. Cup to give several younger players international experience and therefore did not bring its full senior team. While both the lack of European participation and South Africa's decision on player selection disappointed USSF, these paled in comparison to the controversy surrounding Mexico's participation.
After the 1999 U.S. Cup
1999 Nike U.S. Cup
The 1999 Nike U.S. Cup was a four nation invitational tournament sponsored by Nike, Inc. and organized by the United States Soccer Federation in March 1999. The four teams included the host United States, Mexico, Bolivia and Guatemala...
, USSF had negotiated a three year contract with the Mexican Soccer Federation, obliging Mexico to send its full international team to the next three U.S. Cups. By the time the 2000 Cup was staged, three major developments threatened Mexico's participation. First, in May 2000 Alberto de la Torre became the new Mexican Football Association
Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación
The Mexican Federation of Football is the governing body of association football in Mexico. It administers the Mexican national team, the Mexican league and all affiliated amateur sectors, and is in charge of promoting, organizing, directing, spreading, and supervising competitive football in Mexico...
president. He took control of a federation which had just failed to qualify for the Summer Olympics and had lost badly at the Gold Cup
Gold Cup
Gold Cup may refer to:In art and archaeology:* Royal Gold Cup, 14th century French cup in the British Museum* Rillaton Gold Cup, late Neolithic, from Rillaton Barrow in England* Ringlemere Cup, Bronze Age from EnglandIn horse racing:...
. He quickly fired Hugo Enrique Kiese, chief of the national team commission and the official most responsible for Mexico's three year contract with USSF. De la Torre was publicly critical of both Kiese and the U.S. Cup contract. To make matters worse, the Mexican League had also extended its season due to weathered out games. This meant that many of the top Mexican players would still be in the post-season during the tournament. Finally, FIFA had pressured CONCACAF to alter its World Cup qualification schedule, making the games earlier than anticipated. In fact, the United States and Mexican teams would leave the U.S. Cup and go immediately into preparation for those games. This meant that Mexican players, coming from their domestic league schedule, would have no time to rest before beginning a World Cup qualification campaign. Therefore, de la Torre, just weeks before the cup, asked USSF to reschedule it for August. With Ireland and South Africa confirmed and stadiums scheduled, USSF refused. De la Torre then told USSF that he would refuse to send the Mexican team, but USSF threatened a lawsuit, as well as FIFA sanctions. De la Torre brought Kiese back into the Mexican Federation and sent him to break the news to USSF, Mexico would send its "national team", but it would look a lot like the UNAM Pumas.http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=52652 After the tournament, USSF considered canceling its U.S. Cup contract with Mexico, a point which became moot as the 2000 tournament was the last played.
June 3: Opening Day
The 2000 U.S. Cup opened with two games on 3 June 2000. The first match pitted South Africa against the host United States in Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium. While the United States team had typically drawn well at RFK Stadium in the past, only 16,750 fans arrived for a game played on a clear, 78 °F day. The USSF later blamed the low turnout to poor marketing by the local professional club D.C. UnitedD.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
with which USSF had contracted, but this was merely one in a series of mis-steps associated with this cup. On the field, the United States dominated South Africa. In the 36th minute, Cobi Jones
Cobi Jones
Cobi N'Gai Jones is a retired American soccer player who formerly served as assistant coach with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer , with whom he had been involved as a player and coach since the team's inaugural season in 1996...
took a pass from Chris Armas
Chris Armas
Chris Armas is a retired American soccer player. He is currently the head women's soccer coach at Adelphi University. He was also a teacher of physical education at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, New York.-College:Armas is of Puerto Rican descent...
, and cut from right to left across the box. As Jones recalls it, "As I was dribbling across the box, the player who was marking me said, 'Shoot it! Shoot it!' So I said, 'OK, I'll shoot it.' I think he was a little bit surprised after the fact." Jones scored again, then assisted on second half goals by Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna is a retired American soccer player and the current USSF US Youth Soccer Technical Director. He was the captain of the United States national team before retiring from international football following the USA's exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is widely considered one of the...
and Ben Olsen
Ben Olsen
Benjamin Robert "Ben" Olsen is a former American professional soccer player and the current manager of D.C. United. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Olsen grew up playing for FC Delco, an elite club program near Philadelphia...
. The game was also notable as United States defender Jeff Agoos
Jeff Agoos
Jeffrey Alan "Jeff" Agoos is a retired American soccer defender, and one of the all-time appearance leaders for the United States national team....
reached his 100th cap.
United States - Kasey Keller; Tony Sanneh, Carlos Llamosa, Jeff Agoos, David Regis; Earnie Stewart (Steve Ralston 82'), Chris Armas, Claudio Reyna (captain), Eddie Lewis (Ben Olsen 66'); Brian McBride (Ante Razov 70'), Cobi Jones (Jason Kreis 84')
South Africa - Andre Arendse; Cyril Nzama, Pierre Issa, Andrew Rabutla, David Kannemeyer (Jacob Lekgetho 73'); Helman Mkhalele, Dumisi Ngobe, Thabo Mngomeni, Ivan McKinley (Delron Buckley 33'); Benedict McCarthy (George Koumantarakis 73'), Shaun Bartlett (captain)
June 4: Mexico vs. Ireland
The second game began one day later in Chicago's Soldier FieldSoldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
where Mexico and Ireland played to a 2-2 tie. Over 36,000 fans attended despite heavy and nearly constant rain. Mexico dominated the first half but Ireland made a late comeback with goals by Richard Dunne
Richard Dunne
Richard Patrick Dunne is an Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national football team. With Ireland he was a member of the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad and helped his team qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.Dunne began his professional career at Everton...
and Dominic Foley
Dominic Foley
Dominic Joseph Foley is an Irish footballer who plays for Cercle Brugge K.S.V. in Belgium, as a striker.Without really settling in his early career, he played for almost ten clubs in England, in his late 20's and 30's, he found stability in Belgium, where he represented two teams.-Football...
. In the last minutes of the game, both teams had opportunities to score the winning goal, but Ireland's Kevin Kilbane
Kevin Kilbane
Kevin Daniel Kilbane is an English-born Irish association footballer who plays as a left back or left winger for Derby County, on loan from Hull City....
shot just wide and Mexico's Joaquin Beltran
Joaquin Beltran
Joaquín Beltrán Vargas is a Mexican professional football defender, currently will play for Querétaro FC.Beltran has spent most of his career with Pumas UNAM...
's header was punched over the bar by Ireland's goalkeeper, Dean Kiely
Dean Kiely
Dean Laurence Kiely is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently goalkeeping coach at West Bromwich Albion. He has won 11 caps for the Republic of Ireland, but has more often than not been on the bench as their substitute goalkeeper...
.
Ireland - Dean Kiely, Stephen Carr, Terry Phelan, Gary Breen, Richard Dunne (Phil Babb 82'), Jason McAteer, Matt Holland, Mark Kennedy, Barry Quinn (Kevin Kilbane 41'); Niall Quinn (captain), Robbie Keane (Dominic Foley 46')
Mexico - Sergio Bernal, Joaquin Beltran, Christian Ramirez (Gilberto Jimenez 69'), Raul Alpizar, Israel Lopez, Gerardo Torrado, Luis Perez, Antonio Sancho (captain) (Gerardo Galindo 81'), Horacio Sanchez, Luis Ignacio Gonzalez, Daniel Osorno
June 6: United States vs. Ireland
Ireland and the United States played to a 1-1 draw in front of another disappointingly low turnout. Only 16,319 fans, from a heavily Irish immigrant community, came to see the game which was played in a driving rainstorm in Foxboro StadiumFoxboro Stadium
Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...
. Once again, the USSF blamed local promoters for the poor numbers. On the field, Ireland's Dominic Foley
Dominic Foley
Dominic Joseph Foley is an Irish footballer who plays for Cercle Brugge K.S.V. in Belgium, as a striker.Without really settling in his early career, he played for almost ten clubs in England, in his late 20's and 30's, he found stability in Belgium, where he represented two teams.-Football...
scored first, taking a feed from Stephen McPhail
Stephen McPhail
Stephen John Paul McPhail is an Irish footballer who plays for Cardiff City. He has won 10 caps for his country, the Republic of Ireland, and scored one goal...
before slipping past United States defender C.J. Brown and beating United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....
. The Irish retained their lead until Ante Razov
Ante Razov
Ante Razov is a retired American soccer player of Croatian descent who last played for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-Club:...
evened the match with a controversial goal. Earnie Stewart hit a clearly off-side Razov who scored as the Irish players stood still anticipating that the referee would whistle the ball dead. Instead, the referee and linesmen, all from Mexico, allowed the goal. Three minutes later, the stadium lost power for ten minutes. The game was delayed a further ten minutes as the lights warmed up. The low turnout, off-side goal and power outage merely added to the sense that this was a poorly run tournament.
After the game, the Irish hinted at a conspiracy between the United States and Mexico as an Irish victory would have won the tournament. Whatever the reason the Mexican officials allowed the goal, the USSF secretary general Hank Steinbrecher denied it was a conspiracy, saying, "I wish we were that sophisticated."
United States - Brad Friedel, Frankie Hejduk, C.J. Brown, Gregg Berhalter, Greg Vanney, Steve Ralston (Earnie Stewart 46'), John O'Brien (Claudio Reyna 60), Jovan Kirovski, Ben Olsen (Tony Sanneh 75'); Jason Kreis (Cobi Jones 65'), Ante Razov (Brian McBride 88')
Ireland - Alan Kelly; Stephen Carr, Gary Breen, Phill Babb, Terry Phelan; Stephen McPhail (Jason McAteer 37'), Matt Holland, Gareth Farrelly (Mark Kennedy 72'), Kevin Kilbane, Gary Doherty (Niall Quinn 72'), Dominic Foley (Barry Quinn 88')
June 7: Mexico vs. South Africa
Mexico met South Africa before 27,815 fans in the Cotton BowlCotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
. Mexico, clearly the superior side, defeated South Africa 4-2. The Mexican team scored twice in the first half before South Africa staged a brief come-back when Benni McCarthy
Benni McCarthy
Benedict Saul "Benni" McCarthy is a South African footballer who is currently contracted to Orlando Pirates in South Africa.McCarthy holds the record of international goals for a South African...
scored in the 52nd minute making it 2-1. Mexican substitute and coach's son Horacio Sanchez came into the game in the 79th minute and scored two quick goals. Thabo Mngomeni
Thabo Mngomeni
Thabo Mngomeni is a retired South African football midfielder.He played mostly for Cape Town Spurs, Manning Rangers, Bush Bucks, Orlando Pirates and Hellenic....
of South Africa scored from a penalty kick in the 89th minute.
Mexico - Sergio Bernal, Joaquin Beltran, Christian Ramirez, Raul Alpizar, Israel Lopez, Gerardo Torrado, Luis Perez, Paulo Cesar Chavez (Carlos Cariño 68'), Jesus Olade (Horacio Sanchez 79'), Luis Hernandez (Luis Ignacio Gonzalez 68'), Daniel Orsono (Jaime Lozano 79')
South Africa - Andre Arendse, Cyril Nzama, Fabian McCarthy, Pierre Issa, Jacob Lekgetho, Dumisi Ngobe (Thabo Mngomeni 71'), Helman Mkhalele (Arthur Zwane 85'), Godfrey Sapula, George Koumantarakis (Patrick Mayo 71'), Benni McCarthy, Delron Buckley
June 11: United States wins Cup
Two games were played at Giants StadiumGiants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
on the final day. In the first match, the United States and Mexico faced each other for the Cup title while Ireland and South Africa played for second place.
In the first game, the United States, for the first time in years, easily handled Mexico with a 3-0 win in front of 45,008 fans. In the 33rd minute, Brian McBride
Brian McBride
Brian Robert McBride is a retired American soccer player who finished his career for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer , but spent the majority of his time in MLS playing for the Columbus Crew. For much of his career he played in Europe, notably for Fulham in the English Premier League...
took a cross from Earnie Stewart and easily scored from 10 yards. Mexico kept it close until Christian Ramirez
Christian Ramírez
Christian Ramirez Diaz is a Mexican football defender who currently plays for UNAM pumas in the Primera Division de Mexico....
received his second yellow of the match in the 70th minute for pulling Cobi Jones
Cobi Jones
Cobi N'Gai Jones is a retired American soccer player who formerly served as assistant coach with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer , with whom he had been involved as a player and coach since the team's inaugural season in 1996...
to the ground. With Mexico down to ten men, Frankie Hejduk
Frankie Hejduk
Frank Daniel "Frankie" Hejduk is an American soccer player who currently plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. He formerly played as right back for Columbus Crew, where he was team captain, and the United States national team.-Youth and College:Hejduk attended San Dieguito High...
of the United States scored nine minutes later from a rebound from a Cobi Jones
Cobi Jones
Cobi N'Gai Jones is a retired American soccer player who formerly served as assistant coach with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer , with whom he had been involved as a player and coach since the team's inaugural season in 1996...
shot. Ante Razov
Ante Razov
Ante Razov is a retired American soccer player of Croatian descent who last played for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-Club:...
scored his second goal of the tournament, when he intercepted a poorly-timed pass between Mexican defender Paul Cesar Chavez and his goalkeeper. With this victory, the United States claimed its third U.S. Cup.
United States - Kasey Keller, Tony Sanneh, Carlos Llamosa (Gregg Berhalter 71'), Jeff Agoos, David Regis, Earnie Stewart (Frankie Hejduk 76'), Chris Armas, Claudio Reyna (captain), John O'Brien (Ben Olsen 64'), Brian McBride (Ante Razov 81'), Cobi Jones (Jovan Kirovski 89') Coach: Bruce Arena
Bruce Arena
Bruce Arena is a former coach of the United States men's national soccer team as well as a former professional soccer and lacrosse player...
Mexico - Sergio Bernal, Joaquin Beltran, Israel Lopez (captain), Gerrado Torrado, Luis Perez (Luis Ignacio Gonzalez 66'), Paulo Cesar Chavez (Carlos Carino 85'), Horacio Sanchez (Jaime Lozano 46'), Jesus Olalde, Christian Ramirez Raul Lapizar, Daniel Orsono (Ignacio Flores 77') Coach: Hugo Sánchez
Hugo Sánchez
Hugo Sánchez Márquez , popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, or Hugol, is a Mexican football coach and former striker. He played for four European clubs, including Real Madrid. Sanchez is considered the first highly talented Mexican player. He was also a member of the Mexico national team, and...
----
In the second game of the day, Ireland claimed the second spot in the Cup standings with a 2-1 victory over South Africa. South Africa scored first when captain Shaun Bartlett
Shaun Bartlett
Shaun Bartlett is a retired South African football striker who last played for Bloemfontein Celtic.-Early life:...
fed Benni McCarthy
Benni McCarthy
Benedict Saul "Benni" McCarthy is a South African footballer who is currently contracted to Orlando Pirates in South Africa.McCarthy holds the record of international goals for a South African...
for a 14th minute goal. Ireland came back with a Stephen McPhail
Stephen McPhail
Stephen John Paul McPhail is an Irish footballer who plays for Cardiff City. He has won 10 caps for his country, the Republic of Ireland, and scored one goal...
goal in the 24th minute. Late in the second half, Niall Quinn
Niall Quinn
Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...
scored the winning goal. This was his 20th international goal, placing him in a tie with Frank Stapleton
Frank Stapleton
Francis Anthony "Frank" Stapleton is an Irish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his time at Arsenal, Manchester United and as a pivotal player for the Republic of Ireland...
on Ireland's all time goals list.
Ireland - Shay Given, Stephen Carr, Terry Phelan, Phil Babb, Gary Breen, Jason McAteer (Mark Kennedy 45'), Matt Holland, Stephen McPhail (Barry Quinn 86'), Alan Mahon (Kevin Kilbane 42'), Dominic Foley (Robbie Keane 46'), Niall Quinn (captain)
South Africa - Andre Arendse, Cyril Nzama, Andrew Rabutla, Jacob Lekgetho, Aaron Mokoena, Quinton Fortune (Arthur Zwane 75'), Dumisi Ngobe (Patrick Mayo 46'), Helman Mkhalele (Thabo Mngomeni 75'), Benni McCarthy (Dillon Sheppard 46'), Delron Buckley (Godfrey Sapula 46'), Shaun Barlett (captain)
Champion
2000 Nike U.S. Cup Winner: USA United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF... Third title |
Scorers
Three Goals Horacio Sanchez (Golden Boot)Two Goals Cobi Jones
Cobi Jones
Cobi N'Gai Jones is a retired American soccer player who formerly served as assistant coach with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer , with whom he had been involved as a player and coach since the team's inaugural season in 1996...
Ante Razov
Ante Razov
Ante Razov is a retired American soccer player of Croatian descent who last played for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-Club:...
Dominic Foley
Dominic Foley
Dominic Joseph Foley is an Irish footballer who plays for Cercle Brugge K.S.V. in Belgium, as a striker.Without really settling in his early career, he played for almost ten clubs in England, in his late 20's and 30's, he found stability in Belgium, where he represented two teams.-Football...
Benni McCarthy
Benni McCarthy
Benedict Saul "Benni" McCarthy is a South African footballer who is currently contracted to Orlando Pirates in South Africa.McCarthy holds the record of international goals for a South African...
One Goal Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna is a retired American soccer player and the current USSF US Youth Soccer Technical Director. He was the captain of the United States national team before retiring from international football following the USA's exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is widely considered one of the...
Earnie Stewart Frankie Hejduk
Frankie Hejduk
Frank Daniel "Frankie" Hejduk is an American soccer player who currently plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. He formerly played as right back for Columbus Crew, where he was team captain, and the United States national team.-Youth and College:Hejduk attended San Dieguito High...
Brian McBride
Brian McBride
Brian Robert McBride is a retired American soccer player who finished his career for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer , but spent the majority of his time in MLS playing for the Columbus Crew. For much of his career he played in Europe, notably for Fulham in the English Premier League...
Richard Dunne
Richard Dunne
Richard Patrick Dunne is an Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national football team. With Ireland he was a member of the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad and helped his team qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.Dunne began his professional career at Everton...
Stephen McPhail
Stephen McPhail
Stephen John Paul McPhail is an Irish footballer who plays for Cardiff City. He has won 10 caps for his country, the Republic of Ireland, and scored one goal...
Niall Quinn
Niall Quinn
Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...
Thabo Mngomeni
Thabo Mngomeni
Thabo Mngomeni is a retired South African football midfielder.He played mostly for Cape Town Spurs, Manning Rangers, Bush Bucks, Orlando Pirates and Hellenic....
Jesus Olade Daniel Osorno
Daniel Osorno
Daniel Osorno Calvillo, is a Mexican football player. He is currently play in Puebla FC.-Career:...
Luis Perez
Luis Pérez
Luis Pérez may refer to:*Luis Alberto Pérez, Nicaraguan boxer*Luis Alberto Pérez-Rionda, Cuban athlete*Luis Deines Pérez, Puerto Rican boxer*Luis Ernesto Pérez, Mexican footballer*Luis Manuel Pérez, Domincan baseball pitcher...
Final Rankings
| Team | Pts | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Dif | Perc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 77.8% | ||
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 55.6% | ||
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | |||
| 44.4% | ||||||||||
| 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | |||
| 00.0% | ||||||||||