The United States Men’s National Team 2002 FIFA World Cup final could have been made – in fact, they Needed To pass
And yet, he did not. Why? A clear handball that was not called in the quarterfinal against Germany. the rest is history.
But what if Can we write history again?
2002 FIFA Mans World Cup: USA looted vs Germany vs. Germany after a missed handball
After ending in 16 period in 1994 and not out of the group’s phase in 1998, the US was prime a run in 2002. They were able to finish as runners-up in their group, mostly by defeating Portugal 3–2 and drawing with group winner South Korea.
In the 16 era, he faced Mexico for the first time in the World Cup-and won a 2–0 win behind the goal of Brian McBrid and Landon Donovan. Subsequently, the powerhouse was on a quarterfinal against Germany.
Michael Balac took the Germans a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute. Americans responded with several attacker plays to start the second half.
But in the 50th minute, everything changed.
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German midfielder Torsten French was not called for handball on the drama.
From an American corner kick by Donovan, a German player tried to remove the ball from the goal- only to find it a wide open greg barhelter, who took a shot on a goal at a few yards away. German keeper Oliver Kahn was barely able to save the shot, but the ball jumped from the hands of midfielder Torsten Frenches who were defending the post. Immediately, American players began chlaning for a handball, and when the replays were shown – this was clear as the day.
However, the referee Huga Dallas did not call it. And not yet existed with VAR, the call was irreversible. If it was called, the US would be awarded a penalty kick, and the fringes would be given a red card. Given how America dominated the first 10 minutes, they definitely took advantage of the 10-man German side.
But what if Handball was called?
Will America have picked up its first World Cup trophy? Will football be seen in a different light today in the United States?
Let’s dive.
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If the handball was called, does USMNT reach the 2002 World Cup final?
In this new timeline, Claudio Reyana scored the sports penalty as a result of the best-case landscape-and Germany would have to stop a motion-driven American attack with just 10 men. So many legendary Americans later scored the play-winning targets- Donovan, McBrid, Reyana, Kobi Jones, Edi Pope, and were heading the squad with many others. If they were advanced, they would face South Korea in the semi -finals, which they had drawn into the group stage.
A win against co-genre will pits the US against Brazil, and the US would have made its first Men’s World Cup final. While the Brazilian squad was filled with superstars like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo – the exposure from such a large platform could change the US football landscape for the next two decades – regardless of the result.
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Will the men’s team see the same growth as the women’s team after their first final?
Some people may forget the major fashion in which USWNT won the World Cup in 1991 and 1999. Such success undoubtedly impressed young American girls to watch the tournament, which liked current stars like Carly Lloyd, Alex Morgan, AB Vambach and Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman, and Naomi Girma. Such emphasis on women’s football in the United States has won them four of the nine world cups. So what will happen for men as a result of a win over Germany in 2002?
Just imagine all young boys who must have participated in football during the 2000s instead of normal suspects- pop warner football, Little League baseball and AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Basketball. For perspective, in a study conducted by the National Federation of State High Schools in 2022, there were 374,773 participants in girls’ football for that school year- the third of all sports. To the boy? Football participants were ranked fifth behind football, track and field, basketball and baseball.
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Would Bruce Arena get a shot in coaching in Europe?
No American coach has won more matches in the team’s history with 148 and 81 respectively compared to Bruce Arena. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010, but what did his career look like when he took Germany down in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals? Arena had already won two MLS titles with DC United in 1996 and 1997, with the 2002 national team before 16 rounds. Given that the two akhara’s successors – Bob Bradley and Greg were able to do coaches abroad – it is not unfair to think that he could do so.
If he had taken a possible proposal in Europe, the team’s fate could also change in the 2006 World Cup. The US did not exclude it from the group’s stage in 2006, ending its groups and eventually leading to the outdoors three weeks after the tournament. He would proceed to win three more MLS titles with Galaxy in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and was re -employed by the national team in 2016. In its second term, the US failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup – for the first time that happened after 1986. No one can help, but wonder how all this would have changed if the handball was called in 2002.
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Do we see even more interest in MLS and American academies?
It is incredible to think about how a win over Germany would have changed the landscape of MLS and American young academies. Such disturbed football can increase the national interest on a large scale, leading to unprecedented investment in the American youth football system. With never seen pressure from both public and corporate institutions, we could see a complete overhaul of high-level sponsorship and young academies in MLS-which has often become faulty for its pay-to-play models.
In the next five to ten years, modeling after the European youth system can be allowed for a network of talent aggregation, emphasized on technological development and scouting in undersked communities. In turn, it is possible that an entire generation of world-class players would have emerged-a large number of players such as Christian police appear. Just think that the results of 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be seen for America which happened after 2002. It is completely under the purview of possibilities that the US would be a consistent football powerhouse which was determined this base.
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How big does men’s football become in America?
Possibly the biggest question of all arising from this imaginary practice is how big football will be in this country, America took Germany down with the right call. It is difficult to imagine that Landon Donovan would not have already become more than an icon, and they would have inspired many people to become fans of the game. Although it is difficult to say that this single result would have inspired football as a top game among Americans, there is no doubt that millions of potential spectators would have produced the final or semi -final match, which would have changed the trajectory of the game. For perspective, 26.7 million people took USWNT down in the 2015 World Cup final. There were more than 25 million spectators in the 2022 men’s finals between France and Argentina. Just imagine a world in which four-and five-star high school basketball and football are recruited, in which fighting colleges, they grow up playing football instead. we will never know.
what if … ?
More sports history “what ifs?”:
- What if … Patriots QB Drew Bleedos never injured in 2001?
- What if … 49ers drafted Aaron Roders instead of Alex Smith in the 2005 NFL draft?
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