Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Making History in El Salvador

It's been a little more than four and a half years since the U.S. traveled to face El Salvador, and the last time out holds some historical significance. The 2-0 win in San Salvador on Oct. 9, 2004, not only put the U.S. firmly in first place of Group 1 of semifinal round qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but also marked a few other milestones:
  1. Eddie Johnson became the seventh U.S. player since 1986 to score a goal in his first international appearance. “I was lucky. I was in the right place at the right time,” said Johnson. “I moved into the box and Landon made a very unselfish play to pass the ball. I just wanted to do well for the team." Incidentally, the guy before Eddie to do it? Landon Donovan, against Mexico on Oct. 25, 2000. Speaking of Landon ...
  2. He wore the captain's armband that night for the first time in his international career. The opportunity came in his 56th appearance for the United States. “The second highest honor is playing for your country and the highest honor is wearing the (captain’s) armband for your country,” said Donovan after the game. “It was good because I knew I was going to be ready. It shows that the players have confidence in me and that feels good.”
  3. The victory ended a dubious streak for the U.S. as the team won a World Cup qualifying game in Central America for the first-time ever outside of Honduras. Going into that match, the U.S. had been 0-for-11 (0-5-6) in trying to earn a full three points in Central American qualifying games outside of Honduras, which included a single draw in their only previous qualifying game in El Salvador (a 1-1 tie in 1997).
Wonder what history will be recorded this Saturday. Any predictions?

4 comments:

Jesse said...

US 3-0

Army of Dad said...

Dos a Cero.

AdamTheRed said...

Jose Francisco Torres' first goal!

Anonymous said...

You know it! Our team gets better & better with each appearance! && Even though I am originally from El Salvador ... its USA all the way for me baby! If my darn passport gets here on time I might even be over there to watch the game live!!! **keeping my fingers crossed** but if not then it will be family soccer night infront of tv!