Is Win Over U.S. Team’s Rank Among All-Time U.S. Soccer Wins?

Wednesday morning’s remarkable victory by the United States men’s national team will go down as the most famous in history (for having the most people watch it), most memorable (combination of watchers and circumstance), and most dramatic. The more interesting topic might be the more nebulous concept of “biggest,” something I suspect you’ll hear thrown around a lot between now and this weekend’s Round of 16 match. Is this the biggest win in U.S. men’s national team history?

What does biggest even mean? Biggest implies magnitude, and a great way to measure magnitude is by impact. We don’t know what kind of impact Wednesday’s win will have on U.S. soccer, but in time, it should fit nicely into the list of highlight matches in national team history. Your mileage may very and, given I’ve had only a couple of hours to think about this, I imagine you’ll have some very good reasons why this list should be reordered.

11. 1930 World Cup - United States 3, Paraguay 0 - The U.S.‘s second victory in the inaugural World Cup became officially recognized (as of 2006) for the World Cup’s first ever hattrick, scored by Bert Patenaude in the States’ 3-0 win over the Paraguayans. The U.S. would go on to lose 6-1 to Argentina in the semifinals, earning their place and the country’s first two World Cup victories.

10. 2007 Gold Cup - United States 2, Mexico 1 - The U.S. had won Gold Cups in 2002 and 2005 but did not have the opportunity to beat Mexico while winning them. Landon Donovan equalized an Andres Guardado opener before the biggest goal of Benny Feilhaber’s career won the U.S. their fourth continental title.

9. 1995 Copa America - United States 3, Argentina 0 - Coming-off hosting the 1994 World Cup, the United States issued further warning that they were an emerging soccer force. Goals by Frank Klopas, Alexi Lalas and Eric Wynalda beat the Argentines in the United States’ first true scalp of the modern era.

8. 2002 World Cup - United States 2, Mexico 0 - The Round of 16 win in South Korea got the United States to a World Cup quarterfinal. The only thing keeping this result from ranking higher: The U.S. expected to beat their CONCACAF rival.

7. 1998 Gold Cup - United States 1, Brazil 0 - Brazil was an invitee to the Gold Cup and did not bring their A-team, but Kasey Keller, giving one of the best goalkeeping efforts imaginable, gave the U.S. the scalp of another world power - timed perfectly after the Argentina result to remind the casual soccer fan that the national team was still a building force.

6. 1950 World Cup - United States 1, England 0 - The result that has been the hook on which the U.S. has hung their hat for years and made Joe Gaetjans an iconic name. But if this hadn’t happened against England, it would not have been so beloved. That and the date - sixty years go, before the modern era - make this more about non-soccer culture than being a big soccer result.

5. 2002 World Cup - United States 3, Portugal 2 - People tend to forget the hype surrounding this Portugal team - a dark horse to win the tournament, with Figo, Costa, Pauleta, Pinto, Couto, Baia and the rest of Portugal’s golden generation. In the first match of the tournament, the United States garnered another major upset and put all memories of 1998 behind them.

4. 2010 World Cup - United States 1, Algeria 0 - Will ultimately fall this low on the list as people see that U.S. expectations and the team’s strength relative to Algeria made this result more of a goal than an upset. Moving into the knockout stage with a 91st minute goal while the U.S. is more soccer-crazy than ever gives this result major bonus points.

3. 1994 World Cup - United States 2, Colombia 1 - People were not sure the United States would make it out of their group, though they were hosting the event. A draw in Detroit versus Switzerland only fostered the uncertainty. But a 2-1 win over Pele-selected favorite Colombia christened the United States as a legitimate soccer nation.

2. 2009 Confederations Cup - United States 2, Spain 0 - As time goes on, this will be the result people point to and say “that is where they started to believe.” As we’ve seen in this World Cup, belief is a powerful thing. Spain was performing as well as any team ever has, yet the United States unseated them, and ended La Furia Roja’s world-record streak of 15 consecutive wins.

1. 1990 CONCACAF Qualifying - United States 1, Trinidad and Tobago 0 - Paul Caligiuri’s Shot Heard Around the World started the current era of American football. Everything that’s been build in the last twenty years has the Italia 1990 team to thank for it. This is still the biggest win in United States soccer history.