Ginger nut Lalas made a nation snap

14 April 2012

One of England's grimmest football humiliations came when the US beat Graham Taylor's woeful team 2-0 during the death throes of his blighted reign as manager 12 years ago.

While you at home were spluttering into your breakfast cornflakes, unable to believe such a result, the average American greeted England's defeat in Boston with complete indifference.

But thanks to the goals from Thomas Dooley and the extravagantly bearded Alexi Lalas, at least the American players were ecstatic.

"I never thought I'd pick up the paper and read that we had beaten England at soccer," said Tony Meola, the American captain and goalkeeping hero.

Meola, who'd played for Brighton and Watford, added: "There will be a lot of unhappy people back in England."

He was dead right. Having just lost 2-0 in Norway, England's chances of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup were fading fast. Taylor didn't need to be told the significance of England's defeat on a wet night in Boston. "I can't keep saying sorry," he said. "This result is already in the history books. There can't be a lower point in my career."

Taylor was without some key players, such as Tony Adams, Paul Gascoigne and David Platt. Even so, any neutral would have considered this 11 good enough to beat America: Woods, Dixon, Palmer, Pallister, Dorigo, Sharpe, Ince, Batty, Barnes, Ferdinand, Clough.

The Americans, who had won only once in their previous 15 matches - and that was against Saudi Arabia - were entertaining England as part of a fournation tournament to test their state of readiness as World Cup hosts.

And, while England languished at home the following summer, the US reached the second round before bowing out heroically to Brazil.

There is something quirky about our soccer relationship with America. The only time they met in the World Cup, for instance, was in 1950 in Belo Horizonte when the Empire shuddered at the news that Finney, Mortensen, Wright and Ramsey had been beaten 1-0.

The Boston defeat would have been England's all-time humiliation but for that astonishing World Cup result in Brazil.

So, as Sven Goran-Eriksson said with understandable caution, anything could happen when the two nations meet again tomorrow.

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