In my discussions with others gearing up for USA vs. ENG on Saturday, I’ve noticed that those who believe that the U.S. can win typically cite one or all of the following three points:

  1. The U.S.A. won their qualifying group (which is nice)
  2. The U.S.A. beat #1-ranked Spain last year (which is nice)
  3. The U.S.A. beat England in the 1950 World Cup

The third has less to do with the current team’s chances, and more to do with being necessarily patriotic, obviously. If you’re not opposed to a little Nationalism, I suggest checking out ESPN’s Outside the Lines report on Joe Gaetjens, the sole goal scorer in that 1950 1-0 victory over the brits. Fair warning: the story takes a turn for the absolute worst after he scored what stands as the biggest goal in U.S. soccer history.

Source: MLive.com