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U.S. MNT 100 Cap Club |
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There
have been two new additions to the exclusive U.S. Men's
National Team 100 Cap Club in the past two months with
Claudio Reyna and Earnie Stewart earning their 100th caps
bringing the total to eight players. Each player before them
reached the century mark in a unique and/or a historic way.
This exclusive club includes three current Hall of Famers -
Marcelo Balboa,
Paul
Caligiuri, and
Eric Wynalda.
Jeff Agoos
In what is still the only
match-up between the United States and South Africa, the
2000 U.S. Cup opened with a pre-game ceremony celebrating Agoos’s 100th career appearance for the national
team. The game was played in Washington D.C.’s RFK Stadium,
which Agoos had called home for five years while playing
with D.C. United. The celebration was somewhat overshadowed
by the play of U.S. forward Cobi Jones, who scored two
left-footed goals in the first half and had two assists in
the second in the 4-0 win. Agoos had one of the best games
of his career in the shutout though, and said after the
game, “I wanted the 100th to be a memorable game and it
was.”
Agoos’s first career cap came in January 1988, and even
though he had played in all but one qualifier leading up to
France ’98, he became the first person in MNT history to
reach 100 caps without playing in a World Cup game. Of
course he would eventually play an important role in the
team’s 2002 World Cup success, appearing in three games in
Korea.
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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106 |
34 |
1990-2000 |
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Marcelo Balboa
Marcelo became
the first American player (male or female) to appear in 100 international games
- and he did it with style. On June 11, 1995, just two years after completely
tearing his ACL, Balboa made history by hitting the century mark in the opening
game of the U.S. Cup against Nigeria at Foxboro Stadium in Boston. Playing in
one's 100th international game is probably enough to steal the headlines in
itself, but that didn’t satisfy the long-haired defender. Down 2-1 just seconds
before the halftime whistle, Balboa scored a goal on a header from a Mike Burns
free kick to send the teams into the locker rooms tied at two apiece. The 11th
goal of his career helped lift the team to a 3-2 win over the Super Eagles, and
eventually win the U.S. Cup title. Of one of the best games of his career,
Balboa said, “To get the 100th cap and to top it off with a goal and a win, you
can’t be much happier.”
He also
captained the team in the 1995 Copa America tournament and
played in the FIFA World All-Star game in the same
year. Balboa would continue playing with the national team
through 2000, earning 128 total caps, appearing in three
World Cups, and scoring 13 career goals in 12 years with the
red, white, and blue. |
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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128 |
13 |
1988-2000 |
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Paul Caligiuri
One of the most memorable games
in Caligiuri’s career is also one of the most memorable
upsets in U.S. Soccer history. In the first round of the
1995 Copa America Championship, the United States needed a
3-0 win over perennial world power Argentina to win its
group and avoid playing Brazil in the quarterfinals- a long
shot, to say the least. By starting and playing the entire
game, Caligiuri helped solidify the U.S. defense and shutout
Argentina’s powerful attack in his 100th game to secure the
incredible 3-0 upset victory. The win against Argentina,
which seemed next to impossible on paper, is considered to
be one of the greatest and most important victories in the
team’s history. He was just the second player to join the
exclusive 100 club for the Americans, and the first to land
a Pert Plus commercial.
Caligiuri’s most famous moment however was not running his
fingers through his hair. It came against Trinidad & Tobago
on November 19, 1989 in what is arguably the biggest moment
in U.S. soccer history. He scored the only goal in the 1-0
victory that sent the United States to the World Cup for the
1st time in 40 years. His “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” was
the biggest of Caligiuri’s five career goals. One of the
best players in U.S. history, the Hall of Fame defender
played in the 1985 FIFA World All-Star game and had a career
that spanned 14 years
(1984-1997) and that included at least one appearance every
year. |
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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110 |
5 |
1984-1997 |
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Cobi Jones
Imagine the pressures of playing
in semifinals of the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the region’s
championship. Not only in your hometown, not only in the
100th international game of your career, but also against
the reigning World Cup champions, Brazil. The team that
knocked you out of the last World Cup on your home turf has
not only beaten you in every match-up, but also outscored
you 19-0 since 1930. These are the pressures that faced Cobi
Jones as he entered the Century Club on February 10,
1998. The day turned out better than most Americans
expected (and a lot worse than all of Brazil expected) as
Preki scored the game’s only goal in the 60th minute to lift
the U.S. to a 1-0 victory. The victory was the first and
only win over the South American side, and ranks with the
1995 Copa America Cup victory over Argentina as one of the
biggest games in U.S. non-World Cup history.
Jones leads American men with 160 all-time appearances since
1992, and at 27 was the youngest player in U.S. history (and
4th youngest in the world) to reach 100 caps. He also was
one of the first to break into mainstream popularity not
only with his patented dreadlocks, but by making a guest
appearance on Beverly Hills 90210 in 1994, and hosting a
health show on MTV called MegaDose that lasted for 3 years. |
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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164 |
15 |
1992-2004 |
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Joe-Max Moore
Another player who earned his
100th cap in a World Cup game was forward Joe-Max in a
first-round match against Poland in Korea/Japan 2002. Moore
was the sixth and most recent player on the men’s national
team to hit triple digits when he entered the Poland game in
the 58th minute. The Americans had already upset Portugal, a
Cup favorite, in their opening game, and tied a very
determined home team in South Korea. They entered the game
against Poland needing a victory in order to determine their
own fate and advance to the second round. Even
though the U.S. lost the game, they reached the second round
of the tournament because of a Korea win over Portugal that
occurred simultaneously. The U.S. would go on to beat Mexico
in their first knock-out round victory since 1950 and earn
respect in a 1-0 loss against world power Germany in the
quarterfinals.
Facing a must-win situation in qualifying, Moore had helped
the team earn its spot in Korea/Japan by scoring both goals
in a 2-1 victory over Jamaica in front of his MLS hometown
fans at Foxboro Stadium. The midfielder also notched four
goals in the USA's 7-0 thrashing of El Salvador in December
of 1993. He actually scored what would have been a U.S.
record fifth in the match, but the ball slipped through a
hole in the net and the referees disallowed the goal. Moore
has exactly 100 appearances for the U.S. from 1992-2002. |
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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100 |
24 |
1992-2002 |
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Claudio
Reyna
Captain of the Men’s National
Team, Reyna joined the 100 Cap Club in a friendly against
Honduras. In the match he registered an assist in the
convincing 4-0 victory. ‘Captain America’ looks eager to the
lead the United States through the CONCACAF World Cup
Qualifying stages and have a memorable run at the 2006 FIFA
World Cup in Germany.
Reyna is currently playing professional soccer for
Manchester City of the English Premier League. After his
solid performance during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he was
selected to the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. Following the
’94 World Cup, he signed for Bayer Leverkusen and has been
playing for top European clubs ever since. He has been a
member of three World Cup teams (’94, ’98 & ’02). |
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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107 |
8 |
1994-present |
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Earnie Stewart
Becoming the 8th player in men’s
national team history to earn his 100th international
appearance Stewart came on as a substitute against Grenada
in a 2006 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier. He replaced Josh
Wolff in the 69th minute and registered the game winning
assist. He has been one of the most consistant contributor
to the men's national team since he began his international
career in 1989.
He played professionally in the Netherlands for 14 years
before returning to America to play for D.C. United of Major
League Soccer in 2003. He scored the all-important goal
against Colombia in the 1994 World Cup that sent the U.S.
through to the Round of 16. He is one of five players who
have played in three World Cups for the United States (’94,
’98, ’02). |
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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101 |
17 |
1988-2004 |
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Eric Wynalda
What could be better than
playing in your 100th career game while at the same time
playing the first game of the first round in the 1998 World
Cup? Despite what most fans remember about France ‘98, not
everything in Paris was negative. Eric, the all-time
scoring leader for the U.S. Men’s National team, hit the
century mark in the first-round game against Germany on June
15. Wynalda, the first American to play in the Bundesliga,
also played in the FIFA World All-Star game prior to the
World Cup draw in France. His most famous international goal
came in the previous World Cup, USA ’94, when he fired in a
30-yard free kick against Switzerland in the opening round
to help move the U.S. into the second round.
Wynalda played his last game for the stars and stripes in
2000, finishing with 106 total appearances and an all-time
leading 34 goals. He was recently voted into the National
Soccer Hall of Fame in recognition of his 10 record-setting
years with the national team and seven years with Major
League Soccer. |
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Int'l
Caps |
Int'l
Goals |
Era |
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106 |
34 |
1990-2000 |
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