What if … the USMNT was awarded the handball in opposition to Germany within the 2002 World Cup?

Editor’s be aware: All through the historical past of sports activities, there have been numerous moments which have made us surprise how issues would differ if only one circumstance or determination had been modified. “What if” is a collection through which we’ll study how the trajectory of a number of athletes and groups might have appeared had main moments gone in a unique path.

Beforehand:

What if … Drew Bledsoe by no means received harm?
What if… the 49ers drafted Aaron Rodgers as an alternative of Alex Smith within the 2005 NFL Draft

What if the USMNT was awarded the handball in opposition to Germany within the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal?

The 2002 World Cup was the primary to have a number of hosts, and likewise the primary to happen in Asia— with the match being held in Japan and South Korea. After being eradicated within the Spherical of 16 in 1994 and never making it out of the group stage in 1998, the USMNT was primed for a run in 2002. They have been in a position to end as runners-up of their group, most notably defeating Portugal 3-2 and drawing with group winner South Korea. Within the Spherical of 16, they confronted Mexico for the primary time at a World Cup— and recorded a 2-0 victory behind objectives from Brian McBride and Landon Donovan.

Subsequent, it was on to the quarterfinal in opposition to powerhouse Germany. Michael Ballack received the Germans out to an early 1-0 lead within the thirty ninth minute, however the Individuals responded with a number of attacking performs to start out the second half.

However within the fiftieth minute, every little thing modified.

Oliver Kahn, Torsten Frings, Gregg Berhalter and Landon Donovan in motion throughout the World Cup quarterfinal match between Germany and USA on the Munsu Soccer Stadium on June 21, 2002 in Ulsan, South Korea. (Picture by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Photos)

Off a USMNT nook kick by Donovan, a German participant tried to go the ball away from objective— solely to have it discover a large open Gregg Berhalter, who took a shot at objective from only a few yards out. German keeper Oliver Kahn was in a position to barely save the shot, however the ball would bounce off the arm of midfielder Torsten Frings who was defending the put up. Instantly, U.S. gamers started clamoring for a handball, and when the replay was proven— it was clear as day.

Nevertheless, referee Hugh Dallas did not name it. And with VAR not but in existence, the decision was irreversible. Had it been known as, the U.S. would have been awarded a penalty kick, and Frings would have been given a crimson card. As talked about, the USMNT have been dominating the primary 10 minutes of the half, and absolutely would have taken benefit of 10-men German aspect. Beneath, we dive into a number of outcomes that would have resulted from a U.S. victory in that match.

Does the USMNT attain the 2002 World Cup closing?

If the handball had been known as, the best-case state of affairs would have resulted in Claudio Reyna scoring the game-tying penalty— and Germany would have needed to fend off a momentum-driven American assault with simply 10 males. So lots of the legendary Individuals might have subsequently scored the game-winning objective— with Donovan, McBride, Reyna, Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, and several other others headlining the squad. Had they superior, they’d have confronted South Korea within the semifinal, whom that they had drawn with within the group stage. A win in opposition to the co-hosts would pit the USMNT in opposition to Brazil, and the U.S. would have made its first males’s World Cup closing ever. Whereas the Brazilian squad was full of superstars like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo— the publicity from such a large stage might have modified the panorama of American soccer for the following 20 years— whatever the consequence.

Would the boys’s crew see related development to the ladies’s crew following their first closing?

Few can overlook the dominant trend through which the USWNT gained the World Cup in 1991 and 1999. This form of success undoubtedly influenced younger American ladies watching the match, resulting in the likes of Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach— and present stars like Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman, and Naomi Girma. Such an emphasis on girls’s soccer in the US has led to them successful 4 of the 9 World Cups ever held. So what would a win over Germany in 2002 have resulted in for the boys?

Simply think about all of the younger boys who would have participated in soccer throughout the early 2000s as an alternative of the standard suspects— Pop Warner soccer, little league baseball, and AAU (Beginner Athletic Union) basketball. For perspective, in a research finished by the Nationwide Federation of State Excessive Colleges in 2022, there have been 374,773 members in ladies soccer for that faculty 12 months— the third-highest of all sports activities. On the boy’s aspect? Soccer members ranked fifth, behind soccer, observe & subject, basketball, and baseball.

Would Bruce Area have gotten a shot at teaching in Europe?

No USMNT coach has coached or gained extra matches within the crew’s historical past than Bruce Area, with 148 and 81 respectively. He was inducted into the Nationwide Soccer Corridor of Fame in 2010, however what would his profession have appeared like if he had taken down Germany in that 2002 World Cup quarterfinal? Area had already gained two MLS titles with D.C. United in 1996 and 1997 earlier than spearheading the 2002 nationwide crew previous the Spherical of 16 for the primary time ever. Contemplating that two Area’s successors – Bob Bradley and Gregg Berhalter – have been in a position to coach overseas, it isn’t unreasonable to suppose he might have finished in order properly.

Had he taken a possible provide in Europe, that would have additionally modified the crew’s fortunes on the 2006 World Cup. The USMNT didn’t make it out of the group stage in 2006, ending final of their group and in the end resulting in Area’s exit three weeks after the match. He’d go on to win three extra MLS titles with the Galaxy in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and was once more employed by the nationwide crew in 2016. In his second stint, the U.S. did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup— the primary time that had occurred since 1986. One can not help however surprise how all of this may have modified if the handball was known as in 2002.

Will we see much more curiosity in MLS and American academies?

It is unimaginable to consider how a win over Germany would have modified the panorama of the MLS and American youth academies. Such an upset might have sparked large nationwide curiosity in soccer, resulting in unprecedented funding within the U.S. youth soccer system. With never-before-seen strain from each public and company entities, we might have seen high-level sponsorship within the MLS and a whole overhaul of youth academies— which has typically been faulted for its pay-to-play mannequin.

The following 5 to 10 years might have allowed for a community of expertise aggregation modeled after the European youth system, emphasizing technical growth and scouting in underserved communities. In flip, it is doable that a whole technology of world-class gamers would have emerged— with gamers like Christian Pulisic showing in a lot larger numbers. Simply think about what the 2014, 2018, and 2022 World Cup outcomes would have appeared like for the U.S. had this occurred after 2002. It’s very within the realm of prospects that the USMNT can be a constant soccer powerhouse had this basis been set.

How huge does males’s soccer turn into within the U.S.?

Probably the largest query of all that arises from this hypothetical train, is simply how a lot larger soccer can be on this nation had the U.S. taken down Germany with the right name. It is laborious to think about that Landon Donovan would not have turn into much more of an icon than he already is, and that he would have impressed a number of individuals to turn into followers of the game. Whereas it is laborious to say that this single consequence would have propelled soccer as the highest sport amongst Individuals, there’s little doubt that the tens of millions of potential viewers a closing or semifinal match would have generated would have modified the trajectory of the game. For perspective, 26.7 million individuals watched the USWNT take down Japan within the 2015 World Cup closing. The 2022 males’s closing between France and Argentina had over 25 million viewers. Simply think about a world through which the four-and five-star highschool basketball and soccer recruits that schools battle over grew up taking part in soccer as an alternative. We’ll by no means know.

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