Throwback Thursday: Remember when Landon Donovan, Josh Wolff and the USMNT thrashed Jamaica 5-0 in 2002?
With a starting XI featuring Donovan, Wolff, Claudio Reyna and Gregg Berhalter, the USMNT cleared the floor of the Reggae Boyz
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The U.S. men’s national team is taking on Jamaica in the quarterfinals of the 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League in a two-legged affair, with Mauricio Pochettino facing his biggest test since taking over as USMNT coach.
The two nations have a storied history, including a tough record on Jamaican soil for the USMNT, with six of their previous 10 meetings at “The Office” in Kingston ending in draws.
GOALÂ looked back at some of the most famous moments between the two nations, including one standout performance in 2002 in which the USMNT claimed a 5-0 victory in an international friendly, with both Josh Wolff and Landon Donovan running the show in the attack.
On May 16, 2002, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, the USMNT claimed their largest-ever victory in one of their final tune-up matches ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Here’s a look back at that match, and what it meant in this edition of… Throwback Thursday.
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AFPWHAT HAPPENED?
It was their penultimate warmup match for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, just three weeks out from the prestigious tournament, and the U.S. needed all the confidence they could get ahead of the competition. Just one month prior in April, they suffered an embarrassing road defeat to Ireland in Dublin in an international friendly, and in March, a 4-2 loss to Germany.
The U.S. needed a big victory to get lift their spirits. And they did just that. The USMNT defeated Jamaica 5-0, with four goals arriving in the second half.
Just seven minutes into the match, the Reggae Boyz had a golden chance to take a 1-0 lead, but a stupendous 1v1 save from Kasey Keller kept the match scoreless. Then, after a scoreless opening 30 minutes, the breakthrough arrived when Wolff opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, pounding home a back-post header for a 1-0 lead.
It was a close affair heading into the halftime break, but come the final 45 minutes, the floodgates opened.
Just two minutes into the second half, Donovan combined with Clint Mathis, who scored from the edge of the box to double the lead. In the 60th minute, Wolff secured a brace, giving the USMNT a dominant 3-0 lead. Then, in the 84th minute, Donovan finally got his goal, handing the U.S. a 4-0 lead before the fifth arrived of the boot of DaMarcus Beasley in stoppage-time.
Donovan recorded three assists and a goal, while Wolff scored a brace as the U.S. got the momentum boost they needed ahead of traveling to South Korea for the World Cup.
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AFPWHY IT MATTERS
The U.S. went on to produce one of their best-ever performances at the 2002 World Cup, with Bruce Arena’s team stunning the world. At the time, it was monumental for the growth of the game domestically, and for the U.S., it was an announcement that they had arrived on the biggest stage.
Arena led the team to the Round of 16 in the tournament for the first time in 72 years, including an iconic Dos a Ceo victory over rivals Mexico in the group stage. In their knockout match that sent them home, they fell 1-0 to Germany – but it happened in controversial fashion. After an in-swinging corner from Claudio Reyna in the 50th minute, Gregg Berhalter hit a low-driven volley that beat German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, but was cleared off the line by the arm of defender Torsten Frings. However, the referee did not call a handball offense – despite the blatant infraction.
Regardless, though, the U.S. roster in 2002 made waves across the global game with their performances, and it was the start of a budding career for many U.S. internationals such as Donovan – who went on to have a brilliant career with the USMNT.
However, many attribute their success in the tournament to their thrilling victory over the Reggae Boyz just over a month prior to their journey to Korea.
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Getty Images SportWHERE ARE THEY NOW
The stars of that victory against Jamaica – Wolff and Donovan – are both active members of domestic soccer in the U.S. Wolff was head coach of Austin FC for five seasons from 2019 through 2024, until he was fired earlier this year. In his first senior head coaching role, he got the 2019 expansions side through their first years as an organization.
Donovan, meanwhile, was appointed interim head coach of NWSL side San Diego FC earlier this year. The California-based club missed out on the postseason, meaning his contact is now up. However, it is yet to be determined what his next steps are as a manager – and if San Diego will look to re-appoint him in 2025.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?
The U.S. are looking to beat Jamaica in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the Nations League in March, 2025 – where they will look to win their fourth-straight title in the competition.
In the 2023-24 final, the U.S. defeated Mexico, with Gio Reyna scoring the game-winning goal while claiming the Golden Ball of the competition as well.
