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The "shot heard 'round the world" is a term used in reference to one of the most historic goals in U.S. soccer history, which allowed the United States to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup after 36 years.[1] This goal was scored by Paul Caligiuri in a qualification game against Trinidad and Tobago at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain on November 19, 1989.[1]
 Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain hosted the match | |||||||
| Event | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – North, Central American and Caribbean zone – final round | ||||||
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| United States qualifies for the 1990 World Cup | |||||||
| Date | November 19, 1989 | ||||||
| Venue | Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain | ||||||
| Referee | Juan Carlos Loustau (Argentina) | ||||||
| Attendance | 35,000 | ||||||
The U.S. had not qualified for a FIFA World Cup since 1950 and wanted to give a good impression to the world of soccer by qualifying for the 1990 World Cup, after having been selected by FIFA in 1988 to host the 1994 tournament.[2]
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The United States was one of the five nations competing in the final round of CONCACAF's qualifiers for two spots at the upcoming World Cup in Italy, the other involved nations being Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago. Mexico was disqualified due to a scandal related with the age adulteration for a youth tournament, known as los cachirules.[3] In that time, the U.S. team was formed mainly by college and semi-professional players.[4]
They started by losing 1–0 to Costa Rica, then they got revenge by beating Costa Rica 1–0, tied 1–1 against Trinidad and Tobago, won 2–1 against Guatemala and won 1–0 against El Salvador. After scoreless draws against both Guatemala and El Salvador, the situation of the group was as follows:
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Costa Rica |
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 |
 United States |
7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 9 |
 Guatemala |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 |
 El Salvador |
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 2 |
The United States needed a win in order to qualify for the World Cup because a loss or a draw would allow Trinidad and Tobago to qualify. Costa Rica had already qualified for the tournament in Italy.
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The game was played on November 19, 1989 in the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. The stadium was painted red as an homage to the Strike Squad as the Trinidadian team was then known.[5]
Early on, John Harkes tried unsuccessfully to score, while Trinidad and Tobago's Paul Elliot-Allen had two attempts on goal. Eventually, the breakthrough would come in the 30th minute when Bruce Murray passed the ball to Paul Caligiuri, who dodged a rival defender and made it 1–0 for the United States through a left-footed shot. Trinidadian goalkeeper Michael Maurice waited for the ball practically standing on the goal line, but he could not see it, arguing that the sun had blinded him.[6]
In the second half, the Trinidadians went on an offensive to find an equalizer, but Tony Meola made several saves to deny them. After the final whistle, the U.S. players joyously celebrated while Trinidad and Tobago was left in consternation.[7][8]
Details
18th round
        Trinidad and Tobago
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     United States
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Assistant referees:
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After the game, the group results were as follows:
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica |
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 |
| United States |
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 11 |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 9 |
| Guatemala |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 |
| El Salvador |
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 2 |
Due to the political situation in El Salvador and the fact that El Salvador and Guatemala had no chances to qualify for the World Cup by winning both matches, the matches still to be played between El Salvador and Guatemala were canceled.[10][11]
The U.S. press, considering the significance of the result, described Caligiuri's goal as "the shot heard 'round the world".[12][1]
After 36 years of absences from the World Cup, the U.S. team qualified for the 1990 World Cup but its participation in the tournament was brief. They lost 1–5 to Czechoslovakia, 0–1 against hosts Italy,[1] and 1–2 against Austria.[13] The U.S. would consecutively qualify for the next six subsequent World Cups, but failed to keep the streak going in 2018 as they lost 2–1 to Trinidad and Tobago during their final qualification game.[14]
Trinidad and Tobago suffered a World Cup qualification drought until 2005, after beating Bahrain 2–1 on aggregate in an intercontinental playoff,[15] which allowed the Soca Warriors to qualify to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Yorke and Latapy, members of the qualifying campaign of 1989, were part of that Trinidadian team, which in that World Cup drew against Sweden 0–0 and lost against England 2–0 and Paraguay 2–0, being eliminated in the first round.[16]
Ironically, a shocking loss to Trinidad and Tobago in 2017 cost the United States qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and ended their streak of seven consecutive qualifications that started with this match.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
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