the United States failed to qualify for the 1986 World
Cup.
From 1985 to 1988, U.S. professional soccer was
played primarily indoors. Slowly, regional outdoor
leagues emerged. On July 4, 1988, the United States
won the right to host the 1994 World Cup. In the
1988 Olympics, the national team competed val-
iantly, tying Argentina 1-1 and the Republic of Korea
0-0 before succumbing to the Soviet Union 2-4 and
losing the right to advance.
Rebuilding the national team paid off in 1989,
when the United States beat Trinidad and Tobago
1-0 during the Confederation of North, Central
American and Caribbean Association Football
(CONCACAF) Gold Cup competition. The victory,
thanks to striker Paul Caligiuri’s goal, qualified the
United States for the 1990 World Cup. With profes-
sional outdoor soccer enjoying a renaissance due to
regional leagues, collegiate soccer on the rise, and
the women’s national team emerging, U.S. soccer
looked with hope to the next decade.
Canada Professional soccer in Canada experi-
enced a false start, when the Canadian Professional
Soccer League folded after its first year in 1983; be-
fore the league collapsed, the Edmonton Brickmen
won the championship match against the Hamilton
Steelers 2-0. In contrast, at the 1984 Olympics, the
Canadian team acquitted itself well. It tied Iraq 1-1
after a leading goal by Gerry Gray and came back
from a 0-1 defeat against Yugoslavia to beat Camer-
oon 3-1 with two goals by Dale Mitchell and one by
Igor Vrablic. In the next round, Brazil tied Canada at
the end of regulation play after a lead by Mitchell.
Brazil won 5-3 on penalty kicks.
The decade’s highlight for Canadian soccer was
winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 1985. After ty-
ing Costa Rica 1-1 at home, the team defeated Hon-
duras 1-0 in Tegucigalpa, tied Costa Rica 0-0 abroad,
and achieved a 2-1 victory against Honduras at home.
This victory not only won Canada the cup but also
qualified the team to play for the World Cup for the
first time in its history. At the 1986 World Cup com-
petition in Mexico, however, Canada failed to score a
single goal, losing 0-1 to France and 0-2 to Hungary
and the Soviet Union. A post-cup match-fixing scan-
dal in Singapore led to one-year suspensions of four
players, including Vrablic.
In 1987, the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) was
founded; it survived for five years. The Hamilton
Steelers participated in all three finals held in the
1980’s but lost to the Calgary Kickers in 1987 and the
Vancouver 86ers in 1988 and 1989. The CSL eventu-
ally merged with the American Professional Soccer
League in 1993.
Impact During the 1980’s, soccer endured a roller-
coaster experience in North America. After auspi-
cious signs in the early 1980’s, the fiscal irresponsi-
bility of U.S. clubs—coupled with a lack of American
players, no local roots, and diminishing television
quotas—caused the NASL to fold by 1984. However,
the large turnout for soccer matches during the
1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles persuaded in-
ternational soccer authorities to allow the United
States to host the 1994 World Cup. This decision cor-
responded with a renaissance of professional U.S.
soccer, as regional leagues grounded in their com-888 Soccer The Eighties in America
U.S. national soccer team striker Paul Caligiuri. In 1989, Cali-
giuri scored the winning goal in a CONCACAF match against
Trinidad and Tobago, thereby qualifying his team to compete in
the World Cup.(AP/Wide World Photos)