In 1976 United States was celebrating 200 years of independence. With the North American Soccer League (NASL) beginning to blossom with an array of world stars participating, it was fitting England was one of the sides invited to take part.
America had, of course, been a British colony prior to 1776. The NASL was littered with professionals from England, many of them from the lower leagues. It would’ve been odd if there wasn’t some sort of English representation.
As England had failed to qualify for the final stages of Euro ’76 they were going to be kicking their heels during the summer. Italy had suffered the same fate so both were perfect guests for the occasion.
The NASL attracted some of the biggest names in football, but at this stage, it was still early days. After this tournament players of the calibre of Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Carlos Alberto would arrive. For now, they boasted the biggest of them all, Pelé. Top scorer at World Cup ’66, Eusébio was playing for Toronto and the mercurial Rodney Marsh was in the sun-kissed ranges of Tampa. In February 1976 they captured a player who would challenge Pelé for celebrity status, George Best.
The ignorance of international football from the organisers meant they hadn’t really heard of Pelé until he arrived in New York. The explosion of media attention on the club from the world’s media convinced them of his star attraction. Consequently, they understood the huge draw of Brazil and they were the third team to receive an invite.
The fourth team was a team drawn from those playing in the NASL. The local players weren’t considered good enough yet, so instead of sending them out to get a kicking, a Team America XI was born. The choice of Bobby Moore as captain, and a strike pairing of Pelé and Giorgio Chinaglia would give the tournament an interesting edge as certainly two of the three had been discarded by their respective countries before, as they believed, their time was up.
The tournament took place at the end of May 1976. Two weeks before the Euro ’76 Quarter-Finals.
In those days the Euros were a group stage followed by a two-legged Quarter-Final round. The successful four sides then all met in one country to fight out Semi-Finals, a Third Place play-off and Final.
England
England had been drawn into a group with Czechoslovakia, Portugal and Cyprus. At the time it was somewhat of a surprise the Czechs topped the group, but when they went on to win the whole thing there was some excuse for manager Don Revie.
Revie, a legend at Leeds United had replaced Sir Alf Ramsey after he received the sack when England failed to qualify for World Cup ’74. When Ramsey’s team took on Brazil in Guadalajara in 1970 few people disputed the claim they were the best two sides in the world. Many argue Ramsey’s 1970 team was better than the one which lifted the trophy four years earlier.
Barely three years later they were a shadow of that team, succumbing to Poland in qualification. European football had its big guns, England, West Germany and Italy, but was littered with examples of ‘lesser nations’ being underestimated to such an extent they delighted in biting the big boys on the backside.
Poland finished third in West Germany in 1974. When England faced Czechoslovakia they experienced a similar fate. The Czechs went on to humble the West Germans in an iconic penalty shootout.
Revie may have been the best qualified of any potential candidate for Ramsey’s seat. He’d guided Leeds United from a Second Division team to lift two league titles in six seasons. The four years where they didn’t win, they finished second three times and third once. They reached three FA Cup Finals, winning one. They also lifted the League Cup. In Europe they were also in three finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner to the UEFA Cup, now Europa League), winning two.
What went against him was not just that Leeds were a team many loved to hate. Revie had created a culture of ‘them and us’ to such an extent many around the country basked in their ability to lose in the latter stages of competitions more than they won. What counted against him so much was The FA didn’t interview any other candidates.
The people’s choice would’ve been Brian Clough the FA were never going to risk him upsetting the applecart. Ironic how their choice, Revie, did just that.
Revie’s problem was he either trusted players or he didn’t. There didn’t seem to be any middle ground. His Leeds team was largely the same throughout his tenure, except for one or two additions. When he took over the national job he didn’t seem to be able to shift those prejudices.
They arrived in Los Angeles just a few days after a chastening defeat at Hampden Park against the Auld enemy. Mick Channon had given them the lead only to see them completely overhauled by goals from QPR’s Don Masson and Kenny Dalglish, then a Celtic player. The only surprise was the margin of victory for Scotland wasn’t bigger as the home side spurned several chances.
Revie brought a 22-man squad with him, including four uncapped and six with fewer than three appearances behind them.
They were due to start their World Cup ’78 campaign in mid-June so there were places up for grabs. Revie could be said to be in his second period of his reign. His first had been relatively good, his side only conceding once in his first seven matches. This period included an impressive 2-0 win at home against World and European champions, West Germany, and culminated in a 5-1 thumping of Scotland at Wembley. The West German match had seen him employ the mercurial Alan Hudson in a free role. Hudson not only pulled all the strings made available, he created many of his own to conduct matters in one of the finest debuts for an England international. Inexplicably he was only seen once in an England shirt ever again.
The Scotland result was under the captaincy of World Cup winner Alan Ball. England’s new regime appeared to hold much promise.
For reasons best known to himself Revie decided to kick Ball into touch without so much as a phone call. He wrote to the 1966 World Cup Final man-of-the-match to let him know his country was no longer interested in him.
The league season just ended had been a pulsating one as QPR pushed Liverpool all the way. They were 15 minutes away from winning their first-ever league title when Liverpool overturned a 0-1 deficit to beat Wolves 3-1. Two of the scorers that night, Keegan and Ray Kennedy were in the squad along with defenders Phil Thompson and Phil Neal. QPR, after their best-ever league finish, were represented by skipper Gerry Francis and full-back Dave Clement.
Again, there were many astonished at the continued absence of Stan Bowles. Revie just didn’t trust a maverick.
Another player missing was Peter Shilton. He last played under Revie in the 5-0 win against Cyprus at Wembley. He was alongside Ball and Hudson that night but none of them had heard from the boss since.
A classic example of Revie’s mistrust of players came with his selection of Malcolm MacDonald for that Cyprus game. Considered one of the finest strikers in the country, when he arrived for his first squad for the West German match, Revie greeted him with the motivational line;
“I didn’t want you here. I’ve only picked you cos the press have been clamouring for you. If you don’t score tonight you won’t get picked again.”
Revie was no Shankly. If Shanks had said this to a player he’d have followed it up by congratulating the lad for his goal in the game. But Revie blanked Newcastle’s number nine.
When MacDonald met up with the squad for the next match against Cyprus he received the same silent treatment from his boss. In the lead-up to the game, MacDonald told Ball about it. Ball then gathered some of the players around and hatched a plan to make an effort to help the striker beat the England goalscoring record (five) in the match. The fact he equalled the record said much about him as a player but possibly more about the respect the others had for Alan Ball.
Revie knew none of this and still never congratulated his striker after the game. If five goals in a match doesn’t get you a “well done” from your boss then what’s the point of playing for him?
Revie only started Supermac on three more occasions before he binned him.
If England had things to prove so did Italy.
Italy
They’d been ceremoniously dumped out of the World Cup in 1974 by England’s victors, Poland. The whole tournament had been a frustrating experience for them. Up against Haiti in their first match, the little island at their first World Cup, shocked the Azzurri by taking the lead. The darling of Italy, Gianni Rivera rescued them and they ran out 3-1 winners.
In 1970 they won their opening game then defended for the next 180 minutes to get to the knock-out stage. This was the blueprint as far as they were concerned. An unconvincing performance against Argentina wasn’t too much of a concern as a draw was achieved.
So far so good, until they met Poland in Stuttgart. They were played off the park and on the plane home. Embarrassing for a country who’d reached the Final just four years earlier.
Manager Ferruccio Valcareggi got the push and in came Fulvio Bernardini. He’d taken both Bologna and Fiorentina to Serie A title and was expected to guide the national team to Euro ’76 knockout stage.
Up against Poland again, they were also required to negotiate their way past Cruyff’s Dutch side in qualifying. They only won two of their six matches, one against the whipping boys from Finland when Chinaglia scored the only goal. They played out two goalless draws against the Poles but it was a third goalless draw when Finland arrived in Rome, which did for them. A 1-0 win over the Dutch in the same stadium was not enough and they joined England in watching the Quarter-Finals from television sets.
After the World Cup, Enzo Bearzot was appointed as Bernardini’s assistant. He’d been part of the coaching team in West Germany and when Italy failed to qualify for the Euros, he was given the top job on his own.
By then Chinaglia had been rejected by his country. In a fit of pique, he left Lazio and signed for New York Cosmos. Very much a self-centred player he thrived in being considered the main focus of attack in a side which featured Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer. As if driven by the need to prove his countrymen wrong, he was a prolific goalscorer in the States and he retired in 1983 as the all-time leading goal scorer.
Bearzot could still count on a stalwart of the last two World Cups such as skipper, Giancinto Facchetti. He also counted on experience such as goalkeeper Dino Zoff, a midfield of Romeo Benetti and Fabio Capello.
In some ways given the choice of England and Italy for this tournament, this was a crucial curtain-raiser for the two slugging it out in qualifying for Argentina ’78. The two were drawn together in a group with Luxembourg and Finland with only one team qualifying. They were set to meet in New York’s Yankee Stadium in the second round of matches.
Brazil
If 1974 had provided mixed fortunes for England and Italy, it had also been an odd tournament for Brazil.
With only four of their iconic Mexico ’70 side still around, Rivellino, Jairzinho, Piazza and Paulo Cezar they were a shadow of the side which had wowed the world in winning their third Jules Rimet Trophy.
Coach Mário Zagallo had now dispensed with the free-flowing attacking football which had seduced the watching public, for a more dour, determined and ultimately defensive style of play. This was evidenced by two goalless draws against Yugoslavia and Scotland in the opening group stage. They beat Haiti Zaire without being overly convincing.
The second phase was another group stage and they could at least point to a win over Argentina as giving their devoted fans something to cheer. Their tournament came crashing down when their tough aggressive style was exposed as lacking any substance as the Dutch took them apart in Dortmund.
Worse was to follow as Poland beat them to third place.
As with Alf Ramsey, the 1974 World Cup was the end of the line for Zagallo too. He was replaced by Osvaldo Brandão. This was his third spell as national coach having taken charge in two short periods in the mid-1950s. He’d already managed eight different clubs in 14 appointments at club level.
He’d kept his job despite the relative failure in the Copa America 1975. Knocking Argentina out in the group stage they were humbled 1-3 by Peru in Belo Horizonte in the Semis. They won the second leg in Lima, but the tie was decided by the drawing of lots. Brazil lost.
The fact Peru went onto lift only their second title did little to calm the dissenters at home. But Brandão kept going. They’d beaten Argentina and Uruguay twice coming into this tournament so he’d managed to redeem himself a little.
Brandão would always be remembered as the man who gave Zico his first cap for the Seleção. The man who would be known as “the white Pelé” scored on his debut too in a 2-1 win over Uruguay in Montevideo.
In their next outing in Buenos Aires, he gave Falcão his first cap when Zico was again on target in another 2-1 win. Both Zico and Falcão of course would go onto play a crucial part in one of the best teams to ever grace a World Cup when they starred for the 1982 side.
Team America
Team America was coached by Ken Furphy. Born in Stockton-on-Tees, his playing career had always been around the fourth tier of English football with Darlington, Workington and Watford. He went onto manage the latter two clubs as well as Blackburn and Sheffield United. In 1974-75 he led the Blades to within a point of a UEFA Cup place.
United dispensed with his services just 11 games into the new season and the 44-year-old decided to try his luck stateside. He was offered the job at New York Cosmos. Cosmos were the NASL. They were the richest club and largely used as a magnet to attract big names to the league. The signing of Pelé in June 1975 was described as “the transfer coup of the century”. Cosmos now commanded a huge commercial presence.
When Pelé arrived the team was coached by another lad from the North East of England, Wearsider Gordon Bradley. Furphy replaced Bradley for the start of the 1976 season. He immediately pounced on the availability of Chinaglia.
When Furphy was selecting his squad he initially looked to call upon Best and Marsh but both subsequently made themselves unavailable as they took up offers from Fulham to return to England.
But he was able to call on Pelé and perhaps the most intriguing man, former England World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore. In a prelude to Escape to Victory Moore and Pelé played on the same side. The two had been central figures in one of the most famous matches in World Cup history when World Champions England took on the nation whose crown they’d taken, Brazil, in Mexico. The game which included Banks’ save and “that tackle by Moore” ended with an iconic image of the two legends of the game swapping shirts.
Moore was one of nine British players in the squad. Five from England, two from Scotland and one each from Northern Ireland and Wales. The Welshman was Mike England, a former Tottenham defender who won four cups during his time at White Hart Lane.
He also selected Liverpool’s legendary defender, Tommy Smith who was playing in Tampa during the close season and Bob McNab, who’d been part of the Arsenal double-winning side in 1971.
Matches
Sunday 23 May 1976, RFK Stadium, Washington, 33,455
TEAM AMERICA (0) 0
ITALY (2) 4 (Capello 15, Pulici 22 pen, Graziani 72, Rocca 84)
TEAM AMERICA: Rigby (NY Cosmos); Smith R (NY Cosmos), Moore (San Antonio Thunder), Jump (Tampa Bay Rowdies), Chandler (Hartford Bicentennials); Clements (NY Cosmos), Eddy (NY Cosmos), Scullion (Tampa Bay Rowdies) [Mifflin (NY Cosmos)] [Skotarek (Chicago Sting)]; Chinaglia (NY Cosmos), Pelé (NY Cosmos), Kowalik (Chicago Sting) [David (Miami Toros)]
ITALY: Zoff (Juventus); Tardelli (Juventus), Rocca (Roma), Bellugi (Bologna), Facchetti (Inter); Causio (Juventus), [Sala (Torino)], Capello (Juventus), Benetti (Milan), Antognoni (Fiorentina) [Zaccarelli (Torino)]; Graziani (Torino), Pulici (Torino) [Bettega (Juventus)]
The first took place at the RFK Stadium, Washington. Home of the Washington Redskins NFL team, just under 33,500 people turned up to watch Team America take on Italy. Facchetti earned his 85th cap for his country, setting a new Italian record.
The Italian side were almost exclusively from the two Turin clubs, five from Juventus and four from Torino.
Future England manager, Fabio Capello opened the scoring after 15 minutes. Paolo Pulici made it 2-0 from the penalty spot seven minutes later. Still leading by two goals going into the final 20 minutes and Francesco Graziani scored their third. Roma’s Francesco Rocca completed the scoring with his first international goal.
Italy won 4-0 against an American side which included Pelé, Moore, Chinaglia and Northern Irish defender, Dave Clements who was at Everton at the time having spent seven years with Coventry City.
Sunday 23 May 1976, LA Memorial Colliseum, Los Angeles, 32,495
BRAZIL (0) 1 (Roberto 89)
ENGLAND (0) 0
BRAZIL: Leão (Palmeiras); Lelé (América), Marco Antonio (Vasco) [Marinho (Botafogo)], Beto Fuscão (Gremio), Miguel (Fluminense); Falcão (Internacional), Zico (Flamengo), Rivellino (Fluminense); Gil (Fluminense), Neca (Gremio) [Roberto (Vasco)], Lula (Internacional)
ENGLAND: Clemence (Liverpool); Todd (Derby), Doyle (Man City), Thompson (Liverpool), Mills (Ipswich); Francis (QPR), Cherry (Leeds), Brooking (West Ham); Channon (Southampton), Pearson (Man Utd), Keegan (Liverpool)
Over on the west coast, England lined up against Brazil. This was the first time the two nations had met on the football pitch since that titanic tussle in Guadalajara.
Roberto Rivellino was the only survivor from either side from that day. He was part of a midfield with Zico and Falcão, although both were at the fledgling stage of their careers.
England were led out by QPR’s Gerry Francis. It was the seventh game he’d worn the captain’s armband. He was the only member from that exciting QPR side, which went so close to winning the league title, to get selected. Liverpool, who won the title as well as the UEFA Cup, had three players. Keegan, Clemence and Thompson were Revie’s choice for all but one of the 10 internationals that year.
West Ham’s Trevor Brooking was another player favoured by Revie and he was fresh from the European Cup-Winners’ Cup Final where they lost to Anderlecht.
This game took place three weeks after Second Division Southampton shocked Manchester United in the FA Cup Final. Mick Channon, who played in that game for Southampton, was also a regular starter under Revie.
England played pretty well and dominated play for long periods. But they lacked the necessary composure in front of goal. Too many chances were spurned and there was almost an inevitability about the outcome of the match.
With barely 60 seconds of the game remaining, Brazil won a corner on the left. It was floated to the far post. Gil volleyed it back across the six-yard box. It bounced off Thompson to the feet of Roberto Dinamite, who’d come on for Neca after half-time. Roberto hit it first time from six yards out and Clemence was unable to stop it.
There was little time left for England to mount a response and so Brazil won their opening game with a result which largely flattered them.
Don Revie said;
“It was heartbreaking to have lost so late in the game. I am sure that any neutral observer would say that England deserved at least a draw.”
Friday 28 May 1976, Yankee Stadium, New York, 40,650
ENGLAND (0) 3 (Channon 46, 53, Thompson 48)
ITALY (2) 2 (Graziani 14, 19)
ENGLAND: Rimmer (Arsenal) [Corrigan (Man City)]; Clement (QPR), Doyle (Man City), Thompson (Liverpool), Neal (Liverpool) [Mills (Ipswich)]; Towers (Sunderland), Wilkins (Chelsea), Brooking (West Ham); Channon (Southampton), Royle (Man City), Hill (Man Utd)
ITALY: Zoff (Juventus); Roggi (Fiorentina) [Maldera (Milan)] Rocca (Roma), Bellugi (Bologna), Facchetti (Inter); Causio (Juventus), [Sala (Torino)], Capello (Juventus), Benetti (Milan) [Zaccarelli (Torino)], Antognoni (Fiorentina); Graziani (Torino), Pulici (Torino)
For their second match England had to fly east to New York. The Yankee Stadium is famous as a baseball arena, but unfortunately not really suitable for football. The pitch was in an awful state. So much so it favoured one end. There was grass at one end and sand at the other. Consequently, all the goals were scored at the grassy end.
Revie made seven changes from the side which had performed admirably against Brazil. Debuts were handed to Manchester United’s left winger, Gordon Hill, Chelsea’s promising midfielder Ray Wilkins and Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Jimmy Rimmer.
He’d used three up front a week earlier, but now with Hill offering more width on the left, Channon and Manchester City’s Joe Royle were more of a familiar English attacking partnership. Channon was given the captaincy for the first time.
A continuing thread running through Revie’s tenure was his complaint about the lack of talent at his disposal. International management can often mean to accommodate the array of talent, players have to be played out of position. But Revie made some strange choices. Phil Neal came into this game for his second cap. Yet he was employed at left-back rather than right-back where he’d been so consistent for his club. Equally, in the last match Colin Todd, more accustomed to the centre of defence for Derby, was put at right-back.
Wilkins was an interesting selection. At just 19 he was potential rather than finished article and had been playing in a poor Chelsea side which had finished mid-table in the Second Division. There were so many talented midfielders in the country all playing in the First Division, yet they didn’t fit the manager’s criteria, for some reason.
Italy were largely unchanged from the side which beat Team America in Washington. Moreno Roggi replaced Marco Tardelli at right-back.
Italy took the lead which illustrated perfectly how unfit the pitch was for a football match. Tony Towers played the ball back to Mike Doyle. The Man City defender took it on his chest, but as the ball hit the ground it bounced awkwardly due to the poor nature of the pitch. It ran away from Doyle and Pulici was able to take it from him. He found Causio who played Graziani in, and he slid it past Rimmer.
Within five minutes they were two up. Causio played Capello in down the right wing. He crossed to the far post where Graziani got ahead of Doyle. He stabbed the ball at Rimmer, who really should’ve done better to hold onto it, but it slipped past him for 2-0 to Italy.
The Italians went into half-time with a two-goal lead. Joe Royle revealed later how Revie tore the team apart during the interval. Poor Rimmer took the brunt of his manager’s rage and was promptly substituted by Man City’s Joe Corrigan. Corrigan, making his debut became the first keeper to be used as a sub for England. Ipswich skipper, Mick Mills came on for Neal at left-back as the Italians had been getting too much joy on that wing. This gave the team far better balance.
Within 60 seconds of the second half kicking off England got one back. A quick free-kick was taken to Brooking who ran at the defence. He crossed into the box and Royle fought off the attentions of Bellugi. Royle’s shot was charged down by Zoff but the rebound fell to Channon and he rifled it into the roof of the net.
Man Utd’s Gordon Hill was pretty lively with one or two jinking runs and he was involved in a move with resulted in a corner on the right hand side. Hill took it and floated it to the edge of the area. Thompson got up above Facchetti and Roggi and headed it down towards the goal. Zoff and Bellugi left it for each other and it bounced into the net for the equaliser. The game was barely three minutes into the second half and England had scored twice.
Thompson played for another six years in an England shirt yet this remained his only goal.
Five minutes later England were in front. Brooking played the ball out to Channon on the right wing. He then played it back inside to the West Ham midfielder. Brooking was given far too much time and room to turn, while Channon continued a run into the area. Brooking floated it to him at the far post and he met it on the half-volley, hitting it through Zoff’s legs.
Three goals in eight minutes for England, who now lead 3-2.
They were able to see the game out as the Italians found the beach they were attacking on almost impossible to deal with.
England had played pretty well in both games and this game gave them great confidence for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Friday 28 May 1976, Kingdome, Seattle
BRAZIL (1) 2 (Gil 29, 89)
TEAM AMERICA (0) 0
BRAZIL: Leão (Palmeiras); Lelé (América), Marinho (Botafogo) [Getúlio (Atlético Mineiro)], Beto Fuscão (Gremio) [Amaral (Guarani)], Miguel (Fluminense); Falcão (Internacional) [Givanildo (Santa Cruz)], Zico (Flamengo), Rivellino (Fluminense); Gil (Fluminense), Neca (Gremio) [Roberto (Vasco)], Lula (Internacional)
TEAM AMERICA: Martin (Washington Diplomats); Smith R (NY Cosmos), Moore (San Antonio Thunder), England (Seattle Sounders), Jump (Tampa Bay Rowdies); Smith T (Tampa Bay Rowdies) Clements (NY Cosmos), Eddy (NY Cosmos), Scullion (Tampa Bay Rowdies) [Chandler (Hartford Bicentennials)]; Chinaglia (NY Cosmos), Kowalik (Chicago Sting) [Veee (San Jose Earthquakes)]
Brazil stayed on the west coast to take on Team America. After their late win over England, Roberto Dinamite, who scored it, earned a starting place ahead of Neca. Marinho Chagas came in at the centre of defence.
A disappointment for the home fans and organisers was that Pelé sat this one out, so we didn’t get to see him up against the Brazil side.
The problem for the home side was a lack of preparation, so they didn’t really know their roles well enough. This was evident in Brazil’s first goal.
Gil was in too much space about 35 yards out, he turned and ran at the defence. As many of the USA team looked to mark his teammates, Gil just ran, unchallenged, into the box and fired it past Martin into the net. It was a stunning strike, Gil’s first for his country.
Brazil rarely got out of second gear for this one, with the game settling into a pattern of them knocking the ball about looking to create opportunities.
The second goal was inevitable but a surprise it came so late again. Roberto played Zico in on the edge of the area. He flicked it between his legs to lose the defender and then fired it at Martin. The ball bounced out to Gil who steadied himself and then fired it into the roof of the net.
An easy win for Brazil who now just needed a point against Italy to win the tournament.
Monday 31 May 1976, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, 16,239
TEAM AMERICA (0) 1 (Scullion 87)
ENGLAND (2) 3 (Keegan 23, 29, Francis 54)
TEAM AMERICA: Rigby (NY Cosmos); Smith R (NY Cosmos), Moore (San Antonio Thunder), England (Seattle Sounders) [Kowalik (Chicago Sting)], Jump (Tampa Bay Rowdies); Clements (NY Cosmos) [Chandler (Hartford Bicentennials)], Eddy (NY Cosmos), Smith T (Tampa Bay Rowdies), Veee (San Jose Earthquakes) [Scullion (Tampa Bay Rowdies); Chinaglia (NY Cosmos), Pelé (NY Cosmos)
ENGLAND: Clemence (Liverpool); Todd (Derby) [Doyle (Man City)], Greenhoff (Man Utd), Thompson (Liverpool), Mills (Ipswich); Francis (QPR), Cherry (Leeds), Brooking (West Ham); Channon (Southampton), Pearson (Man Utd), Keegan (Liverpool) [Taylor P (Crystal Palace)]
England’s final match in the tournament was a historic one. The FA was asked about the status of the game beforehand, and they declared it would be considered “a training game” and not receive official status. Therefore, none of the players received caps for it.
England were up against four England players, there surely can never be a time when that’s happened before? The biggest name, of course, was their World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore. Liverpool’s Tommy Smith was also in the American team, as were Keith Eddy and Stewart Jump. In addition to Moore, the other big name in the American team was Pelé. The last time England came up against him was in the 1970 World Cup.
England, in an unfamiliar kit of ‘daffodil yellow’, took the lead midway through the first half. They had a free-kick in a central position about 25 yards out. Brooking and Keegan stood over it. Brooking knocked it to his right and Keegan hit a low shot right into the corner of the net.
Six minutes he doubled the lead. Pearson pounced on a loose ball back by Tommy Smith. He found Channon on the left. Meanwhile, Keegan made a good run from deep, Channon found him and the Liverpool man hit it first time to make it 2-0.
Pelé had a couple of chances to test Clemence, but both times the Liverpool keeper was equal to them. Then just before the break the Americans had a free-kick in a dangerous position, just outside the ‘d’. Pelé took it, beat the wall but Clemence was there again, at full stretch, to turn it round the post.
Pearson should’ve made it 3-0 before the break after good work from Brooking, but his shot was over the bar.
10 minutes into the second half and England had their third. Francis found Channon on the right. The England captain continued his run into the area and Channon found him. The QPR man got to it before the keeper, who’d sprinted off his line. He then steadied himself and calmly put it through Mike England’s legs into the net.
Brooking and Channon went close as England dominated. Then Chinaglia had a chance to beat Clemence as he got ahead of Greenhoff, but once again the England keeper saved it.
There was definitely an end-of-season feel about the game, as Francis missed a golden opportunity to make it four. He played a one-two with Keegan then went round the keeper but instead of thumping it into the net, he partook in some showboating and the keeper grabbed it back.
With the game nearing the end the home crowd finally got something to shout about. Pelé and Chinaglia combined in midfield. The Italian then ran at the England defence, eventually playing Scullion in. The former Watford and Sheffield United man took it on and hit a fine shot past Clemence.
Overall Revie said he was pleased with the performance during the tournament from his team. He felt they jelled better the longer it went on. The next stop for them was a World Cup qualifier in Helsinki two weeks later.
Monday 31 May 1976, Yale Bowl Stadium, New Haven, 36,096
BRAZIL (1) 4 (Gil 28, 48, Zico 76, Roberto 78)
ITALY (1) 1
BRAZIL: Leão (Palmeiras); Lelé (América) [Getúlio (Atlético Mineiro)], Miguel (Fluminense), Amaral (Guarani), Marco Antonio (Vasco) [Beto Fuscão (Gremio)]; Falcão (Internacional) [Givanildo (Santa Cruz)], Zico (Flamengo), Rivellino (Fluminense); Gil (Fluminense), Neca (Gremio) [Roberto (Vasco)], Lula (Internacional)
ITALY: Zoff (Juventus); Tardelli (Juventus), Rocca (Roma), Bellugi (Bologna) [Roggi (Fiorentina)], Facchetti (Inter); Causio (Juventus), Capello (Juventus), [Pecci (Torino)], [Sala (Torino)], Benetti (Milan), Antognoni (Fiorentina); Graziani (Torino), Pulici (Torino) [Bettega (Juventus)]
Both teams were largely unchanged for this one, which made a bit of a mockery of bringing a squad of players. Brazil just needed a draw to win the tournament but things didn’t start well for them.
With the game just two minutes old Italy had a free-kick on the right wing near the bye-line. Causio took it and played it towards the penalty spot. Pulici got up but the ball grazed his head. Brazilian keeper, Leão, flew out but missed it completely, and it landed on Capello’s thigh and bounced into the empty net.
It took the Brazilians half an hour to get back into it, but they did with an incisive move. A long ball from the back found Roberto on the left and he ran ahead of the defence. He pulled it back to Gil, who controlled it beautifully and fired it past Zoff. After his two goals against England, he was now on fire.
The game was still level at the break, but Brazil took the lead early in the second half. This time Gil created the goal for himself. He picked up the ball on the right wing, fought off Rocca. Then into the area, he sold Facchetti a dummy, held off Benetti then fired it right-foot past Zoff.
Four goals in two matches and Brazil thought they’d uncovered a new goalscoring sensation.
Italy were unable to make any impression on their opponents and into the final 15 minutes the watching crowd were treated to a masterclass from Zico.
The new Brazilian star had scored in his first two appearances for the national side earlier in the year. His fourth goal for his country was one to remember. Roberto picked up the ball halfway inside the Italian half. Zico, sensing his chance, sprinted forward. Roberto played him in and he beat two defenders to thump the ball left-footed past Zoff.
This game was, of course, a repeat of the 1970 World Cup Final. Brazil won that one 4-1 and two minutes after Zico’s goal in this, they repeated the scoreline from Mexico.
From a throw-in on the right, Rivellino crossed to the far post where Roberto brought the ball down with his chest. He moved the ball onto his right foot and hit an unstoppable shot past Zoff’s left hand.
In the end…
Brazil had been clinical. They looked to have some exciting talent which looked like it would serve them well in the World Cup in Argentina two years later. They’d beaten Italy comfortably here and confirmed themselves as winners of the tournament.
The world had, had their first glimpse of Zico, and with the talent shown by Gil and Roberto Dinamite there was a feeling they would again be the team to beat in Argentina two years later.
England also came out of the trip with more confidence than they went in. It didn’t last as Revie again tinkered with his selection for the trip to Italy and they were well beaten. Not everyone in the squad came from the US in good spirits. Liverpool’s Ray Kennedy went all the way there and back without getting his boots dirty. It was one of the factors in his decision a few years later to turn his back on the national side.
