A history of Philadelphia and the Union at the World Cup

Some people might be surprised to realize that the United States has been part of the World Cup tournament since the very first edition in 1930 — and Philadelphia has been a part of that as well. The Philadelphia area has contributed players, coaches and administrators to the United States men’s national team for all that time.

Here’s a look at the World Cups the U.S. men’s team has participated in, the pepople in them with Philadelphia connections, and the Union connections to soccer’s biggest stage over the team’s history.

Players: A Penn graduate who played soccer and football and ran track in his time there, James Gentle signed as a striker with the Philadelphia Field Club and later coached at Haverford School.

Born in Scotland, Bart McGhee moved to Philadelphia as a child and played for numerous area teams. Against Belgium, McGhee scored the first-ever U.S. World Cup goal (the second overall World Cup goal) en route to a 3-0 win.

Jimmy Douglas, the USA’s goalkeeper, is credited with the first-ever World Cup shutout. He also played briefly for Philadelphia Field Club in his pro career.

The debut tournament of the World Cup was where the U.S. had its best-ever finish, reaching the semifinals. Host Uruguay won the tournament.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia’s many ties to the 2022 World Cup

Players: Bill Fiedler was born, raised, and played his entire pro career in Philadelphia for the Philadelphia German-Americans and the Philadelphia Passon. He didn’t enter the one game the U.S. team played in the 1934 tournament.

Neither did Al Harker, who also had a long career for the Philadelphia German-Americans, playing for them for well over a decade.

Peter Pietras was born in Trento and played for five years with the Philadelphia German-Americans. He played in the game against Italy.

German-born Herman Rapp, appropriately enough, also played for the Philadelphia German-Americans when he went to Italy as part of the World Cup team, but he saw no action in the one game.

Francis “Hun” Ryan, born and raised in Philly, was the first World Cup player to have played for the still-active Lighthouse Boys Club team. He also played for the Philadelphia German-Americans and in the match against Italy.

Administration: Elmer Schroeder, who was the first American-born director of the U.S. Soccer organization, was previously the director at Lighthouse, starting at the age of 19.

David Gould, appointed as team manager by Schroeder, played for years in the area and also coached Penn soccer for 27 years.

The 1934 tournament was entirely single-elimination. The U.S. lost its one game to Italy, 7-1, which still remains a record for both countries at the World Cup, since that is the most goals Italy has ever scored in the competition. The score also remains the most goals the U.S. has ever conceded at the World Cup. Italy, the host country, went on to win the tournament.

Players: Walter Bahr was born, lived, and played professionally in the area with the Philadelphia Nationals. Bahr captained the team in all three group games the Americans played at the World Cup, including the stunning 1-0 upset of England. He provided the assist on the winning goal.

Sixty years later, he bridged the generations when he stood on the sideline with then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the first home game in Union history.

Ed McIlvenny, who briefly played for Wrexham in Wales (now owned partly by Philly’s own Rob McElhenney), was a Scot who immigrated to the Philadelphia area. He became a teammate of Bahr’s on the Philadelphia Nationals and won a league title before returning to Britain for a short stint with Manchester United.

Administration: William Jeffrey was the manager of the U.S. team. Another native Scot, he coached Penn State for 26 seasons.

The United States lost their group games against Spain, 3-1, and Chile, 5-2, and did not advance to the knockout stage. The champion was Uruguay, which claimed its second title.

» READ MORE: Walter Bahr reflects on the legendary 1950 upset of England

Players: Peter Vermes, who grew up in Delran, played college soccer at Rutgers. He went on to earn 66 caps with the U.S. men’s national team and played in every group game at the World Cup.

The U.S. lost to Czechoslovakia, 5-1, Italy, 1-0, and Austria, 2-1. The champion that year was West Germany.

Players: While the Dutch American former midfielder Earnie Stewart was raised abroad, his connection to Philadelphia was established when he arrived to take on his first stateside job in 2015 as sporting director of the Union. Now Stewart serves as sporting director of the United States Soccer Federation.

In 1994, Stewart helped the American team advance from group play. He scored a goal in the team’s 2-1 win over Colombia, and played in the other group games, a 1-1 draw with Switzerland and a 1-0 loss to Romania.

The U.S. was eliminated in a 1-0 loss in the next round against Brazil, the eventual champion.

Players: Stewart also took part in this World Cup, where the U.S. lost to Germany, 2-0, Iran, 2-1 and Yugoslavia, 1-0. Host country France claimed the title for the first time.

A future Union player was in this tournament, 12 years before the Union launched and a decade before Philadelphia even was announced as a future expansion market. (In fact, it was just the third year of MLS’s existence.) Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón started all three of Colombia’s group games in net.

Players: Stewart again participated, playing in every game of the tournament for the U.S. and helping the team to its greatest tournament success since 1930. The Americans advanced out of the group stage after defeating Portugal, 3-2, losing to Poland, 3-0, and drawing with South Korea, 1-1.

The United States then advanced to the knockout rounds and defeated Mexico, 2-0. In the quarterfinals, the Americans played a tough match against Germany, but were eliminated, 1-0.

A future Union player was one of the stars of Brazil’s championship squad. Kléberson had two assists in the tournament, including on the goal in the final that sealed a 2-0 win and the Seleçao’s record fifth title.

Players: Chris Albright, born and raised in Philadelphia, also played professionally for the Union and served on the team’s technical staff. He did not play in the tournament.

Bobby Convey, born and raised in Philadelphia, a former Penn Charter student, did play in all three group games, a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic, a 1-1 draw with Italy, and a 2-1 loss to Ghana. Convey’s free kick helped create the own goal against Italy for the draw.

Middletown native Ben Olsen, who played for FC Delco, a local soccer powerhouse, played as a substitute against Ghana after Claudio Reyna was injured.

Future Union player Oguchi Onyewu started all three games of the tournament. The centerback signed with the club in 2017, his final professional season before retirement.

The Americans failed to advance. Italy won the tournament.

Players: Maurice Edu, who would go on to become one of the premier signings for the Union in 2015, played in the two games of the group stage following the 1-1 draw with England. He volleyed in a shot against Slovenia in the 2-2 draw that would have been the winning goal if it had not been waved off for a foul. He also played in the 1-0 win over Algeria.

Onyewu played in the first two games of the tournament.

A pair of future Union players featured for other countries: Tranquillo Barnetta for Switzerland and Kléberson for Brazil.

The United States advanced to the knockout stage but lost there to Ghana, 2-1, in added extra time.

Spain won its first title at this World Cup.

Players: Alejandro Bedoya, the Union’s longtime captain, played in all four U.S. games at the tournament. The Americans defeated Ghana, 2-1, drew Portugal, 2-2, and lost to Germany, 1-0. That was good enough to advance to the round of 16, where the U.S. lost in added extra time to Belgium.

Union centerback Carlos Valdés played for Colombia, though at the time he was on a string of loans away from the team. He’d asked for them because the Cafeteros’ coach at the time, José Pékerman, didn’t rate MLS. So Valdés tried to get elsewhere to make an impression (and he wasn’t alone).

Mondragón was also on Colombia’s squad, two years after his roller-coaster tenure in Chester ended.

Haris Medunjanin played for Bosnia, memorably getting Lionel Messi’s jersey after facing Argentina in the group stage. And David Myrie, who was on the Union’s inaugural season squad in 2010 (but didn’t last long), was on Costa Rica’s team.

Germany won the tournament, claiming its fourth title.

Players: The U.S. infamously failed to qualify, which obviously put a big dent in things. But a former Union player and a future Union player took part for other countries. Gabriel Gómez played for Panama six years after his one season in Chester, and Marco Fabián played for Mexico eight months before he joined the club.

Broadcasting: Philly fans also heard a familiar voice on Fox’s TV coverage. This was the 13th World Cup of longtime Union play-by-play voice JP Dellacamera’s Hall of Fame career, including the eighth men’s tournament.

France won the title, led by Kylian Mbappé’s emergence as the sport’s new superstar.

Players: Olivier Mbaizo became the first active Union player to make a World Cup roster, with Cameroon. He never got on the field, though if the Indomitable Lions had advanced from the group stage he’d likely have played in the round of 16 due to a teammate’s suspension.

Union alum Brenden Aaronson made his first U.S. World Cup team, two years after moving to Europe. The Medford native was at England’s Leeds United then, his second club after initially going from Chester to Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg for $6 million. The later move to Leeds commanded a $30 million transfer fee, and the Union banked $5 million of it in a sell-on fee.

Hershey’s Christian Pulisic was also on the U.S. squad, scoring the winning goal against Iran and finally fulfilling his promise as a superstar. The Americans advanced to the round of 16, then lost to the Netherlands.

Steven Vitória played for Canada seven years after his one season in Chester.

Administration: This was Stewart’s World Cup as U.S. Soccer’s sporting director.

A coach: Ventnor City native and Ursinus grad B.J. Callaghan was one of U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter’s top assistants.

A referee: Though Kathryn Nesbitt wasn’t born in Philadelphia, the assistant ref had lived in the city since 2019 when she was appointed to her first World Cup.

Broadcasting: Dellacamera was in Fox’s booth again, while former Union captain Maurice Edu and Delran’s Carli Lloyd joined the network as analysts. Fox reporter Tom Rinaldi spent part of his college years at Penn, and was another familiar voice from plenty of trips to Philly for other sports.

Argentina won the tournament, finally giving Lionel Messi the biggest trophy and crowning him as men’s soccer’s greatest player of all time.

Players: The Union’s Danley Jean Jacques and Olwethu Makhanya made the rosters of Haiti and South Africa, respectively. Jean Jacques was a stalwart of Les Grenadiers, and had the bonus of Haiti getting a group stage game in Philadelphia against Brazil. That was one of six tournament games in the city, as the men’s World Cup finally came here for the first time.

Makhanya’s inclusion, meanwhile, was surprising at the time.

Haiti’s squad also included Penn alum Duke Lacroix, who made the big stage over a decade after his college years with the Quakers.

Four Union alums made the U.S. squad: Aaronson, Wayne’s Matt Freese, Media’s Auston Trusty, and Bear, Del.’s Mark McKenzie. It was the most players from the Philadelphia region on a U.S. team since 1934. (Pulisic could count as an honorary fifth.)

Former Union midfielder Jamiro Monteiro made Cape Verde’s squad for its first ever World Cup. So did Philadelphia native CJ dos Santos, who had played for U.S. youth teams but switched to the nation of his father’s roots. He was in the Union academy for a while before leaving to Portugese club Benfica, then returning to MLS in 2022 with Inter Miami. In 2024, he moved to San Diego FC, and that was his club at the time of the World Cup.

A referee: Nesbitt was selected to her second straight men’s World Cup on the sidelines. Since 2022, she had been selected for the 2023 women’s tournament, and was part of the first American refereeing team to officiate a women’s World Cup final. (It hadn’t happened before because of how many times the U.S. made the final.)

Broadcasting: Dellacamera, Lloyd and Edu were back with Fox, this time joined by Philadelphia resident and former Independence and U.S. women’s team player Lori Lindsey. She and Dellacamera called some games together, including Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador.