SAN JOSE – Today, PayPal Park for practice. Wednesday, the world … or simply World Cup survival for the United States’ side at Levi’s Stadium.
Poised as arguably the biggest soccer game in Bay Area history, the U.S. faces Bosnia and Herzegovina at 5 p.m. in the Round of 32.
RELATED: US World Cup match in Bay Area: What fans should know about tickets, events and tailgating
“I cannot wait. I’ve not been this excited for a U.S. match, including the ones I played in, in my entire life,” Landon Donovan, a former forward for Team USA and the San Jose Earthquakes, said on Fox Sports’ France-Norway broadcast Friday. “I’ll be there and I know the fans will show up again. What an opportunity for this group.”
Team USA has been here before, literally.
The Bay Area’s World Cup zenith came in July 4 games against Brazil at Stanford Stadium, by the 1994 men (1-0 loss, Round of 16) and the 1999 women (2-0 win, semifinals). Patriotism and stakes ran high, obviously.
This United States squad certainly isn’t sneaking onto home soil and succeeding in the largest and most-attended World Cup ever.
“For the U.S. to play in a home World Cup, I can’t imagine for those players what that feeling must be like, to do it in front of your family, your friends, your own community and your country,” Australia midfielder Jackson Irvine said on his way out of Levi’s Stadium after Thursday’s 0-0 draw with Paraguay.
Jackson was a second-half sub when Australia fell 2-0 to the U.S. on June 19 in Seattle, before a patriotic and pulsating crowd of 66,925.
More will show at Levi’s Stadium, home of the 49ers since 2014. Its World Cup capacity is 68,827, and five group-stage matches averaged 68,503 despite a lack of star power.
“This is the biggest U.S. game ever, and most important,” said Josh McKay, a Bay Area native and former pro soccer player who runs McKay’s Beer Garden in Pleasanton. “Because of the new media outlets, everybody knows about this game. These U.S. players are on TV every week, are in media ads daily, make big money and have been part of the soccer realm for years. We know these players.”
RELATED: Oral history: The USMNT’s near ‘miracle on grass’ against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup
Home-field advantage did not ensure Team USA an undefeated path through the group stage, though it’s opening two triumphs locked up first place before Thursday’s 3-2, last-minute loss to Turkey down the coast in Inglewood.
Now the U.S. takes on Group B’s third-place survivor: Bosnia and Herzegovina. As for the swath of red-white-and-blue-clad fans that await, perhaps that will add fuel for the underdogs. “When you feel you’re in an away atmosphere, us players thrive on it and enjoy that backs-against-the-wall mentality,” Australia’s Jackson added.
The Bay Area is no stranger to sensational soccer matches. From Pelé playing against the San Jose Earthquakes twice in the 1970s, to Lionel Messi’s sold-out visit to 18,000-seat PayPal Park last May, headliners have come.
In eras gone by, we’ve seen the Soviet Union play in San Francisco during the Cold War, the 1984 Olympics make encores at Stanford Stadium, Cuba come to the Coliseum, and, quite often, Mexico draw a big crowd, such as when it beat Honduras in the CONCACAF Gold Cup last July before 70,925 in the largest soccer crowd ever at Levi’s Stadium.
There’ve been visits by European clubs, Copa America battles, and, of course, MLS’ 1996 launch which saw Eric Wynalda’s groundbreaking goal lift the San Jose Clash to victory before 31,683 at Spartan Stadium.
No, there won’t be a champion crowned here Wednesday night. But let’s give a shout-out to championship-winning squads sprouting from the Bay Area beyond the Earthquakes (2001, ’03 in MLS; 1975 NASL indoors). The U.S. Open Cup, this nation’s oldest soccer tournament, was won by the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club (1976), the San Francisco Greek American Club (1985 and ’94), San Jose Oaks (1992) and San Francisco’s El Farolito legendary club (1993). Other titles in since-defunct leagues went to the 1991 San Francisco Bay Blackhawks (APSL), the 2010 FC Gold Pride (WPS), and the 2017 San Francisco Deltas (NASL). The college ranks saw NCAA men’s championships won by USF (1966, ’75, 76, 78, ’80), Stanford (2015-17), Santa Clara (1989), and Sonoma State (2002), while NCAA women’s winners hailed from Santa Clara (2001, 2020), Stanford (2011, ’17, ’19), Sonoma State (1990), and Cal State East Bay (1988).
Here is a list of all U.S. Soccer men’s and women’s competitions in the Bay Area, as compiled by that organization:
SAN JOSE
PayPal Park
Men
March 24, 2017 vs. Honduras 6-0 W * 17,729
Feb. 2, 2019 vs. Costa Rica 2-0 W 13,656
June 15, 2025 vs. Trinidad & Tobago 5-0 W ^ 12,610
Women
May 10, 2015 vs. Ireland 3-0 W (SO) 18,000
Nov. 10, 2016 vs. Romania 8-1 W 16,425
Nov. 12, 2017 vs. Canada 3-1 W 17,960
Sept. 4, 2018 vs. Chile 4-0 W 14,340
July 9, 2023 vs. Wales 2-0 W (SO) 18,000
Spartan Stadium
Men
May 16, 1998 vs. FYR Macedonia 0-0 D 23,861
Nov. 6, 1998 vs. Australia 0-0 D 15,074
May 26, 2003 vs. Wales 2-0 W 12,282
June 2, 2007 vs. China PR 4-1 W 20,821
Women
May 9, 1997 vs. England 5-0 W 17,358
April 26, 1998 vs. Argentina 7-0 W 14,608
Sept. 1, 2000 vs. Brazil 4-0 W (SO) 26,853
April 27, 2002 vs. Finland 3-0 W 11,990
Sept. 7, 2003 vs. Mexico 5-0 W 13,510
July 28, 2007 vs. Japan 4-1 W 11,290
SANTA CLARA
Levi’s Stadium
Men
June 3, 2016 vs. Colombia 0-2 L 67,439
July 26, 2017 vs. Jamaica 2-1 W ^ 63,032
Women
May 12, 2019 vs. South Africa 3-0 W 22,788
OAKLAND
Coliseum
Men
Feb. 1, 1998 vs. Cuba 3-0 W ^ 11,234
Feb. 7, 1998 vs. Costa Rica 2-1 W ^ 36,240
Jan. 27, 2001 vs. China 2-1 W 8,903
PALO ALTO
Stanford Stadium
Men
Feb. 24, 1990 vs. Soviet Union 1-3 L 62,000
May 19, 1991 vs. Argentina 0-1 L 31,761
April 4, 1992 vs. China 5-0 W 31,815
Feb. 21, 1993 vs. Russia 0-0 D 25,879
Dec. 18, 1993 vs. Germany 0-3 L 52,397
July 4, 1994 vs. Brazil 0-1 L ** 84,177 (9th largest home crowd ever)
Dec. 14, 1996 vs. Costa Rica 2-1 W * 40,527
March 16, 1997 vs. Canada 3-0 W * 28,896
Women
July 4, 1999 vs. Brazil 2-0 W ** 73,123
SAN FRANCISCO
Candlestick Park
Men
Aug. 10, 1973 vs. Poland 0-4 L 30,000
Oct. 16, 1977 vs. China 2-1 W 17,500
Feb. 11, 1979 vs. Soviet Union 1-4 L 7,213
May 27, 2014 vs. Azerbaijan 2-0 W 24,688
Women
Oct. 27, 2013 vs. New Zealand 4-1 W 16,315
ORACLE PARK
Men
Feb. 10, 2006 vs. Japan 3-2 W 37,365
* FIFA World Cup qualifier
** FIFA World Cup
^ Concacaf Gold Cup
@ Copa America
++ Concacaf Cup
& Concacaf Nations League