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UNITED-STATES 1 / SWEDEN 0, January 24, 1998. |
ORLANDO, Florida January 24, 98 (AP). Roy Wegerle scored in the second minute Saturday to lead the United States to a 1-0 victory over Sweden in the United States' first preparation match of the year before the World Cup in France. Joe-Max Moore chipped a pass to Wegerle, who deked Magnus Kihlstedt near the top of the goal box and scored on a left-footed shot. "The goal came about from Joe-Max putting pressure on their defenders," Wegerle said. "The ball came loose and then I was there to take it around the keeper. It all comes down to the team. We played well as a team and that's what it boils down to." Kihlstedt kept the match close, making a strong second half save on Max-Moore's deflected 25-yard blast. U.S. goaltender Brad Friedel preserved the shutout with three minutes left, making a diving stop on a 20-yard attempt by Andreas Jacobsson. Friedel also got help from defender Eddie Pope, who blocked a solid first-half scoring try by Mattias Jonsson. The United States will play approximately 15 preparation matches before opening World Cup play against Germany on June 15. U.S. coach Steve Sampson opted not to start Eric Wynalda and Marcelo Balboa. Wynalda, who was inserted into the lineup following intermission, is the leading career American goal-scorer with 31. Balboa, who did not play, has the most international appearances in U.S. history with 123. "It was not a great game for us, but the result was great," Sampson said. "We need to play much better, but it was typical for a preseason match." Sweden, who did not qualify for this year's World Cup field, had six starters make their international debut. "I'm quite satisfied with the game," Sweden assistant coach Lars Lagerback said. "I thought we could do something like that. We had a bad start and were shaky the first 15 or 20 minutes." 
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