Memorable USA matches played in Los Angeles
From the Rose Bowl stunner against Colombia to Kasey Keller's Coliseum masterclass, these are the USA's most memorable LA matches.
USA will be playing two matches at Los Angeles Stadium during the FIFA World Cup 2026
No metropolitan area has hosted more Stars and Stripes matches than LA
FIFA looks back at some of the 2026 co-hosts’ best moments playing in southern California
It is only right that the FIFA World Cup 2026™ on home soil for USA begins in Los Angeles. The co-hosts will launch their Group D campaign against Paraguay on 12 June at Los Angeles Stadium, marking the 70th time that the Stars and Stripes will have taken the field in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, more than any other location in the country.
From Concacaf World Cup qualifiers in the 1950s at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach, to the historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and now at glittering Los Angeles Stadium in the suburb of Inglewood, USA has a long, vast history of football in southern California.
With Mauricio Pochettino’s men set to compete in two group-stage matches in Los Angeles in 2026, FIFA looks back on USA’s most memorable moments in the City of Angels.
Rare is the time when USA face Mexico prior to a final in Concacaf competition, but that was the case in the first Concacaf Gold Cup in 1991, in a semi-final showdown at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Heading into this final four encounter, the Stars and Stripes had only won twice against their neighbours to the south on 28 occasions.
But on an early July night in front of a pro-Mexico crowd, USA withstood an early onslaught from El Tricolor and struck twice in the second stanza through John Doyle and Peter Vermes, to shock the heavily-favoured Mexicans.
The USA win marked the start of the modern-day USA-Mexico rivalry, and was also the launching pad for the Americans’ first trophy, as they went on to defeat Honduras in a penalty shootout in the final.
Soccer in the USA changed forever in 1994 with the arrival of the FIFA World Cup™. The sport was ushered to the forefront, and with the whole world watching, a group of players largely unknown outside of local circles delivered the performance of a lifetime at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against pre-tournament title contenders Colombia.
Sporting their iconic denim jerseys on a sun-splashed southern California day, USA won their first World Cup match in 44 years thanks to a Colombia own goal in the first half and a second half Earnie Stewart strike. Adolfo Valencia pulled one back late for the South Americans, but the host nation would hold on for one of their most memorable World Cup triumphs.
When asked about the finest performance by a USA goalkeeper, most will point to Tim Howard’s record-breaking 16-save display against Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. But in the conversation as well is the night Kasey Keller turned away Brazil in the 1998 Gold Cup. In a semi-final played in early February at the LA Coliseum, Keller produced a masterclass in goalkeeping, making ten saves, most of which came in jaw-dropping fashion against legendary Brazil striker Romario.
In their history, the two sides have met on 20 occasions, with Brazil dominating the match-up with 18 wins. The five-time world champions have suffered just one defeat, and it came on this night, as a second-half strike from Preki, along with Keller’s world-class shot-stopping, gave USA one of their most famous victories. The performance from the Olympia, Washington native drew widespread praise, especially from great Romario himself, who remarked post-match about Keller, “It was an honor to be on the field with him.”
While the stakes of this October 2000 friendly between USA and Mexico were not as high as some of their previous contests, it still proved to be consequential. It was on this night that arguably the most central figure of the USA-Mexico rivalry for a decade-and-a-half, Landon Donovan, made his USA debut in front of over 61,000 fans at the LA Coliseum.
The 18-year-old Donovan was not even expecting to get into the match, but an early injury to Chris Henderson thrust him into the fray, and he responded with a goal and an assist. Donovan would go on to not only become the joint-top scorer in USA history, but transform into Mexico’s tormenter-in-chief, scoring six career goals against El Tricolor, including the dagger in USA’s epic 2-0 last-16 takedown of Mexico at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™.
Four months before USA started their unforgettable quarter-final run at Korea/Japan, they sowed the seeds for it at the 2002 Gold Cup, where they toppled Costa Rica in the final at the Rose Bowl. A first-half goal from Josh Wolff and a second-half free-kick from Jeff Agoos, both of whom played major roles for the Stars and Stripes later that year at the global showpiece, paved the way to victory.
It was not only an important victory for Bruce Arena’s side from a momentum perspective, but it also gave them just their second Gold Cup crown and first since the inaugural edition in 1991, sandwiching three Mexico titles and Canada’s lone conquest in 2000. By tournament’s end, USA had played all five of their matches at the Rose Bowl, cementing their bond with southern California success.