I saw some of these in person. Which means I’d like to see them again. The others, I’d like to watch for the first time.

What prompted this line of thinking was hearing from the Dave Brett guy (davebrett.com) who has the huge library of U.S.-related soccer tapes/DVDs.

I was looking at his list … and it brought back memories. Of games I covered, and some I did not but wish I had.

The 10 national-team matches I would most like to see:

10. Germany 2, USA 0, World Cup, June 15, 1998. A weird game, played at Parc des Princes in Paris. It was reported (by everyone who wasn’t me) as a definitive butt-kicking and massive repudiation of coach Steve Sampson’s audacious 3-6-1 formation. In reality, it was a very close thing. The Germans scored early, off a corner, when Andy Moeller somehow put the ball through about a 12-inch gap between defender Mike Burns and the post. The U.S. chased the game after that, nearly scoring in the 52nd minute when Frankie Hejduk broke loose. And then Juergen Klinsmann scored in the 66th minute on a counter. Was it as horrible as everyone else said? If nothing else, I’d like to see the infamous 3-6-1 in action.

9. Costa Rica 1, USA 0, World Cup qualifier, May 31, 1985. The Bad Old Days of U.S. soccer, and well within memory of anyone over 40. Needing only a tie with the Ticos to get to the final round of qualifying for Mexico 1986 (Canada eventually won the remarkably weak group), the Yanks came up empty in a match played at, yes, El Camino Community College in Torrance. Young Paul Caligiuri played in the game, as did old lion Ricky Davis. The crowd was overwhelmingly Costa Rican, and they partied long into the night. I covered this, my first national team match, but I’d like to see one more time just how technically primitive the Yanks were, and the minor-league character of the whole event.

8 . Italy 1, USA 0, World Cup, June 14, 1990. The one shining moment for the Americans in their first World Cup since 1950. I covered this, and while significantly outplayed, the U.S. had a shot at stealing a point, in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Peter Vermes took a shot in the second half that would have gone into the net had not Italy keeper Walter Zenga (basically) sat on it. Coach Bob Gansler afterward rued that Zenga’s butt hadn’t been a tiny bit smaller.

7. USA 1, Brazil 0, Gold Cup, Feb. 10, 1998. A remarkable match, considering Brazil (well, duh) dominated proceedings — yet the Americans won. Kasey Keller was a madman, in goal, making 10 saves, some of them ridiculously difficult. After the match, Romario said it was the greatest performance by a keeper he ever had seen. Preki scored for the U.S., which beat Brazil for the first (and still only) time. The match was in L.A., but for some reason I didn’t cover it and still haven’t seen it.

6. USA 0, Mexico 0, World Cup qualifier, Nov. 2, 1997. Maybe I’ve been looking at soccer too long if I can put a scoreless tie on this list, but this was a hell of a game. At Azteca and all that means. At 7,000 feet, with 100,000 people in the stands at a stadium where Mexico essentially never loses. And the Americans played a man down for most of an hour. I remember that by the end of the match, frustrated Mexico fans were shouting “ole!” when the Yanks completed passes. Perhaps the guttiest performance by a U.S. national side, and the only “result” the U.S. ever has taken out of Azteca.

5. USA 3, Portgual 2, World Cup, June 6, 2002. The huge upset that enabled the Yanks to get into the knockout round. Weird game. Surreal, too (I was almost in shock, in the press tribune), to see the U.S. build a 3-0 lead in 36 minutes against a Figo-Pinto-Rui Costa Portugal team some thought could win the whole tournament.

4. USA 2, Mexico 0, World Cup, June 17, 2002. The all-time bring-the-pain American victory over the tricolores. It put the Yanks in the quarters against Germany, only the most important game the Americans ever played. I remember the clinching goal, by Landon Donovan, quite clearly. He took off on a dead run from deep in the U.S. half during a counter-attack, with Luis Torrado in hot pursuit. Eddie Lewis got the ball on the left flank and swung a perfect cross to Donovan who, after 60, 70 yards of sprinting was a half-stride ahead of Torrado — and headed the ball into the net. Great game.

3. USA 2, Colombia 1, World Cup, June 22, 1994. The first victory for the U.S. in modern World Cup history, seen by a capacity crowd (including me) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Andres Escobar’s own goal (he was murdered, a week later, back in Colombia) gave the U.S. an early lead, and Earnie Stewart also scored. Great atmosphere and perhaps the first World Cup match the U.S. deserved to win.

2. USA 1, Trinidad & Tobago 0, World Cup qualifier, Nov. 19, 1989. The match I referred to earlier on this blog. A do-or-die match, at Port of Spain, that was won on Paul Caligiuri’s stunning goal a half-hour in. A turning point in U.S. soccer history. A match I saw in person, but never since.

1. USA 1, England 0, World Cup, June 29, 1950. The Holy Grail of archival footage. Does anyone anywhere have film of this match? I would love to see it. Haitian immigrant Eddie Gaetjens (later to die while in a Haitian prison) scoring for the U.S. pick-up team to defeat the Masters of the Game at Belo Horizonte. The score was widely assumed to be in error when it was sent out on teletype. It was a blip in history; the U.S. wouldn’t return to the World Cup until 1990. But a hell of a blip it was.