The game of their lives: When the US met Italy at the 1990 World Cup

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The game of their lives: When the US met Italy at the 1990 World Cup

The US national team returned to the World Cup after a four-decade absence at Italia 90 – and their showdown with the hosts at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico offered a night to remember

Here they are, back in the bus, and there’s something exhilarating about being on the move with a police escort. It’s a special little part of the pomp and pageantry of a truly big event. Just like the sound of aluminum studs clack-clack-clacking in a stadium tunnel before kickoff, it’s a mental and sensory cue that it’s game time. It’s on.

The US team steadily moves through traffic, winding through the Eternal City, gladiators on their way to Rome’s latter-day Colosseum, the Stadio Olimpico. Just like in Trinidad, they’re once again playing the antagonist to the crowd favorites. It’s them against an entire nation, and they’re behind enemy lines.

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