Wynalda: I felt pure electricity when I scored
The former USA striker recounts his wondrous free-kick in 1994, beating Colombia in Pasadena and instilling joy in his academy players.
Wynalda was a key member of the USA’s 1994 World Cup team
The former striker recalled his thrilling free-kick goal against Switzerland
His passion for the game continues with the Wynalda Soccer Academy
For most Americans, football was still a curiosity when the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA™ kicked off, so it was critically important that the host nation perform well to help increase the popularity of the sport in the country. There is no question that Eric Wynalda did his part.
The Southern California native delivered a moment to remember by scoring one of the greatest free-kicks in World Cup history in USA’s opening 1-1 draw against Switzerland at the Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, sparking a fever for the game that remains to this day and will be on full display this year at the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
Wynalda’s love for the sport is unmatched, so delving into youth development post-career was a natural fit. Matching the fighting, competitive spirit he showcased as a player, the 56-year-old has taken a similar approach with the Wynalda Soccer Academy, unearthing hidden gems that fell through the cracks of the American soccer system. The result has been impressive both home and abroad, with Wynalda’s pack of 15-17 year-olds defeating their age counterparts at clubs like Bayer Leverkusen, Bochum and LA Galaxy by healthy margins.
Speaking recently with FIFA, he reflected on his seismic strike against the Swiss, what it meant to play a World Cup in his own backyard, Mauricio Pochettino’s impact on the current USA squad and the effervescence Wynalda tries to instill into his academy players today.
Eric Wynalda: We had prepared for so long, and that's all we had heard about for years, and it was culminating in that one moment. There was just a surge of energy and adrenaline that I honestly had never felt before. I had to take a couple of deep breaths to just gather myself. Lexi [Alexi Lalas] is pretty good at moments like that, so when we were just about to start, you heard him just say, ‘This is f*****g awesome’. It was about embracing the moment. Some of us who had been in big games in the past never felt anything like that before. It just felt like a wave of emotion hit you.
The real story behind it is that Claudio Reyna was far better at free-kicks than all of us, and when he got hurt, we didn't have a plan. At the stadium the night before, I hit a few and I'm so glad I did because the ball carried a little bit more than I expected. So when I was standing over the ball in the actual game, I was able to remind myself that I didn't really need to hit it as hard as I thought because the ball really carried well inside that stadium…. I've never hit a ball that well in my life.
I scored a couple of other crazy goals in Germany, which were more inventive, but as far as just overall importance of the goal and what the requirements are to be able to do that, yeah, I'm pretty proud of that. That would be number one.
I guess what I'm willing to say now, which maybe I've never said before, is man, I'm really proud of that. I'm proud of myself for being able to take all of the work and all of the preparation and hold my nerve in a moment where I think a lot of people put that over the bar or into the wall. I really put the ball exactly where I was trying to put it. I'm incredibly proud of it. I'm so glad it happened in that moment for us as a team.
I've never heard a place get that loud. I've been everywhere. I've been at other games. Maybe it was just because it was me, but when I scored, that stadium felt like it erupted.
It just felt like pure electricity going through my entire body… I ran to the sidelines. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have a planned celebration. But there was a girl with her mom, probably ten or 11, and I just winked at her like I'm cool or something. Like, ‘I do this all the time or something’ (laughs).
I got to meet the goalkeeper [Marco Pascolo] later in life. I didn't recognize him at all. He made a point of saying that my goal was unstoppable and the only good thing about your goal is that no one's going to criticize me. There's no way I could save it. There's no way anybody saves that. He was just proud that he got as close as he did to it. He said it was the most amazing goal that’s been scored on him, which I thought was a nice thing to say.
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena is only 30 minutes from where I grew up. I went to the 1984 Olympics and was so enamored with how cool that was… The first ten minutes against Colombia, it was really emotional for all of us. I hope the cameras didn't catch me. I was bawling my eyes out. It was incredibly emotional. It was pressure. It was the best team in the world at the time. We were supposed to lose.
As far as team goals go, Earnie Stewart's goal is the best World Cup team goal ever. No one's going to be able to compete. An unbelievably difficult ball to handle from [Paul] Caligiuri to [Mike] Sorber, who has a brilliant touch and a brilliant pass to John [Harkes], who decides to first time to [Thomas] Dooley in the middle of the park. Dooley gives it to me. He gave me a little window and I was able to give a no-look pass to Tab, and Tab hits the pass of his life. Earnie does the right thing and doesn't try to get cute, just puts it past the keeper. It's an unbelievable goal.
I like what's happening with our national team right now because Pochettino is saying, 'I want to have a footballing process. I want to have a footballing mind and a mentality'. And that's about winning. That's about figuring out how to be the best team. That street fight attitude that we used to have, he's bringing that back.
I have a strong belief in the American player. My contention has always been that, at this age (15-17), the kids need to blossom into the player that they're supposed to become, not the player that you think they are. It really is piecing a puzzle together and then letting them go. That's how you develop players. I am not a teacher. I am a facilitator of learning and the game is your teacher, so my job is to put you in a spot where you can really flourish and enjoy this.
Our guys are hungry and they are allowed to influence the game the way that they want to, not because somebody told them how to play. I just give them some love and some belief. I want them to relax out there and play hard, but don't cheat yourself out of this. Show me what you're about. I think when you take the reins off some of these players, they can really play the game at a high level.
It's been a whirlwind. We've gotten multiple offers from European teams. And the search hasn't ended. I've brought in a couple of new players into the mix. It's really something. I actually think if we played the national team, we'd beat them. That's a bold statement, I get it. But the group that I put together, they come from Seattle, Oregon, Arizona, California, Colorado, Las Vegas, from everywhere. It's my own little personal national team, and they're very good.