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Bad guys

Villains

You might never have heard of Salvador Reyes until today, but he forged a reputation as a major thorn in the side of the U.S. in three qualifying tournaments. Reyes, who is 66, was a major thorn in the U.S. side, having helped eliminate the Americans in 1958, 1962 and 1966. He made 49 appearances for the Mexican National Team, scoring 14 goals. Seven of them were against the U.S. The 5-7, 154-pound Reyes played for the great Guatemalan club sides during his tenure with the Mexican National Team. However, he could never duplicate his success during actual World Cup competition, going scoreless in nine matches over three tournaments.

1. Salvador Reyes, Mexico (1958, 1962, 1966) -- He did in the U.S. not once, but twice but three times. He scored three goals (33rd, 69th and 76th minutes) in a 7-0 rout at Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on April 7, 1957. He struck for three goals in two games in 1962 competition. Reyes scored in the 12th and 21st minutes of a 3-3 tie at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles on Nov. 6, 1960 and the second goal, in the 35th minute of a 3-0 romp in Olympic Stadium exactly a week later. And he connected for the equalizer in the 65th minute in a 2-2 tie at the Los Angeles Coliseum on March 7, 1965 in the 1966 competition.

2. Evaristo Coronado, Costa Rica (1986) -- He scored the goal that eliminated the Americans from qualifying in Torrance, Calif. on May 31, 1985. After Mausser misjudged a free kick with a questionable punch of the ball, a teammate headed the ball to Coronado, who scored in the 35th minute. Costa Rica did not qualify for Mexico '86.

3. Guy St. Vil, Haiti (1970) -- With Mexico out of the way in qualifying because it was the host of the Cup, it looked like the U.S. would finally have a smoother ride to soccer's promised land, right? Wrong. After finishing atop its first group undefeated, the Americans could not solve Haiti and St. Vil in the final round. He scored the second goal of the match in the 54th minute in a 2-0 Haitian win in Port au Prince on April 20, 1969. He also connected for the lone goal in the 43rd minute in a 1-0 victory in San Diego on May 11. Haiti, however, did not qualify for Mexico '70.

4. Unknown player, Trinidad & Tobago (1998) -- Even Tab Ramos admits he did not remember which Trinidad player tackled him from behind in the 79th minute in Port of Spain, Trinidad on Nov. 24, 1996. Ramos suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee and wound up sidelined for eight qualifying matches. In October, 1997, Ramos reinjured his left knee, suffering torn ligaments in a National Team practice. He was sidelined for the rest of qualifying. Adding insult to injury to that day in Trinidad was Wynalda, the team's most dangerous player, who went down with a hernia problem that eventually needed surgery over the winter.

5. Alfredo (Fello) Hernandez, Mexico (1958) -- Like Reyes, Hernandez converted a hat-trick in a 7-2 demolition of the U.S. at Long Beach Memorial Stadium on April 28, 1957. Hernandez struck in the 22nd, 36th and 82nd minutes, although according to A History of the World Cup, Volume I, his first score was deflected by U.S. defender Harry Keough past the goalkeeper. Reyes, incidentally, played in that game, but did not score.

6. Hudson Charles, Trinidad & Tobago (1990) -- With the U.S. clinging to a 1-0 lead behind a goal by Trittschuh with two minutes remaining in Torrance, Calif. on May 13, 1989, U.S. forward Peter Vermes cleared the ball into the Trinidad half of the field. Brian Williams took control and sent a long pass to Charles, who ran into open space, drawing Trittschuh toward him. Two players raced for the ball-Windischmann with an outstretched foot and Trinidad forward Marlon Morris, who got there first to head it gently to Charles. He had only Vanole to beat. "We kind of had a letdown," Trittschuh said. "I don't know why. We weren't tired, but I could feel us letting down."

7. Carlos Hermosillo, Mexico (1998) -- The former L.A. Galaxy forward was the recipient of a gift when U.S. keeper Kasey Keller miskicked the ball right to him. Hermosillo scored. For more details, please see Keller in the goat section.

8. Carlos Ruiz, Guatemala, (2002) -- Only minutes after he wasn't called for a foul in the penalty area, the Guatemalan forward connected for the equalizer in the 88th minute to give his side a 1-1 draw in steamy Mazatenango, Guatemala on July 16, 2000. Ruiz, a pest all afternoon, got a half step ahead of defender Robin Fraser and slid a shot past Keller into the right side of the net to deny a stunned U.S. side three points.

9. Hernan Medford, Costa Rica (2002) -- Amid the controversial call by referee Peter Prendergast in stoppage time of July 16 match last year, many fans and media forget that a player had to convert the penalty kick. Medford, the Costa Rican captain, did, in the third minute of stoppage time for a 2-1 victory. They also forget that he set up Costa Rica's first goal as well, serving a swooping cross to the far post to an unmarked Rolando Conseca, who headed it back across the goal out of the reach of the sprawled Keller.

10. Marlon Ivan Leon, Guatemala (1998) -- Actually, he didn't do a thing to harm the U.S.'s chances of qualifying in a 2-0 American victory. But he did kick everything in sight, trying to harm American players. Referee Charles Barrett of Jamaica somehow neglected to book Leon, who could have been awarded yellow cards for three hard fouls.

11. Raul Diaz Arce, El Salvador (1998) -- The much-traveled MLS forward denied saved his country and denied the U.S. three points by connecting for the equalizer in the 61st minute in San Salvador on June 29, 1997. Diaz Arce, who plays for D.C. United, knocked home a cross by Luis Lazo off his right foot after missing it with his left foot from point-blank range.

12. The Saprissa Stadium crowd, Costa Rica (anytime). The fans in San Jose have been known to throw batteries, coins and bags of urine at U.S. players.

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