1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament

Tournament details
Host country	United States
Dates	23 May – 31 May
Teams	4 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)	6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Brazil
Runners-up	England
Third place	Italy
Fourth place	Team America
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	21 (3.5 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Gil (4 goals)

The Bicentennial Cup Tournament was a special international association football (soccer) competition. It happened in May 1976 in the USA. This tournament was a celebration of the USA's 200th birthday. Many famous soccer players, both old and new, took part.

Why the Tournament Happened

This tournament was created because the national teams of England and Italy did not qualify. They missed out on the 1976 European Championship. So, these two strong teams joined Brazil and a special team called Team America. Team America was made up of top players from the North American Soccer League.

Meet Team America

The actual U.S.A. team in 1976 was not strong enough. They could not compete against powerful teams like Brazil, Italy, and England. So, Team America was formed to represent the USA. This team had players from many different countries. They were all playing for clubs in the North American Soccer League. Some very famous players were on Team America. These included Pelé, Ramon Mifflin, Mike England, Giorgio Chinaglia, and Bobby Moore.

Official Match Status

After England played Team America, the English Football Association (FA) said it was just a "training game." They decided that the players would not get official "caps" for playing. A cap is like an official recognition for playing for your country. So, England does not count this match as a full international game.

However, Brazil and Italy saw their matches against Team America differently. They counted these games as full international matches for their national teams. Later, in 2001, FIFA (the world's soccer governing body) made new rules. They said official international matches must be between two FIFA member countries. Because Team America was an all-star team, not a national team, matches against them would not be official under these new rules.

Tournament Results

Brazil won the Bicentennial Cup. They won all three of their games. England finished second, winning two games and losing one. Their only loss was a close 1–0 game against Brazil.

Match Details

All times local

23 May 1976 13:00 EDT	Team America	0–4	Italy	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington D.C. Attendance: 33,455 Referee: Walter Hungerbühler (Switzerland)
			Capello  15' Pulici  22' Graziani  72' Rocca  84'

23 May 1976 14:30 PDT	Brazil	1–0	England	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 32,495 Referee: Hans-Joachim Weyland (West Germany)
	Dinamite  89'	Report

28 May 1976 20:00 EDT	England	3–2	Italy	Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York City Attendance: 40,650 Referee: Hans-Joachim Weyland (West Germany)
	Channon  46', 53' Thompson  48'		Graziani  14', 19'

28 May 1976 20:00 PDT	Team America	0–2	Brazil	Kingdome, Seattle, Washington Referee: Ramón Barreto (Uruguay)
			Gil  29', 89'

31 May 1976 12:00 EDT	Team America	1–3	England	John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 16,239 Referee: Walter Hungerbühler (Switzerland)
	Scullion  87'		Keegan  23', 29' Francis  54'

31 May 1976 15:00 EDT	Brazil	4–1	Italy	Yale Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut Attendance: 36,096 Referee: Ramón Barreto (Uruguay)
	Gil  28', 48' Zico  76' Roberto Dinamite  78'		Capello  2'

Final Standings

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Brazil	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	6
2	England	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	4
3	Italy	3	1	0	2	7	7	0	2
4	Team America	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0

1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament
Brazil First title

Top Scorers

There were 21 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 3.5 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

See also

In Spanish: Torneo Bicentenario de los Estados Unidos para niños