SPORTS WATCH : Alive and Kicking

Before the New York Mets surprised everyone by winning the World Series in 1969, their legendary manager, Casey Stengel, lamented their pitiful play by asking, “Can’t anybody here play this game?” Soccer fans used to ask that about the U.S. national team--but no more.

Last weekend the U.S. team won an international tournament--an event that may not rank with the Miracle Mets’ championship of ’69 but which did cause a lot of surprised comment abroad and forced the abject resignation of one coach whose team had lost. After years of being a doormat in international soccer--losing regularly to powerhouses such as Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica--the U.S. team defeated all three to win a tournament sponsored by the Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). It was Mexico’s coach who quit after a 2-0 upset loss to los Norteamericanos.

Not only that, the semifinal and final games drew crowds of about 40,000 to Los Angeles’ Coliseum. Clearly U.S. soccer--or football, as the rest of the world refers to the sport--is coming of age.

And none too soon, because in 1994 this country will play host to the World Cup tournament, a soccer extravaganza that rivals the Olympics in international popularity. As the host nation, the United States gets an automatic berth to play against elite teams from all over the world. And if the U.S. team can maintain the momentum and confidence it gained from this tournament victory, another miracle is not out of the question, come 1994.