McBride Leads U.S. Past El Salvador

The most sought-after person after the U.S. soccer team’s 4-2 victory over El Salvador in its World Cup qualifying finale Sunday at Foxboro Stadium was not forward Brian McBride, who scored two early goals.

It was not midfielder Preki Radosavljevic, who scored one and helped set up the other three as El Salvador’s slim hopes of advancing to France ’98 evaporated and Jamaica reached the World Cup for the first time.

It was U.S. Soccer Federation President Alan Rothenberg, who continues to leave Coach Steve Sampson in limbo about whether Sampson will guide the U.S. team in France next summer. The first phase of Sampson’s contract expires next month, and the USSF has the option of retaining him through the World Cup.

Rothenberg was a little more supportive of Sampson in his postgame comments Sunday than in the past few weeks, but again stopped short of committing to him.

“He’s the coach until he’s not the coach,” said Rothenberg, who will meet with Sampson in the next week or two to discuss the coach’s status.

Before a crowd of 53,193 on a frigid day, the U.S. squad played worry-free after clinching its berth last week with a 3-0 victory over Canada in Vancouver. With reserves comprising most of their starting lineup, the Americans stormed to a 3-0 lead early in the second half before withstanding El Salvador’s late uprising.

McBride, in his first appearance since the first game of this qualifying round last March in Jamaica, scored in the 22nd and 28th minutes. Chris Henderson scored in the 49th minute.

Nildelson de Melo responded for El Salvador in the 60th minute. D.C. United’s Raul Diaz Arce converted a penalty kick in the 63rd just a moment after entering the match to cut the deficit to 3-2.

But Radosavljevic, the Major League Soccer most valuable player this year, sealed it with a left-footed volley in the 82nd minute.

Jamaica’s “Reggae Boyz” secured the third and final spot in the North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region with a scoreless tie against Mexico in Kingston.

Also clinching World Cup places Sunday were Japan, which defeated Iran, 3-2, in sudden-death overtime, and Chile, which shut out Bolivia, 3-0.