The Bicentennial Cup Tournament was an international

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

competition, which took place in May 1976 in the United States. The tournament featured several World Cup stars both past and future. The tournament - which celebrated the 200th anniversary of the U.S.

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

- came about after

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

failed to qualify for the 1976 European Championship tournament. These two teams joined

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and Team America, a side composed of stars playing in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. The

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

team of the time was not developed enough to compete against sides as powerful as

and

, and hence Team America, consisting of players of various nationalities drawn from

clubs, carried the U.S. banner in the tournament. Team America included players who had performed for other national teams, among them Pelé, Ramon Mifflin,

Mike England Harold Michael England (born 2 December 1941) is a Welsh former footballer and manager. Playing career Playing as a central defender, England began his career at Blackburn Rovers in 1959, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in July 1966, ultimat ...

Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...

and Bobby Moore. The day after

played Team America,

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

, asked about the match's status, said it was regarded as "a training game" and that caps would not be awarded to the participating players. Accordingly, the FA does not include the match in its list of full internationals. The associations of both Brazil and Italy, on the other hand, listed their national sides' matches against Team America as full internationals. Matches against Team America would not meet the new standard FIFA set down in January, 2001 for official full internationals because they were not played between the selections of two FIFA country members. FIFA has retroactively removed the official status of matches involving other multinational all-star selections, including England's matches against the Rest of Europe and the

Rest of the World Within sports and games played at the international competitive level, the Rest of the World refers to a team of players from many countries of origin that compete against a single individual or a team from a single group, such as a club or countr ...

(although the FA continues to recognize these as official internationals). Brazil won the cup, winning all three of their games, while England came second, winning two and losing one; 1–0 against Brazil.

Results

''All times local'' ---- ----

Table

Statistics

Goalscorers

External links

USA Bicentennial Cup Tournament results & tableAll Matches Brazil National Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicentennial Cup

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

1976 in American soccer 1975–76 in English football 1975–76 in Italian football 1976 in Brazilian football

1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament The Bicentennial Cup Tournament was an international association football competition, which took place in May 1976 in the United States. The tournament featured several World Cup stars both past and future. The tournament - which celebrated the ...

May 1976 sports events in the United States International men's association football invitational tournaments