1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament

1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament
Tournament details
Host country	United States
Dates	23 – 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)

The1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournamentwas an internationalassociation footballcompetition, which took place in May 1976 in theUnited 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- came about afterEnglandandItalyfailed to qualify for the1976 European Championshiptournament. These two teams joinedBrazilandTeam America,a side composed of stars playing in theNorth American Soccer League.

TheU.S.team of the time was not developed enough to compete against sides as powerful asBrazil,ItalyandEngland,and hence Team America, consisting of players of various nationalities drawn fromNorth American Soccer Leagueclubs, carried the U.S. banner in the tournament. Team America included players who had performed for other national teams, among themPelé,Ramon Mifflin,Mike England,Giorgio ChinagliaandBobby Moore.

The day after England played Team America,The Football Association,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 standardFIFAset 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, includingEngland's matchesagainst theRest of Europeand theRest of the World(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.