"Internally and externally, that was the goal 

"It had never been a question for previous hosts if they'd get out of their group, but it was a real question for us," says defender Alexi Lalas, who made his international debut under Milutinovic.

"Internally and externally, that was the goal - do that and the rest is gravy."

The good news was that, in Milutinovic, the US had a coach who already had a successful blueprint for upsetting the odds. He'd led hosts Mexico to the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, then took debutants Costa Rica to the round of 16 four years later, despite only getting the job 90 days before the tournament began.

He quickly got to work.

Milutinovic scoured the US college system, offered central contracts to 30 players and set up residency in Southern California, before devising a schedule of 91 friendlies to give his newly assembled squad a crash course in international football.

"The players needed to feel what it meant to play at the highest level," he says in new book How to Win the World Cup: Secrets and Insights from International Football's Top Managers.

"We made a tour around the world - playing Sweden, Russia, North and South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay. There was a great spirit and the players were mentally very strong.

"It was important to play so many games against different countries to learn what we needed to do and how we needed to do it. You can learn a lot more from playing against teams like this than teaching the players for many hours.

"In training we'd learn the mental side of the game, playing with and without the ball, then it was all friendlies and travelling. It was simple but it had amazing results."

https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/topics/1986/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e5%8f%aa%e5%9b%a0%e4%b8%80%e5%80%8b%e4%bd%a0-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e5%8f%aa%e5%9b%a0%e4%b8%80%e5%80%8b%e4%bd%a0-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e9%a2%a8%e4%b8%ad%e7%9a%84%e6%ad%8c-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1

https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e5%ae%a2%e5%be%9e%e4%bd%95%e8%99%95%e4%be%86-lyrics-%e5%8d%80%e7%91%9e%e5%bc%b7-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e6%84%9b%e7%9a%84%e9%80%a3%e7%b7%9a-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e7%a5%9d%e4%bd%a0%e7%94%9f%e8%be%b0%e5%bf%ab%e6%a8%82-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e6%84%9b%e5%9c%a8%e5%90%8c%e4%b8%80%e5%a4%a9%e7%a9%ba%e4%b8%8b-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1

https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e6%84%9b%e5%9c%a8%e9%99%bd%e5%85%89%e7%a9%ba%e6%b0%a3%e4%b8%ad-lyrics-%e5%8d%80%e7%91%9e%e5%bc%b7-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e9%9b%a3%e5%85%8d%e6%9c%89%e9%8c%af-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e9%9b%a3%e5%85%8d%e6%9c%89%e9%8c%af-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e6%83%86%e6%82%b5%e6%bb%84%e6%a1%91%e5%a4%9c-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e7%be%8e%e5%90%9b-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=https://ex-one.com/lyrics/nothin-but-a-woman-lyrics-the-robert-cray-band-lyrics/&prev=search&pto=aue

https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/songs-type/lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e7%8e%ab%e7%91%b0%e9%a6%99-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e9%9b%85%e9%ba%97-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e7%8e%ab%e7%91%b0%e9%a6%99-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e9%9b%85%e9%ba%97-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e7%8e%ab%e7%91%b0%e7%8e%ab%e7%91%b0%e6%88%91%e6%84%9b%e4%bd%a0-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e9%9b%85%e9%ba%97-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e6%84%9b%e6%88%91%e5%9c%a8%e4%bb%8a%e5%ae%b5-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e9%9b%85%e9%ba%97-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1

https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e5%8f%aa%e5%9b%a0%e4%b8%80%e5%80%8b%e4%bd%a0-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e9%a2%a8%e4%b8%ad%e7%9a%84%e6%ad%8c-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e9%a2%a8%e4%b8%ad%e7%9a%84%e6%ad%8c-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e5%ae%a2%e5%be%9e%e4%bd%95%e8%99%95%e4%be%86-lyrics-%e5%8d%80%e7%91%9e%e5%bc%b7-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1
https://1-ex–one-com.translate.goog/lyrics/%e7%a5%9d%e4%bd%a0%e7%94%9f%e8%be%b0%e5%bf%ab%e6%a8%82-lyrics-%e5%8a%89%e5%be%b7%e8%8f%af-lyrics/?_x_tr_sl=zh-TW&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_enc=1