<P> In the 1998 World Cup in France, the team lost all of their three group matches, 0--2 to Germany, 1--2 to Iran, and 0--1 to Yugoslavia, and so finished in last place in its group and 32nd in the field of 32 . Head coach Steve Sampson received much of the blame for the performance as a result of abruptly cutting team captain John Harkes, whom Sampson had named "Captain for Life" shortly before, as well as several other players who were instrumental to the qualifying effort, from the squad . </P> <P> The United States won the 2002 Gold Cup to set up the team's best performance since 1930 in the 2002 World Cup, when the U.S. team reached the quarter - finals . The knockout stage was reached through a 3--2 win over Portugal and a 1--1 tie with co-host and eventual fourth - place finisher, South Korea, rendering a 3 - 0 loss to Poland in the final game irrelevant . </P> <P> This set the stage for a Round 2 face - off with familiar continental rivals Mexico . The U.S. emerged victorious in the first World Cup showdown between the two old adversaries, 2--0 . The team lost 1--0 to eventual runners - up Germany in the quarterfinals after a controversial no - call on a handball committed by the Germans thwarted an American goal . The United States followed up this success by winning their third Gold Cup, and second out of three, in 2005 . </P> <P> After finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. were drawn into Group E along with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana . Since three of the teams were ranked in the top 10 of the FIFA World Rankings at the time, it was considered a group of death . </P>

When did the usa give its best performance in the world cup