Memories of the first US Junior National Team: Guatemala, 1964

Alex Popovich, a member of the first ever junior US national soccer team, shares memories of the team’s participation in the CONCACAF Youth Tournament in Guatemala City, April 1964. Alex and some of his teammates will join David Kilpatrick in a SASH Session on Friday, January 9, 2026, to discuss the team.

The first ever United States Junior National Team, a U-20 team, participated in the second CONCACAF Youth Tournament in Guatemala City, Guatemala in April 1964. The tournament’s first edition was hosted by Panama in 1962.

On March 29, 1964, eighteen young men assembled in St. Louis. They came from New York City, Long Island, Baltimore, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Ludlow, Massachusetts, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Six players were from St. Louis. I came from Brooklyn where I had played for New York Ukrainians SC since I was 10 years old.

Those players not from St. Louis all arrived by plane, the very first time some of us had ever flown. Once in St. Louis we were taken to St. Louis University and were housed in Rogers Hall, a dormitory. The USSFA provided the following items for each player: two game uniforms, a blue blazer and matching tie, a sweatsuit, soccer shoes, and a gym bag. I only recall receiving a gym bag and training shoes. We were told to bring our own training clothes, a white shirt, gray trousers, and black shoes to be worn with the blue blazer, and street clothes.

The player selection process varied across the country. In my case, I went to 2 tryouts and then was notified of my selection. Over the next two days the players went through workouts under the guidance of the team’s head coach Bob Guelker, who was the head coach of the St. Louis University men’s soccer team. The formation that we played was basically a 3-4-3: Two defensive fullbacks, a center back; two halfbacks (now called defensive midfielders); and two inside forwards (now known as attacking mid fielders); two attacking wingers and a traditional center forward. I was a forward, number 11. I started on outside left (left wing) but moved inside as play dictated. We played two practice games against local competition before heading off to compete in the international tournament in Guatemala. It was a really short time to prepare for such a significant tournament.

Upon arrival in Guatemala, we were driven in an old school bus to our lodgings at the Hotel Mansion Centenario, which was located near the central plaza of the city.

On April 1, the opening ceremonies for the tournament were held in Guatemala City’s main stadium Mateo Flores. In addition to all the teams and their delegations, approximately 40,000 people were in attendance. The opening ceremony began with a parade that started in the city and made its way to the Mateo Flores stadium. In the stadium it was like the Olympic Parade of Nations with each country’s delegation marching around the track before settling on the field to take an oath to play with good sportsmanship. The US team’s delegation was headed by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Kraus, Mr. Eric Werner and Coach Robert Guelker. It was quite a remarkable experience and remains a fond memory for all the players to this day.

The tournament began the next day. The US team’s group included Jamaica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and host Guatemala. Our opening game on April 2 was against Jamaica. The starting lineup for the USA was:

Kevin O’Connell; Pat Migliore, Brad Melchiore, Al Doetser; Vince Drake, Al Tsacle; Gary McBrady, Wally Werner, Jim Spotanski, Ken Justkowich and myself (Alex Popovich).

The game started well, and after just three minutes of play we scored first on a goal by Gary McBrady. At the start of the second half, I collided with Rudy Pierce and we both suffered gashes to our foreheads. This meant we were both forced to leave the game to receive medical treatment at the local hospital. The doctor drove us in his jeep because he said it would be faster than waiting for an ambulance. In the meantime, the Jamaican team tied the score. It was reported that their goalie made some fabulous saves which kept the score tied and the game concluded at 1-1.

On April 4 we played against Nicaragua. I had to sit out the game because of the head injury I received in the opener, as did Al Tsacle, who was suffering from Montezuma’s Revenge. After a long battle the game ended in a 0-0 tie.

The next game on April 6 was against the host team Guatemala. We scored first again, giving the crowd a big scare. But the home team came through and scored a goal and at half time the game was tied 1-1. In the second half we played well — goalie Kevin O’Connell played very well, stopping many shots — but Guatemala scored two more goals to beat us 3-1. At this point the USA was tied for second place in the group, and we needed a win against El Salvador to progress into the next round.

The game against El Salvador was scheduled for April 10, so we had a few days break. I remember that we took a few trips and attended a few functions. We went to Chichicastenango, a very cute and quaint town in the country and practiced there. We also went to Lake Atitlan, a volcanic lake formed by an old volcano. Guatemala is quite hilly and very lush, and the people were very friendly. As I recall there was a military junta in charge at the time because we always could see soldiers everywhere. One of the functions I recall was to a girl’s academy where we were introduced to a bunch of young ladies and various dignitaries. Going to the marketplace was another very interesting experience. The way meats, vegetables, fruits, and other foods were displayed was quite different from what we were accustomed to in the US. The Guatemalan people wore very colorful outfits and all of us purchased either a shirt, a hat, or some item to have as a souvenir from this trip.

We played El Salvador in the Mateo Flores stadium and as I recall it was a difficult match. We were behind from the start and were losing 4-0 before Gary McBrady scored two goals in the second half. Brad Melchiore and I almost scored and we had at least a half dozen great chances, but it didn’t work out, and we lost 4-2. That eliminated us from the tournament.

Guatemala and El Salvador progressed into the semifinals. They joined the Netherlands Antilles and Honduras from the other group. The eventual winner was El Salvador, who defeated Guatemala in the semifinal and then Honduras in the final. Guatemala took third place.

Unfortunately, ten years passed before another US U-20 team participated in the CONCACAF Youth Tournament, the 1974 edition hosted by Canada. Now known as the Concacaf Under-20 Championship, it is the qualifying tournament for the U-20 World Cup, which was first staged in 1977. The US were champions of the Concacaf tournament for the first time in 1998 when Guatemala was co-host along with Trinidad & Tobago.

Members of the 1964 US U-20 National Team

Goalkeepers
Kevin O’Connell, St. Louis
Roman Kuc, Chicago

Fullbacks
Patrick Migliore, Long Island
Al Doetzer, Baltimore
Joseph O’Brick, Philadelphia
Brad Melchiore, St. Louis
Ken Justkowich, Pittsburgh

Midfielders
Vincent Drake, St. Louis
Al Tsacle, San Francisco
James Fonte, Ludlow
Milan Sasic, Milwaukee
Guillermo Barriga, Los Angeles

Forwards
Gary McBrady, St. Louis
Wally Werner, St. Louis
Jim Spotanski, St. Louis
Jeff Donohue, Philadelphia
John Ruggero, Philadelphia
Alex Popovich, New York

Coach
Robert Guelker, St. Louis