Mathis, 2002

When Aaron Long was named to the US roster for Qatar, he joined a very elite group: current Metro players who were selected to participate in the World Cup. Long is 10th; don't worry, we'll go through the list soon. However, there is an even more exclusive list Long can join: current Metro players to play in a World Cup game that their team won. That list is astonishingly empty.

1998 was obviously the first World Cup that a current Metro could appear at, and there were two on the US squad: Tab Ramos and Alexi Lalas. Alas, that tournament was an abject failure for the Americans, as they lost all three games. Clearly, no one could appear for a winner here: Ramos came off the bench in the opener against Germany and then started the loss to Iran. Lalas did not play at all, which at least didn't turn USA's appearance into a bigger clown show that it already was.

But there was a third current Metro in 1998, and his team actually of the group stage: Marcelo Vega and Chile! Alas, Chile somehow made it to the knockout round without winning a game; they tied three times and were lucky to move on. Not that Vega contributed, as he was left on the bench every single time. He did appear off the bench in the playoffs, coming in at halftime during the 4:1 loss to eventual finalists Brazil.

There was only one current Metro in 2002, but what a Metro he was: Clint Mathis! Who can forget his goal against South Korea, making him the first current Metro to score in the World Cup! Alas, the hosts tied that game late, so no win there. Mathis missed out both of USA's glorious wins, against Portugal and Mexico, but did appear in their losses, against Poland and Germany in the quarterfinals. (That last one, still so agonizing to remember...)

No current Metro made the 2006 World Cup, so let's move on to 2010, where NY's representative was... Andrew Boyens?! The lanky defender did not play a minute for New Zealand. Perhaps if they utilized the lanky defender, they could have actually won a game? (Although they didn't lose one either!) Unlike Chile 12 years earlier, the Kiwis could not advance with three ties.

Things would get better in 2014, for Metro representation, but not for results. Tim Cahill continued his World Cup magic by scoring twice, against Chile and the Netherlands, the latter a wonder goal for the ages. Alas, Australia lost both games, and Cahill got suspended for the finale, another loss. But what about Roy Miller, you ask? Surely the one who could never scored contributed to Costa Rica's magical run to the quarterfinal? Perhaps he contributed with piggyback rides, as Miller did not play in wins against Uruguay and Italy before starting in a scoreless draw against England. In the playoffs, he missed both the PK win over Greece and the PK loss to the Netherlands.

In 2018, there were two Metros on the Panama squad: Michael Murillo and Fidel Escobar. The former played 90 minutes against Belgium and England, both losses, before getting suspended for the finale against Tunisia. The latter did one better: despite not being good enough to play much for Metro, he actually played three full matches in the World Cup. Unfortunately for him, Panama couldn't beat Tunisia either, and that was that.

Here's hoping Aaron Long reverses the trend...