University of North Carolina Athletics
Pope, Berhalter Named to World Cup Team
April 23, 2002 | Men's Soccer
April 23, 2002
Former University of North Carolina men's soccer stars Gregg Berhalter and Eddie Pope both were named to the 23-man 2002 United States World Cup team, head coach Bruce Arena announced on Monday. The two defenders both have started games for the U.S. team during its 2002 qualifying campaign.
Pope, who lettered at Carolina from 1992-95, will be making his second World Cup appearance, having started three World Cup games in 1998. A regular with the U.S. team throughout the last decade, Pope missed portions of the 1999 and 2000 seasons with a variety of injuries but has re-emerged as one of the squad's top stars.
Pope scored the USA's only goal in a 2-1 loss to Ireland earlier this spring, heading home a corner kick for the score. He is a key member of D.C. United of Major League Soccer and one of America's top on-the-ball defenders.
erhalter lettered at Carolina from 1991-93 and has played professionally in Europe since leaving Chapel Hill prior to his senior season in 1994. Described in his U.S. Soccer biography as "strong on the tackle ... [with] good ball-handling skills," he started three games as a central defender during the USA's 2002 qualifying season. This will be his first World Cup appearance.
The U.S. team will gather on May 1 in Cary, N.C., to begin training for the World Cup, which begins in late May in Japan and South Korea.