The most important goal in American soccer history was not honed on a practice field.

It was born and nurtured on a long, flat driveway in Diamond Bar, California, in 1980s suburban Los Angeles by a young man with an immense passion for the beautiful game.

Paul Caligiuri, a naturally right-footed player, wanted to develop his left foot. So he would continually take shots with his wrong foot. The shots looped toward the right corner and then dipped into the goal that was his family’s battered two-car garage door.

Sometimes the kick would be spot on, sometimes it would not, much to the chagrin of his parents.

“I probably broke down the garage door taking shots,” Caligiuri tells the Guardian. “As I got bigger and bigger I got further and further back into the street and eventually on the other side of the street.

“It wasn’t always the case that it hit the garage door. It hit the stucco above it. I literally took the stucco out, dead smack in the middle of the goal, middle of the garage. They had to patch it up. It never looked like the same stucco. I went to increase my level of shooting from distance and worked really hard on developing my left foot, where I felt comfortable. And it paid off.”

It paid off royally on 19 November 1989, as Caligiuri scored the lone goal of the match that lifted the United States to victory over Trinidad & Tobago and into the team’s first World Cup in 40 years. The USA play T&T in a World Cup qualifier in Port of Spain again on Tuesday. Thursday is the game’s 26th anniversary.

Much was at stake for the Americans that Sunday. The US had won the bid to host the 1994 World Cup but there were fears Fifa would back out of the deal if the Americans failed to qualify for Italia ‘90.

“We were well aware of the situation of hosting the World Cup and the potential of it being moved [to another country] so the situation was very clear,” says Caligiuri. “We controlled our destiny. It became monumental.”

For this generation of American players and for those in the past.

“Every one of these guys and the generations that came before us, particularly NASL people, the teams, the players that tried to qualify for the World Cup, develop the game. The soccer community in the United States knew how big the World Cup could help build soccer in this country.”

That work would begin with a team that was considered a baby side by international standards. Its average age that Sunday was 23.2. Caligiuri was the second-oldest starter (25) behind Paul Krumpe (26). Goalkeeper Tony Meola, a sophomore at the University of Virginia, was 20.

“Based on the climate of soccer in the United States, [there was] no professional league really to make an income other than indoor soccer, which is a completely different version of the game,” Caligiuri says. “You almost had to turn to the younger players because they were available and hungry and they’re up-and-coming.

“On the other hand, when you look at how young we were, it was also [striking] how inexperienced we were at that level. I see a lot of great players at young ages, some of the best in the world could be in their young 20s. We didn’t have the experience at the international platform and we didn’t have the league experience of playing 30-35 games in a season. Maybe because we were so hungry ... to play in the World Cup, that’s what drove us to success.”

Caligiuri was driven early on, living and loving the game. He was so passionate about taking his game to another level that he saved up money to train in West Berlin as a 15-year-old during his spring freshman semester.

Caligiuri’s star soared when he returned home. He captained the 1985 UCLA side that captured the NCAA Division I crown. He represented the USA at the Fifa All-Star Game in 1987. He also started all three games for the USA at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and became one of the first American players to play in Europe, with West German club SV Meppen.

Paul Caligiuri plays before a sea of red in Port of Spain. Photograph: Bob Thomas/Getty Images

By the time he started playing professionally in West Germany, the USA had started their World Cup qualifying run for Italia ‘90.

Until the Trinidad game, Caligiuri was barely a blip on the US qualifying campaign. He missed the first three qualifiers due to commitments with Meppen. In those days there were no international breaks, and clubs were not required to release their players.

When he was available, Caligiuri didn’t necessarily start, despite being one of a handful of players with European experience. He was called in for the home game in June against Guatemala, but coach Bob Gansler kept Caligiuri on the bench.

“In some ways it was surprising for me,” he says. “But on the other hand, it was his decision to keep the chemistry and the loyalty. He’s a very loyal coach. But he went with me in the second half. That’s when we won the game, 3-1. I felt my contributions on the field not just lifted our team to success, but it lifted the players. They started playing better soccer.”

A foot injury kept Caligiuri from playing the next two qualifiers, although he was called in for what turned into a rather dreary scoreless draw with El Salvador in St Louis. He never left the bench.

Caligiuri’s hunger to play was fueled three warm-up games in the lead-up to the Trinidad match. Gansler played Caligiuri at three positions across defence in three games over a five-day period.

“I could say that Bob Gansler was a mastermind because he motivated me by not giving me any signs of whether I would play, start or what my role was,” he says. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to start or play. There was no indication of what the starting lineup would be. I’m sure he thought countless hours over and over and over.”

Caligiuri said he was exhausted but ready. If he was going to start, Caligiuri figured he would be marking a young Dwight Yorke.

By the time the USA arrived in Port of Spain, the locals had literally painted the town red in support of the Soca Warriors, whether it was houses, cars or stores. The Trinidad government, whose team only needed a draw to advance, was so confident of reaching soccer’s promised land that they had already declared Monday, the day after the game, a national holiday.

Caligiuri discovered at a team meeting he would not only play, but replace defensive midfielder John Stollmeyer in the lineup. Stollmeyer was a mainstay on the team, playing in all seven of the previous qualifiers, so the switch was a surprise.

“My instructions were not to go forward, don’t try to take risks, prevent them from building out of the back, shut them down in the midfield,” Caligiuri says. “I said, wow, coach Gansler does like me as a player.”

It also left Caligiuri in an awkward situation: Stollmeyer’s family had lived in Trinidad for many years. On top of that Caligiuri and Stollmeyer were roommates.

“He was a leader on the field, a leader off the field,” Caligiuri says. “He definitely was in favor with the coaching staff, coach Gansler. That was what seemed to be the teacher’s pet, the go-to guy on the team and rightfully so. He earned it. ... They even have a Stollmeyer Castle right by the polo fields not too far from the stadium. This became a huge deal for John Stollmeyer.”

It also was a huge deal for Caligiuri to talk to Stollmeyer about the decision. “He just gave his hand and hugged me and said, ‘No man, this is for the US and you’ve got to go out there and do your job. No problem,’” Caligiuri explains. “I just felt like, this is great.”

The stadium opened six hours before kick-off. By the time the USA squad arrived, it was packed to the gills, a sea of red. Trinidadian singers entertained the hopeful crowd for hours with World Cup-themed calypso songs and ballads.

It was an even match.

In the 29th minute, the USA dodged a bullet when center back John Doyle tripped Philbert Jones in the penalty area. The Argentinian referee, Juan Carlos Loustau, did not give a penalty.

“We clearly took down a player,” Caligiuri says. “We got away with one. I know these guys inside and out and I thought we weren’t doing everything we could to win the game. Basically that break ... elevated my motivation level to get something going, not just playing my destructive role as defensive midfielder.”

Caligiuri got his chance in the 31st minute. Brian Williams upended John Harkes in midfield. Tab Ramos took the free kick, got a quick return pass and noticed an open Caligiuri in the middle. Caligiuri beat an opponent and lofted a high, looping shot over goalkeeper Michael Maurice into the right-hand corner.

Caligiuri can thank that battered garage door.

“I know my abilities to take those kind of shots so I can strike the ball from distance with my left or right foot,” he says. “So it’s a confidence level that you don’t think about. I’m confident I can take the shot. You just know you can so you do it. I know the distance. I knew it had to have some power on it. It couldn’t be a floating ball. It had to have some power with some dip on it.”

It was only Caligiuri’s second international goal; his first was against T&T in 1985.

“I didn’t score a lot of goals for the US,” he says. “ I wasn’t prepared for any special celebration. You’ve seen great goalscorers around the world doing these fancy celebrations. I decided to celebrate and run toward the ref and slide, where the players joined me. I was at the bottom of the pile.”

“By the time we entered the locker room [at half-time], I knew we had this game ... not based on our domination, but based on the inspiration you could see with every player in their eyes. You could feel the energy in the locker room. Tony Meola played spectacular, John Harkes did his role. Tab Ramos did his thing. Peter Vermes held the ball up top. Bruce Murray. Everyone on the field played to the best of their abilities and accomplished what we needed to do.”

The Americans stemmed the tide until the final whistle.

“I just stood still. I wanted to absorb what I knew what it took,” Caligiuri says. “I wanted to absorb the celebration from our players and see the excitement from the non-starters to the starters, guys laying on the ground to Meola jumping up and down going crazy. I just stood still and absorbed everything until I had a microphone in my face [asking] what it feels like. I don’t remember what I said. It was a special moment that I cherish in my heart.

“I wish in some ways I could have experienced it on TV because the way [ESPN announcer] John Paul Dellacamera called it, it was simply amazing. You could relive that play over and over and over, that moment of success, that the US finally realized its dream of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup. I get chills to this day thinking that … for what it took and what it meant to build soccer in America.”

Dellacamera has called it “the billion-dollar goal” from what has emanated out of it, from Major League Soccer, other professional leagues and a booming soccer industry.

Caligiuri realized it was a big win. No one understood the real magnitude at the time.

“I just wanted to be grateful and thankful for mainly the contribution of my family, the sacrifices they made and the support they had given me,” he says. “I was realistic that there were so many people came before us, it just meant a lot to everybody and not just that small group. You become super grateful for the path it took and what you needed to do to get to that opportunity and seize the moment.”