You might consider researching the history of the 1950 World Cup, in which the U.S. men's national team upset England 1-0 in Brazil. Geoffrey Douglas' book The Game of Their Lives is a good precis of events, but this New York Times story should get you started.

The most important thing to remember is that before 1960, almost all U.S. sports except baseball and perhaps college football functioned at a semi-pro level. Players and coaches typically did not make enough money to subsist without additional employment. The NFL and AFL are borderline cases, with most players forced to take second jobs.

In addition, following a team meant paging through wire service reports in the inside pages of newspapers, as most radio broadcasts were regional, and television sports coverage was non existent for most purposes. Soccer would present a particular difficulty, as it didn't receive even wire service treatment, except in cases of significant events like the World Cup. International coverage would be all but absent, even in Sports Illustrated.