U.S. Soccer Team Pinches Itself : U.S. Cup: With all the pieces in place, stunning victory over England gives Americans a huge boost.

CHICAGO — For everyone involved with the U.S. national soccer team, it was a day to bask in the afterglow.

The team reluctantly left Boston, scene of one its greatest soccer triumphs in its 2-0 victory over England in the U.S. Cup Wednesday night. The performance heralded in Thursday morning’s newspapers and snippets of the game even made the morning news on TV.

The unaccustomed attention was surely flattering, and all involved are aware that it will probably be fleeting. But nothing, not even daybreak, was going to prevent the long-suffering Americans from savoring the victory for as long as they were able to squeeze an ounce of thrill out of it.

Beating England, with its impeccable soccer pedigree, is expected to have an incalculable effect on the fortunes of the sport in this country. For a team craving credibility, the convincing showing on international television and in front of about 500 journalists was a boost at just the right moment.

The team has been struggling, both to win and to find a style that suits the disparate skills of its players. It had won only one international game this season, had gone scoreless in three. Wednesday’s victory, in fact, was the U.S. team’s first at home in more than a year.

“It is a giant leap forward for U.S. football,” said Roy Wegerle, one of two American players who play professionally in England. “Who would have ever thought that the U.S. would beat England? We had potentially our best team out on the field.”

That was the key to the upset.

Finally, Coach Bora Milutinovic had all of his weapons ready to fire. This tournament marks the first time in a year that most of the European-based professional players have been recalled to national team duty. And although Milutinovic refused to credit the recently returned players for the victory, it was clear that the skill and creativity of the eight professionals on the roster make the United States a more credible international side.

For proof, look back to last year’s U.S. Cup, which the United States won, with essentially this same team. The team’s midfielders and forwards all play in Europe.

“People can try to discredit us by saying England is in a tailspin, but they are still one of the premier teams in the world,” Alan Rothenberg, president of the U.S. Soccer Federation and 1994 World Cup chief, said Thursday. “We’ve had these players here for four games (Wednesday night’s and three U.S. Cup ’92 games) and look what they’ve done. I think we’re putting together a team that can go out there and compete successfully.”

Milutinovic was uncharacteristically somber after the game, his being one of the few voices of caution in a sea of rejoicing.

“This is no victory,” he said. “We only won one game. You get victories only in the World Cup.”

With that, the coach sought to focus attention not only on next summer’s World Cup final, but also on Saturday’s U.S. Cup game against Germany, the 1990 World Cup champions.

But U.S. soccer officials weren’t quite finished reliving the triumph over England.

“This gets the monkey off our backs,” said Hank Steinbrecher, executive director of the USSF. “Now, we’ll never have to talk about 1950 again. (The U.S. last beat England in the first round of the 1950 World Cup in what was regarded as the biggest upset in international soccer.) This gives the team international credibility.”