World Cup Bound (Almost) 🇺🇸

03/28/2022

By: Jeff Yoder

Pulisic Hat Trick Paces USMNT Past Panama (5-1), On the Brink of World Cup Bid

With the U.S. Men’s National Team facing two must-win matches to reach the 2022 World Cup, Captain America delivered. The U.S. needed to beat Panama on Sunday night to all but guarantee a bid to the World Cup, and they left no doubt. Christian Pulisic ignited the scoring in the 17th minute before adding a penalty strike before halftime and securing the hat trick in the second half. Paul Arriola (23’) and Jesus Ferreira (27’) also scored in an explosive first half. It was all U.S. all night en route to a 5-1 win that puts them almost certainly in the World Cup barring a meltdown on Wednesday.

 

Watch: USMNT def. Panama (5-1)

 

CONCACAF Standings

1. Canada (28 pts)

2. USA (25 pts)

3. Mexico (25 pts)

4. Costa Rica (22 pts)

5. Panama (18 pts)

 

One Qualifier Left

The final World Cup Qualifying matches will be played on Wednesday (Mar. 30) to determine the CONCACAF World Cup bids. Canada locked up their first World Cup spot since 1986 with a win over Jamaica (4-0) on Sunday. The top three teams advance while the fourth team will enter a play-in against the winners of Oceania (likely New Zealand). The USMNT would have to suffer a six-goal loss to Costa Rica on Wednesday in order to get bumped to 4th place.

 

USMNT vs. Costa Rica (Wed. 9:00 pm ET)

 

Additional Storylines

Yahoo! Sports: USMNT Would Now Only Miss World Cup in Nightmare Scenario

The Athletic: USMNT, Mexico All But Clinch World Cup Spots as Canada Books Ticket to Qatar

 

Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images