USMNT and Mexico all but clinch World Cup spots; Canada books ticket to Qatar: Reactions, highlights from CONCACAF qualifying
Summary
On an important night in CONCACAF, big wins from the United States and Canada all but finalized CONCACAF's three automatic bids to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as Christian Pulisic had a night to remember for the U.S. and Canada continued an incredible run of form.
Canada wrapped up an already-likely qualification in style at home, defeating Jamaica 4-0 before a raucous crowd at BMO Field in Toronto. Costa Rica's narrow win over El Salvador put the pressure on Panama to get a result against the United States to stay alive, but the USMNT was not in a giving mood. A hat trick from Christian Pulisic led the U.S. to a 5-1 win over the Panamanians, eliminating them from contention for a World Cup spot despite a surprisingly strong qualifying campaign.
Mexico's 1-0 win at Honduras means that El Tri and the U.S. each share a large goal difference advantage over Costa Rica, which hosts the United States on Wednesday. Costa Rica will need to beat the United States and make up Mexico's 4-goal advantage in goal difference in order to leapfrog them into the top three.
Stejskal: Pulisic took center stage when U.S. needed him most
Tenorio: The U.S. is now 90 minutes from a World Cup -- here's how
Kloke: 'This is a soccer country.' The sights and sounds as Canada qualifies
James: How Canada climbed the mountain
(Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
The underlying numbers
With just one slate of matches left, the xG charts show that United States has largely had its performances reflected by actual scoreline.
Canada and Costa Rica have each outperformed their defensive expectations — a credit to goalkeepers Borjan and Keylor Navas. Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Mexico has struggled to finish its chances.
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John Herdman and the rise of Canada's men's team
“When you burn the boats, there’s no way back,” Herdman said. “We either do this or we don’t.”
Stu James goes deep on the rapid rise of CONCACAF's first nation to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
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The sights and sounds as Canada sealed qualification
"Canada Soccer, the country, we’ve got to take this to the next level."
BMO Field has been the Canada men's team's home for years now, but Sunday was a moment unlike any other.
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Pulisic shined when the USMNT needed him most
"You could just tell that he was in the zone coming into this game," Zack Steffen said of Pulisic after the match.
How Pulisic overcame months of frustration to put in his greatest ever USMNT performance...
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The USMNT is 90 minutes away from the World Cup after dominating Panama in Orlando
Sound familiar?
Paul Tenorio's story from a 5-1 win is about the historical parallels to the United States' qualification failure in 2017, and why the lessons learned could make this team different.
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On 'The Worm'
Plenty of people (including some teammates) had opinions about Christian Pulisic doing "The Worm" in celebration against Panama tonight, but his celebration has deeper origins.
According to American Soccer Now's Brian Sciaretta, Pulisic's celebration came at the request of Mason Ogle, named a U.S. Soccer ambassador for the game. Ogle, now in high school, was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer at age 13 but has remained active on his high school soccer team in addition to other activities.
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Here's who has qualified for the World Cup
With Canada's qualification for Qatar, a total of 20 nations have booked their ticket to the 2022 World Cup:
🇶🇦 Qatar (host nation)
🇩🇪 Germany
🇩🇰 Denmark
🇧🇷 Brazil
🇫🇷 France
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇭🇷 Croatia
🇪🇸 Spain
🇷🇸 Serbia
🏴 England
🇨🇭 Switzerland
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇦🇷 Argentina
🇮🇷 Iran
🇰🇷 South Korea
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
🇯🇵 Japan
🇺🇾 Uruguay
🇪🇨 Ecuador
🇨🇦 Canada
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FINAL: Mexico 1, Honduras 0
A 71st minute header from Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez (that may or not have been an own goal) was enough for Mexico to defeat Honduras and earn a valuable three points. El Tri had 68% of the possession and 18 total shots, but just one big chance on goal. Mexico’s anemic attack remains a concern, but El Tri battled for 90 minutes on a heavy pitch, with standout performances from Alvarez and Herrera. They weren’t excellent on the night, but Mexico’s two central midfielders showed their class on the night, a match when complete concentration was needed to win.
Mexico will face El Salvador on Wednesday night at the Estadio Azteca. As things stand, Mexico has locked up CONCACAF’’s playoff spot, with World Cup qualification a matter of goal difference at this point. Costa Rica would have to rout the U.S. on the final match day and hope for a similar debacle from Mexico against the Salvadorans.
FINAL: United States 5, Panama 1
Not a lot to add down the stretch. Anibal Godoy pulled one back with an emphatic header to bring his personal net goals scored for the night to -1. Christian Pulisic's hat trick will deservedly steal the headlines, and the United States will now need to simply avoid a total meltdown in Costa Rica (say, a five-goal defeat or larger) to guarantee a place in the World Cup.
Panama's players are left to mourn their inability to return to the nation's second-ever (and second consecutive) World Cup. More to come from all of us after a busy day in CONCACAF!
Two more subs
The United States makes its fourth and fifth sub to replace arguably its two most indispensable members. Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams will get the last 20 minutes off, with Jordan Morris and Gianluca Busio taking their place.
I don't think you could have drawn up a much better night: no yellow card suspensions for Robinson or Adams, massive goal differential boost, no injuries to Adams or Pulisic — and Gio Reyna continues to look lively within this attack.
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GOAL United States - Christian Pulisic completes hat-trick
Christian Pulisic didn't need a third trip to the penalty spot to find a third goal, using some deft footwork and ball control in the box to set up his own nifty finish. It capped a sequence which also featured some great give-and-go work through the midfield from Luca de la Torre and Gio Reyna as well as a sharp cross from Antonee Robinson. We've been waiting for Pulisic to take a game over like this all cycle, and boy has he delivered tonight. 5-0 United States
Before the goal, Aaron Long made his second international appearance from the bench since injuring his Achilles tendon last spring, replacing Miles Robinson to spare the Atlanta defender from a potential yellow card suspension.
Two halftime subs for USMNT
Paul Arriola checks out after scoring in the first half, with Gio Reyna replacing him at right wing. Kellyn Acosta cycles into the midfield, with Yunus Musah likely being saved for Wednesday's finale in Costa Rica.
The United States saw Shaq Moore send a cross into the box within the half's first thirty seconds and Gio Reyna send a shot wide of the post a minute later. It sure looks like they aren't satisfied with a mere four-spot.
The view from Orlando: Pulisic living up to star billing
Unbelievable half for the USMNT. Panama actually got off to a better start, but the momentum began to shift a few minutes before the first penalty was given following review after a foul in the 13th minute. Pulisic buried that — the rest has been all U.S. Arriola and Ferreira have been incredibly impactful, but that was the Pulisic half. Two penalties (both given after fouls on set pieces in which he delivered the service), two goals and did a ton to set up a third. It’s not just his play that stood out. His personality, which can at times feel a bit muted, is coming out in a huge way. He celebrated his second goal by doing the worm, then tried to fight the entire Panamanian roster a couple of minutes later. Berhalter gave him the armband tonight, and he responded in a huge, huge way. The performance we’ve been waiting for from the star winger.
El Tri halftime thoughts
Total domination from Mexico in the first 45 minutes, but El Tri remains locked in a 0-0 draw with last place Honduras. Mexico has done well to push the ball forward, but the attack has stalled around the Honduran penalty area. The anxiety that the Mexican players are grappling with, with qualification still not secured, has been evident through rushed chances and untimely touches. Chance after chance has been repelled by the stout Honduran defense.
The pitch in Honduras is choppy, the grass is high. Tired legs will need to be replaced early in the second half if Mexico hopes to breathe new life into this match. Mexico coach Tata Martino’s decision to start the same XI has not paid any dividends.
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GOAL United States - Christian Pulisic finishes a second penalty
Much like the opener, an Anibal Godoy hand-to-face gifts the United States a penalty, and Christian Pulisic buries it. He celebrates with the worm, an upgrade over his griddy for Chelsea within the past month.
Pulisic gets involved with a few members of Panama's team as tensions flare up. With a four-goal lead (and considering Pulisic started the opener, too), it would probably be wise to remove the United States captain to ensure he doesn't make a mistake and get himself sent off in the second half.
Pulisic and Michael Murillo swap smiles and handshakes after the halftime whistle. 4-0 headed into the break.
Foot off the pedal a bit?
While the scoreboard remains unimpacted, Panama has realistically played better since the third goal. On multiple occasions, the United States defensive corps has been sloppy playing out from the back, gifting turnovers in potentially dangerous areas.
The padded GD is great, as Costa Rica would need to win by five to overtake the United States if this result holds. Scoring goals isn't the only way to keep a favorable GD, of course, and the defense will have to keep its focus as Panama tries to keep its qualification dreams alive.
GOAL United States - Jesús Ferreira joins the party
At last, a United States striker has again scored a goal. The United States sustained pressure around the box for nearly a minute, with many teammates touching the ball as they found their angle. Ultimately the ball ends up in the box for Jesús Ferreira, who breaks the national team's collective scoring drought up top.
Padding the goal differential is the name of the game right now — even if the United States were to lose to Costa Rica, the first tiebreaker after points would be GD.