San Jose, Costa Rica, March 31 (BNA): The men of the United States returned to the World Cup, after the shock of their absence from the 2018 edition, decided their place in this year’s tournament in Qatar today, Wednesday, despite losing 2-0 to them. Costa Rica on the last night of the qualifiers.
Juan Pablo Vargas led behind Walker Zimmerman and Brandon Aguilera headed a corner kick past goalkeeper Zach Stephen in the 51st minute, and Anthony Contreras hit a cross in the 59th minute after Stephen was unable to hold on to a free kick.
A crowd of about 35,000 showed up at the National Stadium, but the Americans’ 5-1 win over Panama at home last weekend gave them a huge goal difference over Costa Rica. This means that the United States only had to avoid losing by six or more goals in order to gain an automatic berth by finishing among the top three countries in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The American players on the bench came onto the field at the final whistle and exchanged handshakes and hugs with their teammates who finished the match, while local fans cheered for Tico.
“It’s a proud moment for the team, a proud moment for American football,” said USA coach Greg Berhalter. “The team is ecstatic.”
Canada, who sealed their first World Cup trip since 1986 with Sunday’s win, finished first with 28 points after losing 1-0 to Panama, ahead of Mexico on goal difference. El Tri overtook the United States and won the World Cup for the eighth time in a row, while the United States ranked third with 25 points and a goal difference plus 11 goals.
Costa Rica finished fourth with 25 points and five points, and Ticos will meet Oceania champions New Zealand in a play-off in June for a place that includes 32 nations.
While the United States have won six of their seven home games with one draw, they have finished with one win, three defeats and three draws on the road. The Americans never won a qualifying match in Costa Rica, losing 10 and drawing two.
The United States finds in Friday’s draw three teams they will face in the group stage, which begins on November 21 in a tournament that has been postponed five months to avoid the summer heat in the desert. A growing and overly critical fan base is hoping Christian Pulisic & Co will reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002.
“This group can do some damage,” Berhalter said.
Ticos coach Luis Fernando Suarez did not start the opening with six starters from Sunday’s win over yellow-carded El Salvador, and did not want to risk a playoff suspension.
The victory came on the 1267th day after a shock 2-1 defeat by Trinidad and Tobago that ended the Americans’ seven-match winning streak at the World Cup. Tears were on Pulisic after the defeat, which led to a change in the US Soccer Federation and the appointment of Berhalter in December 2018 to be the team’s fourth coach in 25 months.
The United States has used 114 new players since the elimination, including 88 under Berhalter. 38 players entered the field during 14 qualifiers, in addition to six others who were on the rosters without entering.
Berhalter has matches in June and September to help evaluate a group of twenty-four people and select the roster, which is currently limited to 23.
The qualifying tournament that began with fireworks over the field during the opening minutes in San Salvador, El Salvador, on September 2, ended with more fireworks.
The US traveled 25,042 miles on charters – just over spinning around the world at 24,901 – plus players made as many as five round trips across the Atlantic, with Germany-based Tyler Adams and England-based Anthony Robinson doing as many as five round trips across the Atlantic Ocean. as much as possible. The games were played at 3° (-16°C) in St. Paul, Minnesota, and 85° (29°C) in Austin, Texas.
Since Paul Caligori’s stunning goal in Trinidad before the 1990 tournament, the United States snatched away in their last game. The Americans asserted themselves on a berth with three games remaining for 2006, two for 2014 and one game for 1998, 2002 and 2010. All of those victories were victorious.
Qualifiers will not be stressful for the 2026 World Cup, which has a capacity of 48 countries. The United States, Mexico and Canada are co-hosts, and all three are expected to receive automatic berths.