It’s About Time! USMNT Qualifies for World Cup
The USA is back at the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
All the United States had to do on October 10, 2017, to reach the World Cup, was to defeat Trinidad and Tobago, a small pair of Caribbean islands with a population of 328.1 million less than the United States. Against all expectations, the United States failed to qualify for the World Cup, which would have sent them to Russia just eight months later. On March 30, 2022, the United States had to lose by five goals or less versus Costa Rica to clinch a booking to Qatar. A disappointing 2-0 loss was contrasted with celebration as the U.S. had qualified for their first World Cup appearance in eight years.
Negative takeaways from the United State’s Qualification
Although the USMNT qualified for the World Cup, a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica raises concerns about how the team will fare against an opponent such as England, who was drawn into the United States’ group for the tournament. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen struggled as he misjudged shots and was out of position on each of the opposition’s goals. The United States pass accuracy was a mildly low 84%, and although they out possessed Costa Rica 66% to 34%, the stars and stripes still gave up 12 shots to the opponent with six of them being on target. Sloppy giveaways of possession will not bode well for the U.S. versus England, the fifth-ranked team in the world. The United States Men will face off against England on Black Friday later this year.
Positive takeaways from the United State’s Qualification
Despite the concerns, the young United States national team has plenty to be proud of after qualification for the World Cup. There is a bright future ahead for the USMNT, with players such as Christian Pulisic (Chelsea FC), Weston McKennie (Juventus), and Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund) all playing at the highest levels of competition in Europe. Also, for the first time in history, the United States has gone four games undefeated against Mexico in competitive play, two of which came in Concacaf World Cup Qualifying (USA 2-0 MEX, USA 0-0 MEX). Lastly, the most positive takeaway for the United States is that they qualified, something they failed to do four years ago.
