The U.S. men’s national team continued its World Cup qualifying journey Sunday night, taking on Panama on Orlando. With just one more qualifier remaining after that fixture, the U.S. is closing in on a spot in Qatar.
After beating Panama 5–1, the U.S. did not quite clinch a spot, but the Americans all but secured punched their ticket.
With the U.S. holding onto a three-point lead over Costa Rica in the Concacaf table, a Costa Rica win over the U.S. on Wednesday would draw the two teams level on points, with the tiebreaker going to goal differential.
The U.S. entered its matchup with Panama with a seven-goal edge over Costa Rica in goal differential and that lead increased to 10 after the resounding win and Costa Rica’s 2–1 win in El Salvador on Sunday. It would take nothing short of a catastrophic collapse in San José for the U.S. to fail to qualify. In fact, the U.S. would only miss the World Cup if its lost to Costa Rica by six or more goals on Wednesday. The last time it lost by six or more goals was 1979, in a 6–0 home friendly vs. France.
The disaster in 2018 may just be in the rear view mirror of the U.S. men, as World Cup qualification appears to be on the horizon.
