The U.S. men’s national team have had a interesting relationship with the World Cup. After appearing in three of the first four competitions (1930, 1950, 1954), the Yanks missed the next nine before returning, in 1990, thanks to a pivotal qualifying goal by Paul Caligiuri in Trinidad & Tobago. (You can see where this is going, right?)
From there, the USMNT represented at every World Cup from 1994 to 2014, going as far as the quarterfinals in 2002… only to infamously miss the 2018 edition after failing to win in — you knew it was coming — Trinidad & Tobago. (They only needed a draw that night!) That pivotal defeat in Couva reverberated around the hearts and minds of US fans until qualification for Qatar 2022 began, and with it a brilliant new generation of American talent. Despite the emergence of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Sergino Dest and many more, their ticket to the World Cup this winter comes down to the final three games, including a game against Mexico in the fabled Azteca, and a potential winner-take-all clash in Costa Rica.
– World Cup qualifying: CONCACAF standings
– 2022 World Cup: How the USMNT, Mexico can qualify
– Stream on ESPN+: FC Daily | Fútbol Americas
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With World Cup qualifying coming down to these three games, ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle, Kyle Bonagura, Ryan O’Hanlon, Dan Hajducky and Bill Connelly offer their answers to the critical questions we’re all asking ourselves this week.
Is this shaping up for another Couva situation?
Carlisle: I think the possibility of overconfidence, which was the real culprit four years ago, is reduced this time around. The U.S. knows how difficult these three opponents — Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica — are, so the requisite focus and intensity should be there.
Now, could the U.S. mess this up? Absolutely. But I think this will be down more to the pressure of the moment and the quality of the opposition than the U.S. thinking it has qualification in the…
Source : espn
