Close to the Finish Line
The second to last matchday of World Cup Qualifiers has come and gone. We have a much better idea of what team will have something to play for on Wednesday night and what teams will simply be playing for pride. There’s lot to look back so let’s get right to it.
The first game in the CONCACAF region was to the north, where Canada looked to end a 36-year drought against Jamaica. You knew Canada would want to score quickly and feed off the energetic sold-out crowd in Toronto. Red hot striker Cyle Larin put Canada ahead 1–0 only 13 minutes in. Jamaica actually didn’t just sit back and tried to go toe for toe with the Canadians, but Les Rouges are a team on a mission and simply overwhelmed the Reggae Boyz. Tajon Buchanan had been active all first half and got a reward for his efforts when he scored right before halftime. The score remained the same until the final 10 minutes when Canada added 2 more goals to make the final score an emphatic 4–0.
Once the final whistle blew, pandemonium set in as coach John Herdman and the bench rushed onto the field to celebrate with the Canadian starters. The team and fans did the Viking Thunder Clap made famous by Iceland’s soccer fans to celebrate their first World Cup berth since the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. They will close out the octagonal round on the road in Panama with a chance to finish atop the standings. The most impressive feat is that the team has done all this without the help of the region’s best player, Alphonso Davies. This shows that once Davies joins the team in Qatar, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Will they go deep in the World Cup? I’m not quite sure, but they definitely won’t be a team that others will look forward to play.
The next game was between El Salvador and Costa Rica. El Salvador was playing their last game at home and was looking to finish on a positive note after getting eliminated last Thursday when they tied in Jamaica. Costa Rica looked to win their third consecutive game after beating Canada, ending their undefeated qualifying cycle. Los Ticos seemed to start off well when Anthony Contreras scored to give them a 1–0 lead in the first half only to see El Salvador tie less than a minute later. Joel Campbell gave Costa Rica the lead again right before halftime and made it 2–1. Costa Rica held off El Salvador’s efforts in the second half and hung on for another close victory, positioning themselves in a spot where they now control their own destiny. I always said John Herdman was doing the best coaching job in the region but I’m now going to have to say it’s Costa Rica’s Luis Fernando Suarez. Suarez has gotten the most out of this gritty, veteran squad that previous coaches simply couldn’t seem to manage. At worst, they’ll now end up in the fourth spot, which means they would face a team from the Oceania Football Confederation in the inter-confederation play-offs.
Mexico was looking to overcome their scoring issues as they had scored only 1 goal in the last 3 games. It looked like the odds were in their favor as they faced lowly Honduras, which is the team you want to play this time around when you’re in a funk. Mexico had 4 times the shots that Honduras did, but still couldn’t find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. Some of it was thanks to saves made by Honduran goalkeeper Luis Lopez, but it was overall just a lack of accuracy. However, Edson Alvarez headed in a corner in the 70th minute to score a game winner for Mexico. Honduras tried to make a push to tie, but a lack of firepower caused their efforts to be futile and Mexico escaped San Pedro Sula with all 3 points. This won’t help quell the pressure head coach Tata Martino is facing, but it’s safe to say if Mexico doesn’t win and play well in their last game against El Salvador, he’ll likely be coaching his last game as Mexico’s tactician.
At the same time, the US found itself in a similar position as it did 4 years ago, with their penultimate game in qualifying against Panama in Orlando, Florida. Once again, the US won by a 4-goal margin, but this time it was 5–1. The result makes it seems like they steamrolled Panama, something which isn’t necessarily true. The US does deserve credit for being opportunistic and cashing in on the chances they created and were given. Two were penalties that were awarded thanks to VAR, and Christian Pulisic made sure to slot both of them in the back of the net. Paul Arriola has taken a lot of heat since he’s still included on the roster and games despite a lack of productivity, but he shut everybody up when he scored the second goal on the night with a well-timed header. Jesus Ferreira got the nod at starting striker and rewarded coach Berhalter for starting him when he scored the third goal. Panama had started well with a high press but completely fell apart after the 17th minute when Pulisic scored the first penalty. The three goals came within a span of 10 minutes when everything that could go wrong for Panama did.
The US has had issues scoring in the first half and put those issues to rest at least for one night. They went into halftime with a comfortable 4–0 lead that allowed the team to play the second half with a lot of ease. Berhalter took advantage and brought out on Kellyn Acosta and Gio Reyna in the second half. Reyna drew a lot of attention which allowed players to be freer and he almost scored his first goal of the qualifiers, but sent it wide left. Pulisic cemented his solid performance with third goal where he got rid of two Panamanian defenders in style, and slotted home the fifth goal. Another player who had a solid game was Luca de la Torre. We haven’t seen much of him, but whenever we do, he seems very secure in the midfield. Berhalter’s moves at time are head scratchers, but are very spot on when he’s right. Taking off Miles Robinson in a chippy game was the right move as a yellow card meant he would’ve missed the final game. He was sent out for Aaron Long, who ironically got a yellow card.
Pulisic came off to a standing ovation for Gianluca Busio, another young and promising piece in the midfield that will benefit from whatever minutes he can get. The hope of coming away with a clean sheet was gone Anibal Godoy headed in a free kick to make the score 5–1. Time eventually ran out not only on the game, but on Panama’s World Cup hopes, as the combination of results meant the Canaleros were now unable to qualify. Panama had some unlucky results where they should’ve won or at least tied, and now paid the ultimate price by getting eliminated thanks to a blowout. Their final home game against Canada will be interesting because will the Panamanians show up and play for pride, or simply mail it in?
The US is now in an interesting position. The only way they don’t qualify directly for the World Cup is by losing by 6 or more goals down in Costa Rica in the final game. A loss is likely as the last time the US got at least a tie down there was in 1985, but something so lopsided is unlikely due to the state of the current teams. Costa Rica is overall very old and slow, so the US can use their youth to their advantage like they did when they played the first time in Columbus. If the US plays like they did against Mexico, they shouldn’t have any issues coming out with a positive result and qualify for the World Cup after the disaster last time around. Costa Rica will definitely come out motivated and trying to fire on all cylinders, but the US can use that desperation against them if they’re smart. The last time these two matched up in the final game of the qualifying round was for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Costa Rica took a 2–0 lead in the first half against a US team that was flat due to not having striker Charlie Davies available due to him being in a life-threatening car accident the night before. The US got one back thanks to Michael Bradley and famously scored a very late tying goal via Jonathan Bornstein which sent Costa Rica to the fourth spot and inter-confederation play-off instead of directly to the World Cup, which would’ve happened had Costa Rica held onto win. Will we see a crazy finish like that one? It’s quite possible but my hope is the US doesn’t get left on the outside looking in like they did four years ago. Buckle up folks! Wednesday is definitely going to be interesting.
