The Fight for Qatar 2022 continues…
2 match days, 1 more to go in this CONCACAF World Cup qualifying window. All the games this past Thursday and Sunday gave us a lot to talk about, so let’s go ahead and take a recent stroll down memory lane.
Don’t look now, but Costa Rica is right back in the fight for a spot in this year’s World Cup. This was a team many along with myself were ready to write off because of the lackluster showings to start off this octagonal round and the fact most of their team is in the twilight of both their club and international careers. And yet, it’s just that experience that has brought them back in the mix. For starters, they still have the greatest goalkeeper in CONCACAF history with Keylor Navas in goal and he’s come up huge. Costa Rica withstood a spirited Panama in a game where the Panamanians outshot and out-possessed Los Ticos. Navas had some big saves and was in the middle of preserving a clean sheet when veteran Bryan Ruiz fired a shot passed the Panamanian goalkeeper to score the lone goal of the night. Costa Rica followed this by securing a surprising and important tie at Estadio Azteca in Mexico.
Mexico also won on Thursday but in agonizing fashion. Even in a tough place to play like Jamaica’s National Stadium, Mexico does usually control the tempo and create more chances, but I was very surprised this game was thoroughly dominated by El Tri. Jamaica is a team that didn’t create much all night and things got complicated for them right before halftime, when they went down a man due to Damion Lowe getting sent off for a reckless foul. However, shortly after the second half began, Jamaica took the lead when Daniel Johnson got a shot past Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa to give the Reggae Boyz the lead. Mexico’s coach Tata Martino has been questioned a lot and he would be even more after their next game, but he reacted appropriately by emptying out the bench when trying to come back to first tie the game and then maybe win. Jamaica didn’t exactly park the bus effectively as Mexico was able to tie and then take the lead in a span of 3 minutes. Both goals were almost identical in terms of creation and definition. A cross from the right side found it’s way to Alexis Vega, one of the substitutions who came on, who then put the shot on goal. The first one was initially saved by Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake only to have Henry Martin tie things up. The second goal Vega shot past Blake and, in both instances, Jamaican defender Alvas Powell fell asleep on his defensive assignment leading to final score of Mexico 2, Jamaica 1.
You’d think the momentum from this victory and the fact they were playing the next game at Azteca would lead Mexico to a convincing victory over Costa Rica. And yet, they went home and laid an egg, literally. Costa Rica actually created some pretty clear-cut chances where they could’ve won the game as parking the bus with a lead and having Navas in goal can be a confidence booster. Mexico was so disappointing to the point the few fans who were allowed to attend the game ended up yelling that coach Martino be fired. In the end, the teams didn’t do any damage to each other as the gamed finished in a scoreless draw, which was the first time that happened to Mexico since a 2016 qualifier vs Honduras.
Speaking of Honduras, that result is probably known as the glory days to them as the team continues to struggle. Honduras has played 6 home games. They have lost 5, been outscored 13–3, and failed to score in 3 of those games. I said it before and I’ll say it again, you could hire Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, etc. to coach this team and they wouldn’t be able to get more out of them than coach Hernan Gomez is. In the first game, they ran into up-and-coming powerhouse Canada. The Hondurans actually forced Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan to make some saves but they found themselves behind early after an own goal gave Canada the lead. In the second half, a lethal counterattack was finished in superb fashion by Jonathan David. This was the first victory by Canada in Honduras since 1985. It wouldn’t be the first time Honduras would be subject to a historic defeat at home as the next game ended in a first ever win for El Salvador on Honduran soil. El Salvador took the lead in the first half when Nelson Bonilla received the ball in the box and got rid of his defender in great fashion to give the Salvadorans a 1–0 lead. Honduras did push for an equalizer but was unsuccessful and Darwin Ceren scored a second late goal to assure El Salvador of a victory and keep a very small glimmer of hope in their aspirations of qualifying.
El Salvador was playing in hot and humid San Pedro Sula, Honduras after having to play the United States in frigid Columbus, Ohio. Due to recent results, this matchup was seen as one that could end up in a blowout, but we received quite a surprise. El Salvador held their own and while the US had more possession and chances, El Salvador never seemed too overwhelmed with constant pressure. They strung together some passes but failed to finish as the final touch has been a problem for El Salvador, which was reflected in the stats as they failed to register a shot on goal. The United States could’ve been up by 2 or 3 had forward Jesus Ferreira put away a couple of his chances. This game featured a good performance by both fullbacks, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest. They would go consistently go forward and create chances along with Timothy Weah. The one person you didn’t see much of throughout the night was Christian Pulisic. It wasn’t necessary for him to be too involved as the US seemed fine that night without him, but you wonder if he gets lost due to not getting many minutes at Chelsea recently.
The lone goal of the night was more determination than anything. Weah received a ball in the box which was saved by Salvadoran goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez, who made some big saves that night. The ball then came to Ferreira who headed it over to Robinson and he sent it to the back of the net to give the US the lead. The US created a couple more chances after but couldn’t add on to the lead. El Salvador did have one chance to tie game but forward Joaquin Rivas’s header was off target and the States left Columbus with a victory. The result was good but the performance was definitely one that could’ve been better. El Salvador deserves credit for standing their ground well as they held strong when it was widely believed they would get run out of Columbus.
This set up everything nicely for the matchup to see who would end up in the top spot in the region between Canada and the United States. Canada is the one team who hasn’t lost and was going home to play their biggest rival in frigid temperatures without their best player, Alphonso Davies. This was the first World Cup qualifying matchup between these two on Canadian soil since 1997 when the US won 3–0. The last time these two faced each other north of the border was in a CONCACAF Nations League matchup in 2019, when Canada won 2–0 to earn their first victory over the US since 1985. Ever since then, the US hadn’t lost to them though Canada had taken a point away as these two tied in the World Cup qualifying match last September in Nashville. You knew this would game would be fast, physical, and open as that’s how both teams like to play.
From the outset, I felt the game could in any direction. I didn’t think it would be a blowout as both teams are evenly matched, it all depended on who could execute better. It turns out that team was our neighbors to the north. Canada took the lead only six minutes in when Cyle Larin finished off a good passing sequence to fire a shot past Matt Turner. After that, the US controlled the possession and was constantly knocking on the door but just never seemed to be able to find a way to knock it down. Gregg Berhalter started Gyasi Zardes and he just seemed a step too slow whenever the ball was near him. Weston McKennie was very active and nearly tied the game before halftime, but Borjan came up with a huge save to preserve the Canadian lead. I thought Berhalter would take out Zardes and send in a sub due to his sluggish first half, but I was wrong.
Berhalter stuck with Zardes, which was surprising because if there’s anything the coach has done well, especially recently, is make the right halftime or second half adjustments. I was ok with not starting Ricardo Pepi here, but I’ve seen a lot more from Jesus Ferreira in the World Cup Qualifiers than from Zardes. Zardes was fine in the Gold Cup, but his problem is his consistency which is plaguing him again. He seems like an easy scapegoat but the problem was the overall unit as Canada plays with a collective chip on the shoulder and they just seemed hungrier all game long. The US continued with possession in the second half and at times the game looked like it could get very one sided, but Canada absorbed the pressure very well and limited a lot of what the US did compared to the first half. Pepi and Jordan Morris came on to give the US attack some life and they tried but just couldn’t string passes together. Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest would go up and try to be involved like they usually are but struggled to create anything.
Christian Pulisic was once again not as active as you’d like him to be. You saw more of him than in the game vs El Salvador, but that might be due to the fact he would take all the corner kicks the US had. I think the States realized how important Timothy Weah is as he wasn’t able to make the trip because his vaccine card which is good enough for France, where he plays, doesn’t meet the criteria to enter Canadian soil. Weah has also been key in all US victories and the team really missed him on Sunday afternoon. Canada would counter but couldn’t put the US away until Sam Adekugbe escaped through the US defense and fired a second spectacular goal past Matt Turner to not only give Canada a huge 2–0 win, but half a spot in the World Cup.
Canada has been tired of being second fiddle to the US and Mexico. They now have a team to not only compete, but beat the big 2 CONCACAF powers, even when they don’t have their best player. I feel John Herdman is doing the best job of any coach in the region and Sunday was proof as he seemed to be a step ahead of Gregg Berhalter. Yes, the US had more possession and created more chances, especially in the first half, but you have to capitalize and they failed to do that while Canada did. The good news for the US was the combination of results still has them in second place with an upcoming home game vs Honduras. This team is still young and there are lessons that I hoped they learned this past Sunday. More than anything, I hope coach Gregg Berhalter is the one who will notice the mistakes that were made and try to address them.
