World Cup Qualifying

I guess it was always just assumed, but not official - today, it was made official. The US-Mexico game on March 24th is going to be in Mexico City.
 

USMNT final qualifying round roster:​

Goalkeepers (3): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Sean Johnson (New York City FC), Zack Steffen (Manchester City)

Defenders (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), James Sands (Rangers), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)

Midfielders (6): Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Luca de la Torre (Heracles), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)

Forwards (9): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Jordan Pefok (Young Boys), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Tim Weah (Lille)

Schedule:
March 24 - @Mexico - 10pm - Paramount+
March 27 - Panama - 7pm - Fox Sports 1
March 30 - @Costa Rica - 9pm - Paramount+
 
Brenden Aaronson picked up a knee injury this past weekend but it's not thought to be serious and should be ready to play Thursday against Mexico.

Nice to see Gio Reyna back in the group. Could be a fun attack with Aaronson, Pulisic, Reyna, and Pepi up top.

Curious who gets the start in McKennie's stead. Knowing Berhalter, it's a likely to be Acosta as it is Musah or Busio.
 
I would assume Acosta gets the start - I'm not a huge fan, but he's consistent and experienced.

Dest is injured now - strained hamstring last week that is expected to keep him out for at least 3 weeks, so he's done for the qualifying window now.

Would love to see Gio Reyna go off in these games.
 
Need to get a point in Mexico City to get things started and then put things away in Orlando against Panama. The one thing that cannot happen is needing anything in that final game @ Costa Rica. By the way what are they doing playing Panama in Orlando? They have done such a good job scheduling in northern climates, why not play this one in Minneapolis or at least a soccer intense cities like Portland or Seattle.
 
soccerdad72 said:
I would assume Acosta gets the start - I'm not a huge fan, but he's consistent and experienced.

Dest is injured now - strained hamstring last week that is expected to keep him out for at least 3 weeks, so he's done for the qualifying window now.

Would love to see Gio Reyna go off in these games.
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Kind of worrisome how often he’s been getting hurt.

Kind of fortunate the World Cup is later in the year with these injuries
 
I saw that news about Aaronson - that sucks :(

I think maybe they give Weah the start at striker with Pepi playing the super-sub role off the bench, based on recent WCQs. Otherwise, I think your lineup sounds about right. Not sure if they can pull off a point on Thursday, but if they can, they're just about home free.
 
European World Cup qualifier semis being played today. Portugal up 1-0 on Turkey at about 15 minutes in. Italy vs N. Macedonia 0-0 at the 20th.
 
3rd group of semi-finals has been postponed/cancelled: Scotland vs Ukraine and Russia vs Poland. Russia has been eliminated. Scotland vs Ukraine are supposed to play in June but who knows.
 
ESPN also wrote a column on how this will probably be the last real meaningful game between the US and Mexico at Estadio Azteca. In four years both get a free pass to the WC and in 2030 and with the expansion for qualifying nations CONCACAF probably will get 6 teams so Mexico and the US should have a much easier path to WC qualification. The big story on the US side is should we rest guys and go all in for the Panama match in Orlando as that is a must get 3 points type match. On the Mexican side though there is a huge story about having a full stadium and how some are calling for defying FIFA and let that stupid gay chant fly since they are playing the US. Add in the huge fight that broke out during a Liga MX match in early March and many Mexicans are rightfully worried that this could be an ugly situation brewing and give FIFA reason to re-evaluate their status for 2026 if some kind of violence were to happen tonight.
 
Italy needs to find some scorers. They remind me of Arsene Wenger's mid-2000s squads at Arsenal that could pass circles around anyone but struggled to actually score goals

Portugal up 2-0 nearing the half
 
Italy's lack of goalscoring finally caught up with them. Dropped by North Macedonia 1-0 at home in Parma after outshooting NM 32-4. I believe its the first time since 2004-2006 that the European champion (Greece) missed the following World Cup.

Portugal beat Turkey 3-1. Turkey missed a PK around the 84th minute that would've tied it 2-2.

Wales with somewhat of an upset over Austria. 2-1.

Sweden and Czech Rep. in ET 0-0
 
Crusaders said:
Italy's lack of goalscoring finally caught up with them. Dropped by North Macedonia 1-0 at home in Parma after outshooting NM 32-4. I believe its the first time since 2004-2006 that the European champion (Greece) missed the following World Cup.

Portugal beat Turkey 3-1. Turkey missed a PK around the 84th minute that would've tied it 2-2.

Wales with somewhat of an upset over Austria. 2-1.

Sweden and Czech Rep. in ET 0-0
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Sweden won in ET after some very nice link up play between Quaison and Isak produced the only goal of the match.
 
US has been a bit sloppy in defense. Already picked up 3 yellows (Yedlin and Weah have to miss Panama due to YC accumulation).

Pulisic missed a sure goal. His form with the US is just bad at the moment
 
Crusaders said:
US has been a bit sloppy in defense. Already picked up 3 yellows (Yedlin and Weah have to miss Panama due to YC accumulation).

Pulisic missed a sure goal. His form with the US is just bad at the moment
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I’m not a soccer expert by any means, but from my casual observer view it always seems Pulisic’s play never matches the hype. I can see why people are excited about Renya, though.
 
Congrats to Canada on becoming the first team in CONCACAF to qualify for Qatar.

Mexico and USA both appear to be very likely to finish in the top 3 barring an epic collapse on Wednesday by either.

Costa Rica as the 4th place team would have to feel pretty confident about their chances against (most likely) New Zealand in June.
 
How do you approach a match where the goal is to not lose by more than 5 goals? I say you still bring out your best veteran 11 and tell them not to f-up the plan. If things are going your way have subs ready in the 2nd half too that know the situation and can handle the pressure too.

Also have seen many reports that have the US as being in the 2nd pot for the WC group draw, has the US ever been in this position?
 
Would've been nice to qualify in a more emphatic fashion, but all the heavy lifting was done @Mexico and against Panama on Sunday.

The US did what was necessary @Costa Rica to seal the deal.

The WC group draw will occur this Friday at Noon.

www.espn.com

World Cup finals draw: Date, time, format, seeds

The stage is almost set for the 2022 World Cup, which begins on Nov. 21 through to the final on Dec. 18. Here's how the draw will work.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Who would everyone like to see get drawn in a group with the USA?
 
While not a fan of the NCAA polls and their recency bias the FIFA rankings can be even more of a head scratcher and their reliance on some really old data. I get that traditionally Canada is not one of the better countries when it comes to soccer but their current talent level and the way they are currently playing should have them in a higher pot than 4. On the flip side Mexico was on the cusp of being in Pot 1, I struggle to see how they are on par with the big names of the sport this year. I know it is not the case but it seems that FIFA manipulates this thing to get/avoid certain group matchups.

I think the bigger story for the US will be the WC roster. It's not like they are loaded with high end talent and they have a good problem sorting through the final 23; its more they have a large group of solid players that either have a key flaw, might not be getting club minutes so not in form, or have injury concerns. It will also be interesting to see how this thing plays out in the late fall smack in the middle of club season as opposed to summer, could give an opportunity to a country that usually isn't in the mix.
 
The thing about this cycle is we're fielding what's basically a u-23 team with some older players sprinkled in.

I expect the 23 will be something like:
S
Pepi (19)
Ferreira (21)
Pefok (25)/ Zardes (30)/ Dike (21) / Hoppe (21) / Sargent (22)

F
Pulisic (23)
Reyna (19)
Aaronson (21)
Weah (22)
Musah (19)

M
Adams (23)
McKennie (23)
de la Torre (23)
Acosta (26)
Busio (19)

D
A. Robinson (24)
M. Robinson (25)
Zimmerman (28)
Dest (21)
Yedlin (28)
Richards (22)
Bello (20) / Scally (19)

G
Steffen (26)
Turner (27)
Horvath (26)
 
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