Five-time champions Brazil became the first South American team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Germany became the first European country to confirm its place in Qatar. Canada, Mexico and the United States are the three CONCACAF teams that directly qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Costa Rica must play New Zealand in an intercontinental play-off this summer to prepare. Mexico and the United States also qualified for the FIFA World Cup in their qualifying final, while Senegal, Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco and Cameroon were among the latest countries to book seats in Qatar in 2022. Under pressure from football federations across Europe, led by a proposed boycott from Russia, a rival drawn by Poland, FIFA denied the 2018 World Cup hosts the opportunity to qualify for Qatar.
The U.S. has a huge goal difference advantage over Costa Rica in World Cup qualifiers, and when the two teams meet on 31st March night, they only need to win, draw or lose by less than six goals to Qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The seven-win record leaves the Americans three points behind group champions Canada. It rivals Mexico, and at Costa Rica’s level, the goal difference is just +11, ensuring the Americans are ahead of Costa Rica. The USMNT will receive one of three automatic World Championship spots in the CONCACAF region, including North and Central America and the Caribbean. Despite the fact that the United States dominated play for the majority of the game, Juan Vargas (51st minute) and Anthony Contreras (59th minute) capitalised on their opportunities to put Costa Rica up 2-0 early in the second half. However, the requirement of four more points to seal qualification and ship the US to the intercontinental playoff proved challenging.
When asked about the qualification for the World Cup, DeAndre Yedlin, USA’s right-back, said, “I think at this point, I wouldn’t say it’s the ultimate goal. I think the ultimate goal is obviously to win a World Cup, But there are steps you have to take to get there, and one of the huge steps is to qualify for World Cup.”
An additional 12 teams will qualify for the 2022/23 CNL group stage through the Gold Cup Qualifiers. The US men’s teams are drawn into Group B and England, Iran and UEFA play-off winners Wales, Scotland and Ukraine. The final draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is in Doha, Qatar. Appearing at their 11th World Cup, the USMNT will open a group match against Wales, Scotland or Ukraine on November 21st. In the eight-country CONCACAF final round, the top three countries automatically qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar (TM). The fourth-best country advances to the Intercontinental Play-offs to further prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar (TM).
