US, Mexico qualify for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Mar 31, 2022
San Jose [Costa Rica], March 31 : The US men's national team and Mexico have qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on Wednesday.
USMNT qualified for World Cup following a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica in the final match of CONCACAF qualifying Wednesday evening at Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The U.S. return to the tournament for the first time since Brazil 2014 by virtue of their third-place finish in the standings, while Fourth-Place Costa Rica advance to the Intercontinental Play-Off versus New Zealand in June in Doha, Qatar.
The first goal belonged to Costa Rica, as Juan Pablo Vargas thumped in a header off a corner kick in the 51' to give the Ticos a 1-0 lead. The pace of the match was in Costa Rica's favor and the Ticos took advantage of confusion in the U.S. defense, with Anthony Contreras turning in a cross to make it a 2-0 affair in the 60'.
Meanwhile, Mexico will play in their eighth consecutive FIFA World Cup after downing El Salvador 2-0 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on the 14th and final matchday of the third round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022.
Thanks to first-half goals from Uriel Antuna and Raul Jimenez, El Tricolor finished in Second Place in the eight-team table.
