The USMNT secured a "crucial 5-1 victory over Panama on Sunday in front of an announced sell-out crowd" of 25,022 at Orlando's Exploria Stadium during the penultimate match of World Cup qualifying. The win "did not secure qualification" to the '22 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, so the U.S. will go into the "final matchday of qualifiers in Costa Rica on Wednesday needing to lock up a berth for this year’s tournament in November." The U.S.-Costa Rica match will stream live on Paramount Plus with a 9:05pm ET kickoff. The U.S. is "three points ahead of fourth-place Costa Rica" and would need to lose to Costa Rica by "at least six goals to be in any trouble of not qualifying" (ORLANSO SENTINEL, 3/28).
It would be hard for a team to "keep the Americans from going to Qatar now." And it would be "nearly impossible to persuade them, or anyone else, that -- at last -- they do not belong back on soccer’s brightest stage" after missing the '18 World Cup (N.Y. TIMES, 3/28).
Meanwhile, the Canadian men’s national team qualified for the World Cup "for only the second time in its history, returning to the grand stage for the first time in 36 years following a 4-0 win over Jamaica at BMO Field in Toronto on Sunday" (SI.com, 3/27). A full capacity crowd of 29,122 was the "largest attendance for a Canadian men’s match at the stadium, where the team has still never lost" (TORONTO STAR, 3/28).
