After failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2018, the United States has finally qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.  With a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica, the team cemented themselves as third in the CONCACAF qualifying table and secured a place in the World Cup.  Led by Chelsea star Christian Pulisic, the team has battled adversity and overcome obstacles to get to their standing today. 

The qualifiers began in September, where the US Men’s National Team took on El Salvador, Canada, and Honduras.  The team has many skillful young players who have performed at a high level throughout the qualifying process.  However, during the early stages of the qualifiers, they were a little rusty.  The United States drew against El Salvador (without Pulisic) and Canada to start the campaign.  Their next match was in Honduras, and many fans thought they would fall, as they had performed poorly in their first two matches.  

“I got flashbacks to 2018 because the US had a very talented roster and still lost to teams much worse than them.  That’s why when they drew to El Salvador and Canada, I thought for sure they were missing out on another World Cup,” said freshman Riley Funk.  

After a rough first half where the club fell behind 1-0, Antonee Robinson, Brendan Aaronson, and Sebastian Lletget (all substitutes) scored to put the United States ahead, and another goal came later.  With this 4-1 victory, many fans began to believe that this team was special and had the capability to not only qualify for the World Cup, but possibly escape the Group Stage and make noise in the knockout rounds.

Over the next two months, the team went 3-1-1.  On Oct. 7, the team took on Jamaica at home and had an outstanding 2-0 victory.  Ricardo Pepi scored both of the goals, as he quickly became a leader on the team.  However, although they won a crucial game to put themselves into second place in the table, they suffered a massive loss against Panama.  The team lost 1-0 as their offense was unable to produce a single goal which lowered morale.  But, a match that surprised all was the United States’ 2-1 victory over Costa Rica, a very powerful team led by Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keyler Navas.  

“I definitely thought the United States would lose because of the influence Navas can have on a game but I was mistaken,” said sophomore Harrison Maute.  

To keep the momentum flowing, the United States defeated Mexico 2-0 and then went on to tie Jamaica 1-1.  With only a few months remaining, the United States looked to set themselves up for success.

Although the score suggests otherwise, the United States was in complete control in their game against El Salvador as they came out on top, 1-0.  The team dominated possession and allowed zero shots on goal.  Antonee Robinson broke the game open by scoring in the 52nd minute, which was the only goal of the game.  The U.S. was unable to carry this momentum into their game against Canada as they fell behind early and were not able to find the back of the net.  The United States lost 2-0 but this did not hold them down.  The U.S. bounced back against Honduras as they cruised by them with goals from Weston McKennie, Walker Zimmerman, and Christian Pulisic who led their team to victory, 3-0. 

“The US proved that they can handle adversity and I became really hopeful that the US would qualify for the World Cup after this victory,” said junior Nic Restivo.

In the month of March, the United States went 1-1-1 with games against Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica.  Although creating many opportunities against Mexico, U.S. was not able to score but goalie Matt Turner played phenomenally and was able to hold Mexico to no goals as well, hence a draw.  The game against Panama was the most important as the 5-1 victory secured the U.S. an automatic qualification for the World Cup.  The game against Costa Rica did not mean much for either team, but Costa Rica came out on top, 2-0. 

There is much optimism regarding this team as they travel to Qatar in November.  With matchups against England and Iran, the United States has the opportunity to escape the group stage and make it to the round of 16.  Fans from across the U.S. will be tuning in to watch their team compete.