United States head coach Gregg Berhalter is urging his players to stay "in the moment" ahead of Sunday's World Cup qualifier at home to Panama with a shot at reaching the finals on the line.
The U.S. battled to a 0-0 draw away to Mexico on Thursday and sit three points behind leaders Canada in the CONCACAF group standings. They are tied with Mexico on 22 points but are above them in second place on goal difference.
Gabriel “Gaga” Slonina is one of the most exciting prospects in Major League Soccer. Less than a year removed from becoming the youngest starting goalkeeper in league history, the 17-year-old Chicago Fire youth product has already garnered interest from Europe’s elite. According to renowned football reporter Fabrizio Romano, a Gabriel Slonina to Chelsea move was in the works before the London club was hit by UK sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thursday night’s 0-0 draw between the U.S. and Mexico was probably a fair result, one both teams will contentedly take as another point on the path toward World Cup qualification. Though both teams will lament missed chances — the Americans and Jordan Pefok perhaps a bit more so — the truth is neither team did enough to find the back of the net.
The United States earned a massive point at the Azteca on Thursday night to make its path to the 2022 World Cup that much clearer, but there's a lingering feeling that the team could've returned home with all three had it been more clinical in the final third.
No es por andar presumiendo, pero de algún modo sospechaba que el partido entre México y Estados Unidos terminaría empatado 0-0.
The USMNT shouldn’t and doesn’t need help to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Gregg Berhalter’s side controls its own destiny to make it to Qatar this winter. But it’s never a bad idea to have backup plan, and America’s neighbor to the north is on standby to bail the USMNT out should it fail against Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica.
The game vs. the United States could become a new nightmare for Mexican soccer in its war against the homophobic chant — "eeeh, puto!" — if local fans commit to social media campaigns calling to boycott the Mexican Football Federation.
This is it. This is the final Mexico vs USA soccer match in World Cup qualifying that will really matter. After this, the teams will (presumably) be given automatic berths to the 2026 World Cup as co-hosts before Concacaf qualifiers are be rendered largely meaningless when FIFA expands the field to 48 teams.
But now, this Mexico vs USA soccer match is the biggest sporting event in the world this month — or at least in North America.
I’m not going to lie. The USMNT’s final three World Cup qualifiers have me nervous.
I can’t recall a time I’ve been this anxious over a sporting event. Gregg Berhalter must get his injury-riddled team through the gauntlet of Mexico, Panama (the only home game) and Costa Rica.