{"id":42121,"date":"2022-03-27T21:01:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T01:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=42121"},"modified":"2022-03-29T03:09:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T07:09:48","slug":"usmnt-panama-concacaf-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/03\/27\/usmnt-panama-concacaf-qualifying\/","title":{"rendered":"USMNT tops Panama, 5-1, building crucial goal differential cushion"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO<\/strong> – The U.S. Men’s National Team might not have qualified on Sunday night for the FIFA World Cup, but they put themselves in a good position to do so with a 5-1 win over Panama. Held at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, the U.S. welcomed a crowd of 25,022 fans to have strong home field advantage.<\/p>\n

USMNT tops Panama, 5-1, move one step closer to World Cup<\/h2>\n

The USMNT scored early and kept up their dominance on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The three points sets up the United States for a big qualifier against Costa Rica on Wednesday. Canada punched their ticket to the World Cup<\/a> — for the first time since 1986 and only the second time ever — earlier on Sunday with a 4-0 win against Jamaica.<\/p>\n

Costa Rica, on the other hand, picked up a big road win against El Salvador, continuing their impressive and dangerous Concacaf form. Costa Rica began qualification slow, but picked up speed. Right now, the\u00a0Ticos<\/em> have stayed unbeaten in the last six qualifiers.<\/p>\n

The United States, with the three points gained from Orlando, now have a three-point cushion against Costa Rica. Also, the goal differential helps. Costa Rica has piled up wins, but not a lot of goals. The U.S. now have a +13 goal differential, while Costa Rica sits with a +3 differential.<\/p>\n

Mexico finished their match with Honduras with three collected points, winning 1-0.<\/p>\n

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GOOOOOOAL, #USMNT<\/a>! <\/p>\n

With the Costa Rica win, they won't qualify tonight, but the US take the lead with Christian Pulisic's penalty.#USAvPAN<\/a> | 1-0 | #CWCQ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/hAH1yIwl1c<\/a><\/p>\n

— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) March 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n