Canada defeats El Salvador and puts one foot in the Cup; USA and Mexico win

Canada virtually qualified for the Qatar World Cup 2022 by beating El Salvador 2-0, this Wednesday, in San Salvador, in the eleventh round match of the octagonal final of Concacaf.

The Canadians won with goals from Atiba Hutchinson, in the 66th minute, and Jonathan David in stoppage time.

With this result, Canada reached 25 points in the lead of the Concacaf Qualifiers, and with three rounds to go in the qualifying phase, they at least guaranteed their place in the repechage against an opponent from Oceania.

As for ‘Selecta’, the dream of classification was shattered with this defeat.

While their qualification for Qatar is not mathematically certain, it would take an unlikely combination of results for Canada to not qualify for their first World Cup since 1986 in Mexico.

The Canadians lead the standings by four points with three games remaining, all to be played over the next month.

A win over Costa Rica in the next game on March 24 will guarantee Canada’s place in Qatar.

USA wins in the cold

Also this Wednesday, on a freezing night in Minnesota, the United States beat the already eliminated Honduras 3-0 and consolidated their second place in the qualifiers.

In three set pieces, Weston McKennie opened the scoring in the eighth minute, Walker Zimmerman extended it in the 37th minute and Christian Pulisic completed the rout in the second half, in the 23rd, at Allianz Field in Saint Paul (Minnesota), where temperatures reached – 17 degrees centigrade.

Players from both teams played with multiple layers of clothing and some with balaclavas covering their heads.

Two Honduran players had to be substituted at half-time due to the cold, according to the national team.

After the match, US coach Gregg Berhalter defended his team’s right to take advantage of the weather in their home games.

“We want to win our games at home”, he stressed. “We believe that our field is an advantage and that the playing conditions that rivals are not used to are also an advantage for us.”

“But we also go to other countries and it’s 90 degrees (fahrenheit, 32 degrees Celsius) and unbearable humidity and the boys get dehydrated and get cramps and heat exhaustion. That’s the nature of our competition,” said the coach.

Penalty saves Mexico

At the Azteca stadium, when everything indicated that there would be another goalless draw at home, Mexico had a penalty in their favor and beat Panama 1-0.

With his skill, Diego Lainez disturbed the Panamanian defense and in the final stretch, in the 33rd minute, he was brought down by defender Abdiel Ayarza and the referee awarded the penalty.

Raúl Jimenez converted with a light touch to the left of the goalkeeper who dove to the right.

Before that, at 23, Jiménez had wasted the best opportunity for Mexico so far. The striker bumped into the Panamanian goalkeeper who deflected a shot at close range.

With the triumph, Mexico remained in third place with 21 points.

On Thursday, March 24, the Mexicans will host the United States while Panama will play at home with the eliminated Honduras.

Costa Rica returns to the fray

Earlier Costa Rica actively entered the fight for classification by beating Jamaica 1-0 in Kingston.

The winning goal was scored by the skillful southpaw Joel Campbell, great highlight of ‘Sele’ in the last games, in the 16th minute.

The ‘Ticos’, who before this triple round had a disappointing campaign with a very poor performance, now regain hope of qualifying for their fifth World Cup in the last six editions.

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