USMNT on the verge of qualifying for Qatar 2022: 5-1 victory over Panama brings USMNT very close to World Cup berth

The United States defeated Panama 5-1 to remain in second place in the CONCACAF standings for qualification to Qatar 2022.

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An inspired Christian Pulisic, who scored a hat trick, led the way for the Stars and Stripes to defeat a Central American team that saw its chances of advancing to the playoffs plummet after losing to Gregg Berhalter's squad.

In addition to Pulisic's three goals, two of which came from penalty kicks, Paul Arriola and Ferreira also scored to beat the Panamanian team in an emphatic fashion.

With this, the United States is practically assuring its direct pass to the World Cup, although mathematically it could fall to the playoffs, although that is almost impossible. 

They have 25 points just like Mexico but their goal difference is +13, surpassing Martino's team that has +7, and then there is Costa Rica with 22 points with +3, so if they lose against Costa Rica the next game and Mexico wins, they would have the same points as the Tico team but would still have more goal difference unless they lose by a difference of 5 goals, which seems impossible.

Gregg Berhalter's team will return to a World Cup and will only have to play its final game on Wednesday, March 30 against Costa Rica to secure its ticket to Qatar 2022.

CONCACAF Standings

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