Tag: 2022 World Cup

The USMNT would qualify for the World Cup with a forfeit. It’s not the worst idea!

Why risk it?

It’s been 1,631 days since the U.S. men’s national team suffered one of the biggest embarrassments in U.S. sports history. Needing just a draw against lowly Trinidad & Tobago to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the USMNT put together a shambolic performance, losing 2-1 and getting absolutely no help across CONCACAF to miss the World Cup.

Since that day, though, the goal has been to return to the World Cup. And the team has literally the easiest path to lock up that spot: forfeit Wednesday’s game against Costa Rica.

Now, the United States Soccer Federation has made plenty of mistakes over these past 1,631 days. It took too long to replace Bruce Arena, settling on a nepotistic hire in Gregg Berhalter. Its treatment of the USWNT in their battle for equal pay was shameful. It scheduled a key qualifying match outside in Minnesota in February (!!!). But amid all the federation-level blunders, the USMNT is enjoying a true golden generation of talent and on the cusp of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

After the USMNT’s resounding 5-1 win over Panama in Orlando on Sunday, which included a world-class hat trick from Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic, the U.S. players took the field with a “QUALIFIED” banner despite not officially qualifying for the World Cup.

The USSF got roasted for the premature celebration because a 6-0 defeat in Costa Rica would send the USMNT to the intercontinental play-off. The USMNT hasn’t lost 6-0 since 1979 in a friendly against France, so that’s not happening. I mean, it shouldn’t happen — no matter how poorly the USMNT has historically played in Costa Rica.

That brings me back to the forfeit, though. A forfeit would go down as a 3-0 defeat, locking up a World Cup spot out of CONCACAF.

Like, it isn’t the worst idea in the world even if I’m well aware that the USSF would never do it.

You don’t have to tell me how taking a forfeit would send a terrible message about competitive integrity and respect for the game. It would obviously have the Costa Rican federation furious too, considering ticket sales and implications with goal differential. I know! Still, hear me out.

Berhalter’s goal from the start has been to return to the World Cup, and he’s looking at a golden opportunity to accomplish that goal without needing to even send his team out there on the pitch. That has to be tempting. You can book a place in Qatar without dealing with the house of horrors that has been matches in Costa Rica. You send all the players back to their respective clubs without risking further injury.

Plus, FIFA rankings won’t update before Friday’s World Cup draw. There’s very little to gain by playing on Wednesday, but there is a minuscule risk of absolute disaster.

I can relate. My goal in college was to graduate and get a job. Late in my senior year — with a job opportunity already lined up — I was looking at one remaining final exam in a class where I had a solid A grade. I could have shown up, knowing there was nothing to gain. OR, I could have taken the zero, dropped my grade to a C- and gone to The Wheel with my QUALIFIED banner.

I’ll let you guess what I did.

The USMNT doesn’t need to get greedy. Take the zero.

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Alphonso Davies cried watching Canada’s men’s team qualify for its first World Cup in decades

The Canadian star had nothing but glee for his teammates.

Unfortunately, one of the world’s biggest stars, Alphonso Davies, had to sit out Canada’s men’s soccer team’s final push for the 2022 World Cup. Following a battle with COVID-19 earlier this year, the 21-year-old suffered lingering heart issues. Heart issues that were so severe, he wasn’t medically cleared for action.

Those heart problems were also enough to keep Davies on the sideline for Canada’s (-316) climactic qualifying match with Jamaica on Sunday. Unless they paid for tickets, the Canadian men, of course, hadn’t been to the great tournament as competitors in 36 years. Davies would have to watch his teammates in tenuous nervousness, in the comfort of his home, hoping they could pull off history without him. It’s a feeling of helplessness you’d rather not be privy to.

Boy, did they reward Davies’s anxiety.

This fall will now be the Canadian men’s first World Cup since 1986. I’m not particularly great with time but even I know that it’s been a while.

And Davies, again watching at home (while streaming on Twitch), couldn’t help but break down with intense emotions at the news.

Incredible. That’s the kind of sports moment that really pulls on the heart strings.

To put a bow on the history, Davies had a (likely prerecorded) message for his Canadian teammates after the game.

This is admittedly speculation, but Davies saying “we” for games that won’t be played for eight months seems like an amazing sign of how his health is coming along. “We”, meaning us, might soon see this superstar adorned in Canadian red, in the World Cup.

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