Tag: World Cup Qualifying

Costa Rica defeats New Zealand to reach third straight World Cup

The Ticos have qualified for their third consecutive World Cup

Costa Rica has booked its place in the 2022 World Cup with a 1-0 win over New Zealand in the intercontinental playoff on Tuesday in Qatar.

Joel Campbell scored off a cross from 17-year-old Jewison Bennette in the third minute, and that goal stood up the rest of the match as the Ticos reached a third straight World Cup and fifth out of six.

Costa Rica finished fourth in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, reaching the playoff after Canada, the United States and Mexico all qualified automatically.

Luis Fernando Suárez’s side will now go into World Cup Group E alongside Spain, Germany and Japan.

The Ticos were beneficiaries of two major decisions in their favor after a VAR review.

First, Chris Wood’s equalizer for New Zealand five minutes before halftime was waved off due to a foul in the build-up.

Midway through the second half, New Zealand’s Kosta Barbarouses was shown a straight red card after a video review for a studs-up challenge on Costa Rica defender Francisco Calvo.

The 32-team field for the World Cup has now been finalized after three final spots were earned this month.

In Europe, Wales defeated Ukraine to seal the final UEFA spot, while Australia defeated Peru on Monday in the other intercontinental playoff.

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Australia qualified for the World Cup by subbing in a dancing goalkeeper for penalties

The dancing worked!

It’s difficult to imagine a more nerve-racking way to qualify for a World Cup than a penalty shootout in the intercontinental play-off. You have two teams that just traveled across the world to Qatar and one was going to head home on the longest, saddest flight imaginable.

That team happened to be Peru.

Peru and Australia met on Monday in Qatar at Al Rayyan Stadium with the winner advancing to Group D of the World Cup. The match needed to go beyond 120 minutes to decide the winner, but it was a bold strategic move from Australia coach Graham Arnold that had the soccer world buzzing.

Late in extra time, Arnold subbed in backup goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne to take over during penalties. The 33-year-old from the Australian league was in there for one reason and one reason only: Distract Peru with dance moves.

And it worked! Redmayne flailed around the goal, shuffling and kicking out his legs just to throw off the focus of the Peru players. A miss on the Peru’s sixth attempt was enough to clinch Australia’s trip to the World Cup.

You have to feel so bad for Peru there. It’s the worst way to miss out on a World Cup by far, but the soccer world could not get enough of Redmayne. He stole the show.

Wales defeat Ukraine to qualify for 2022 World Cup

Heartbreak for Ukraine, but Wales qualify for the first time since 1958.

Wales is going to the 2022 World Cup, overcoming Ukraine 1-0 in the final UEFA playoff Sunday to qualify for the first time in 64 years.

Ukraine’s incredible story, attempting to qualify even as the Russian invasion of their country continues, ended in heartbreak as Gareth Bale’s powerful free kick was deflected in by Andriy Yarmolenko for the game’s only goal.

Wales will go into Group B with the U.S. men’s national team, England, and Iran. The Welsh will play the USMNT in their opening match in Qatar on November 21, marking their first appearance at a World Cup since 1958.

Ukraine seemed to have a stunning opener in the 3rd minute, with Oleksandr Zinchenko firing a free kick from 32 yards past Wayne Hennessey, but referee Antonio Lahoz pulled play back as he had not blown the whistle for play to start.

Wales were struggling to hold Ukraine off, but in their hour of need, Bale delivered. It took some good fortune, as Yarmolenko’s attempt to head the shot away only served to wrong-foot goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan, but it was enough to give the Welsh a lead they would not relinquish.

Ukraine were pinning Wales back, peppering Hennessey with shots, but a 76th minute sequence saw Welsh substitute Brennan Johnson smack a shot off the woodwork before Bale was denied by a strong Bushchan save in the aftermath.

At the other end, Hennessey capped off a stellar performance with an incredible save to rob Artem Dovbyk’s 84th minute header, which ended up being Ukraine’s last and best chance at an equalizer.

Watch the goal that sent Wales to the World Cup

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Ukraine scored a brilliant goal against Scotland in first competitive match since Russian invasion

What a moment.

Emotions were understandably high for Wednesday’s UEFA World Cup qualifying play-off semifinal in Glasgow, and Ukraine couldn’t have asked for a better start.

Playing in their first match since Russia launched an invasion on the sovereign nation, Ukraine jumped ahead in the first half with a phenomenal goal against Scotland. The winner of the match will face Wales on Sunday for a spot in the World Cup.

The goal was set up by a long-range pass from Ruslan Malinovskyi that Andriy Yarmolenko expertly controlled to chip over the Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. It was one of the moments that truly transcended sports given all what Ukraine has been through as a nation.

Seriously, what a goal.

The soccer world had plenty of thoughts on the amazing scene in Scotland.

Canada is embracing CONCACAF tradition by playing Mexico in brutal Edmonton weather conditions

ICETECA!

The path to qualify for the World Cup out of CONCACAF may not boast the star-studded competitions you see in CONMEBOL (South America) or UEFA (Europe), but it’s never been an easy road. Away teams have to deal with hostile crowds, subpar field conditions and a variety of shenanigans around the team hotel. It’s not uncommon for teams to get awoken by fire alarms or late-night firework displays. Everyone gets involved.

Again, it’s tough. No away team enjoys it. And now, even Canada — CANADA! — is going all in with some peak CONCACAF’ing of its own.

While U.S. Soccer fans have heard plenty in recent months about its youthful and talented roster, Canada is enjoying somewhat of a Golden Generation of its own. Led by Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, Canada is in a position to qualify for its first World Cup since 1986 (the nation’s only World Cup appearance).

A win on Tuesday against Mexico would go a long way towards putting Canada in position to achieve that goal. And man, the Canadian Soccer Association is doing all it can to make Mexico’s experience up North absolutely miserable. The game will be played in Edmonton at the open-air Commonwealth Stadium, and it’ll look like this:

ICETECA!

Instead of scheduling the game in Vancouver at the indoor BC Place, Canada chose to avoid those comfortable conditions in favor of a literal frozen tundra. Forecasts for Tuesday are calling for about 8 inches of snow and temperatures around 10 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff. On top of that, Edmonton has about a third of the Mexican-Canadian population compared to Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal. It will be a very pro-Canada crowd — a cold crowd — but that’s sort of the point.

And when you look at the Edmonton selection in the context of Mexico, it’s a pretty phenomenal response to El Tri’s go-to host stadium of Estadio Azteca. Teams are forced to play Mexico at altitude while also dealing with pollution, humidity and 100,000 screaming fans at Azteca. If Mexico can utilize that homefield advantage, good on Canada for returning the favor with what it has at its disposal: Edmonton in freaking November.

Look at them. El Tri looks so miserable and they haven’t even left the bus there. Well played, Canada. Really, well done.

You shouldn’t be surprised if the U.S. chooses host cities like Minneapolis, Salt Lake City or Kansas City for its January, February and March qualifiers either.

It’s the CONCACAF way.