What results do USMNT need to qualify for World Cup 2022? Permutations for place in Qatar explained
For fans of the United States Men's National Team, memories of failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 will still be fresh, with fears that the side could repeat their mistakes in the qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
Gregg Berhalter's squad are on the brink of securing their place in the finals, but what do the USMNT need to do to clinch World Cup qualification?
GOAL takes a look at the permutations.
What results do the USMNT need to qualify for World Cup 2022?
The USMNT have one qualifier left and, if they want to secure automatic qualification, they will just need to avoid a heavy defeat in their final match.
The USMNT are currently second in the CONCACAF qualification table, three points behind leaders Canada and level on points with third-placed Mexico (but ahead in the table due to superior goal difference).
A win or draw against Costa Rica on Wednesday would send the USMNT through, with Costa Rica heading to a playoff in fourth place. A loss by fewer than six goals would be enough for the U.S. to automatically qualify.
The format of the CONCACAF World Cup 2022 qualification sees that the top three teams qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with the fourth-placed team having to play an an inter-federation playoff against a nation from Oceania (OFC).
USMNT World Cup 2022 qualifying results & schedule
The USMNT'sfinal qualifier will come against Costa Rica, who also remain in the race to seal a World Cup spot.
Date | Match | Time (UK / ET) |
|---|---|---|
January 27 | USMNT 1-0 El Salvador | 12am / 7pm |
January 30 | Canada 2-0 USMNT | 12am / 7pm |
February 2 | USMNT 3-0 Honduras | 12:30am / 7:30pm |
March 24 | Mexico 0-0 USMNT | 2am / 10pm |
March 27 | USMNT 5-1 Panama | 12am / 7pm |
March 30 | Costa Rica vs USMNT | 2:05am / 9:05pm |
USMNT World Cup 2022 qualification table
The USMNT play their qualification games through the Octagonal system, consisting of eight CONCACAF teams ranked from one to five based on their FIFA rankings as of July 2020, plus the three winners of the second round qualifying stage.
The teams play against each other in a home-and-away round-robin format, with each side playing 14 matches. The top three teams in the table will qualify for the 2022 World Cup, while the team that finishes fourth will progress to the inter-confederation play-off fixture.
You can view the CONCACAF qualification table below.
Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canada | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | +17 | 28 |
USMNT | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | +13 | 25 |
Mexico | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | +7 | 25 |
Costa Rica | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | +3 | 22 |
Panama (E) | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | -3 | 18 |
El Salvador (E) | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -8 | 10 |
Jamaica (E) | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -11 | 8 |
Honduras (E) | 13 | 0 | 4 | 9 | -18 | 4 |