Defeat Doesn't Detract From USMNT's Deserved World Cup Qualification
There wasn’t time for a fitting, formal and collective celebration, one that would properly honor the long-range achievement, the journey, the redemption and relief. Multiple U.S. players called this team a brotherhood ahead of Wednesday night’s World Cup qualifying finale. But mere moments after the Americans finally sealed their place in Qatar, that brotherhood dispersed.
Some players are staying here in the Costa Rican capital until Thursday, while others were scheduled to charter to London overnight. Meanwhile, coach Gregg Berhalter and select U.S. Soccer staff planned to take a red-eye to New York, where they’ll do a few early-morning interviews before boarding a flight to Doha. There, on Friday—fewer than 48 hours after its place was officially assured—the U.S. will learn its opponents in the November-December World Cup.
There will be no parade or opulent, organized party, and that big ‘QUALIFIED’ banner that was unveiled accidentally on Sunday was left behind in Orlando. Instead, the Americans’ long-awaited return to the World Cup, sealed despite Wednesday’s 2-0 loss, was acknowledged quickly with some subdued hugs on the Estadio Nacional field, a salute to the traveling fans, and then, after the sting of defeat had subsided a bit, a healthy dose of champagne and Budweiser in the visiting locker room. This competitive and hungry U.S. squad wanted to close Concacaf’s Octagonal qualifying gauntlet with a historic win. So It took a few additional minutes, and apparently a pre-emptive bottle pop from defender Erik Palmer-Brown, to bring the big picture front and center.
“I think it took me a little bit for it to sink in,” said U.S. forward Christian Pulisic, one of three holdovers from the traumatic 2017 qualifying failure who started Wednesday. “Once we got back in the locker room and just seeing all the guys, I think we’re allowed to be happy and proud that we’re qualified for a World Cup—because this process is not easy.”
The eight World Cup groups, minus a few playoff survivors to be determined, will be revealed Friday, and the U.S. will gather only a few more times before heading to the tournament—it’s 11th overall and first since 2014. So those increasingly euphoric moments together in the dressing room on Wednesday, with Tim Weah manning the team’s new boom box—which was finally acquired in time for this climactic qualifying window—represented a brief but priceless opportunity to rejoice and reflect together before everyone heads their separate ways and Qatar becomes the focus.
“It was muted [at first] because we’re competitors. No one wanted to lose that game,” Berhalter said. “When you don’t win even though you get the reward of qualifying, there is a brief moment of disappointment. For us, it’s about seeing things in perspective, and the perspective is we’re the youngest [U.S.] team to ever qualify for the World Cup … and we’ll be the youngest team at the World Cup. That’s an accomplishment for these guys.”
DeAndre Yedlin, another 2017 holdover, said, “At first it was a little bit awkward because it’s weird celebrating after a loss. … But once we really realized, ‘Man, we qualified and we have achieved this goal that we had,’ then it’s pretty easy after that.”
The Americans’ place in Qatar wasn’t really in doubt prior to kickoff. After deservedly earning four points combined this month in Mexico City and Orlando, the young but maturing U.S. (7-3-4) could afford to lose to Los Ticos by an improbable five goals and still qualify directly thanks to its superior goal differential. As miserable as past trips to Costa Rica have been—the U.S. is now 0-10-2 here all-time—the tension was relatively low. Read More…
