The 29 seats for the 2022 World Cup will be confirmed and FIFA will hold a draw ceremony for the group stage at 0:00 am on April 2. Among the 29 teams that have been confirmed to advance, the most populous country is no longer Brazil, but the United States, with a population of up to 334 million, ranking third in the world, which is the return of the U.S. men's football team to the World Cup finals after 8 years, the 11th time in the history of the team, completely abandoning the Chinese men's football team.
Originally, in the penultimate round, the United States only needed to defeat Mexico to advance to the World Cup two rounds in advance, and finally reached a 0-0 draw, coupled with Costa Rica's consecutive wins in the final stage, so that the United States could not qualify early.
Before the game, the United States ranked second with 25 points, Costa Rica ranked fourth with 22 points, and the United States led by 3 points and had 6 more goals difference, so instead of suffering a 0-5 defeat, you can also qualify for the World Cup.
After the game began, the United States controlled the game situation, and then Costa Rica began to exert its strength, and the possession rate became five to five. In the 50th minute of the second half, Costa Rica took advantage of a corner kick opportunity when Juan Vargas scored with a header to give the United States a 1-0 lead at home.
In the 58th minute, the American goal was again breached, goalkeeper Steffen made a mistake, Contreras pushed the shot, Costa Rica extended the score 2-0.
American players know not to lose big scores, there is no difference between losing 0-4 and 0-3, which will not affect their own promotion to the World Cup, so they focus on defense in the back game, and finally maintain a 0-2 score loss, relying on the goal difference advantage to push Costa Rica to rank third in the North American region, and successfully enter the Qatar World Cup.
After the game, the American players gave interviews without any expression or celebration, and seemed to be less satisfied with the outcome of the loss promotion.
As a Regular World Cup, the United States has participated in the last 9 tournaments for 8 times, and it is also the 11th time in the history of the team, behind Mexico for the 17th time in the North American region. In the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. men's soccer team was unexpectedly absent, and now it is waiting for 8 years to return to the World Cup stage immediately, and falls into the second gear of the World Cup, avoiding European teams such as Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Switzerland in advance.
Seeing the return of the U.S. men's football team to the World Cup, the Chinese men's football team only has a share of envy. The United States has participated in the World Cup 11 times, the national football team has only 1 time, completely thrown away the gap, football is not a popular sport in the United States, it can still be played, and often participate in the World Cup is the best embodiment.