FRISCO, Texas - The international break is here and it's an absolutely vital one for FC Dallas forwards Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola as they join up with U.S. Men's National Team for the final window of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The USMNT is currently in second place in the CONCACAF qualifying table with three games remaining: away to Mexico this Thursday (3/24), home to Panama on Sunday (3/27) and away to Costa Rica next Wednesday (3/30). The top three teams at the end of this window qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar while the fourth place finisher enters a qualification playoff tie against the top team from Oceana (likely New Zealand).
Date |
Matchup |
Network |
|---|---|---|
March 24, 9PM |
USA vs. Mexico |
Paramount+, CBS Sports Network |
March 27, 6PM |
USA vs. Panama |
FS1, TUDN |
March 30, 8:05PM |
USA vs. Costa Rica |
Paramount+, UNIVERSO |
The USMNT will clinch a spot in Qatar with 5 points over the next three games. The Americans can even earn their place this Thursday with a win over Mexico at the Azteca IF Panama loses AND Costa Rica fails to win, but that's a pretty unlikely scenario all around. If the U.S. lose to Mexico, they may need to win both games over Panama and Costa Rica (6 total points) to guarantee qualification. But a win and draw in those games (4 points) would give the U.S. a 98% chance of finishing top three and booking their ticket to this year's World Cup, according to FOX Soccer.
Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola aren't the only FC Dallas ties on the current USMNT roster. Former FCD Homegrowns Ricardo Pepi, Reggie Cannon and Kellyn Acosta join former Dallas SuperDraft pick Walker Zimmerman in Gregg Berhalter's 26-man squad that will try to take the U.S. to the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
