This is everything you need to know before the USMNT match against El Salvador.
The United States team will host El Salvador this Thursday in Columbus, Ohio (live, 7 pm ET). Gregg Berhalter’s team are the big favorites to take another step towards qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
A big win is expected for the USMNT as they aim to prepare for a key qualifying match in Canada. If not, big questions will be raised for this talented young team.
The US team sits second in the table heading into the last six qualifying games, as they have three games in one week that will play a big role in finishing in the top three of CONCACAF qualifying for the World Cup and get the ticket to Qatar.
With games against El Salvador, Canada and Honduras in this window, a total of nine points could be enough to seal their place in what would be their first World Cup since 2014. If not, it could be tough as they have to play Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica in their last three qualifying matches in March. The USMNT has only lost once in 25 games (18-1-6) against El Salvador and has never lost in World Cup qualifying against the Selecta.
Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie and Jordan Morris return to the MLS roster and Berhalter has plenty of options in midfield and attack. Maybe rest some stars before the game with Canada? That could be risky, as the USA drew 0-0 with El Salvador in the second leg.
“There’s a lot of focus on the team and I don’t know the exact math, but even with three wins I don’t think it’s guaranteed we’re going to qualify,” Christian Pulisic told NBC Sports’ ProSoccerTalk before Game 1 of this penultimate cycle of fixtures.
“We just have to go game by game, win game by game and put ourselves in a great position at the next camp to be able to get a couple of good results and get to where we need to be. That’s World Cup qualification.”
HOW IS EL SALVADOR CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED?
Regarding El Salvador, they are currently second to last in the table, but tied with the USMNT in San Salvador at the top of the standings and have been very close to giving many other surprises, as they are not afraid to take risks and have the ball. .
Seattle Sounders defender Alex Roldán (his brother Christian is on the USMNT roster) is a player to watch and El Salvador coach Hugo Pérez is well known to USMNT fans. Pérez played 73 times for the Stars and Stripes from 1984 to 1994 and participated with the USMNT in the 1994 World Cup. He helped the USA qualify for the 1990 World Cup and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the US soccer in 2008.
In a nutshell, Perez was a superb central midfielder, but now he is focused on trying to keep his country in the running for the World Cup and surprise the USMNT. Houston Dynamo midfielder Darwin Ceren, former Toronto center back Eriq Zavaleta and forward Nelson Bonilla are three other players to watch out for.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the USMNT’s match against El Salvador:
INJURIES, TRAINING OPTIONS AND NEWS FROM THE USMNT TEAM
It looks like Matt Turner will be the first in goal for the USMNT, as Zack Steffen has suffered a back injury and has yet to travel to Columbus for this qualifying match. The four defenders will likely be Dest, Zimmerman, Miles Robinson and Antonee Robinson. In midfield Adams, McKennie and Musah are likely to form a line of three, while Aaronson, Pulisic, Pepi and Weah will form part of the attack.
INJURIES, TRAINING POSSIBILITIES AND NEWS FROM THE EL SALVADOR TEAM
Hugo Pérez will try to use a very similar tactic to the one in the home game against the USMNT, as El Salvador will do everything possible to keep the ball and frustrate the USA. And if the match is tied with 30 minutes remaining, we will surely see El Salvador take a lot more risks in the final third, opening up counterattacking opportunities for the USMNT. El Salvador needs to win all three matches on this qualifying date to have a chance of finishing in fourth place and securing a spot in the playoffs. They have only scored 10 goals in their eight games to date, so La Selecta will be hard to beat and the USMNT will have to be patient and wait for the right moments to press.
HOW TO WATCH THE USMNT MATCH AGAINST EL SALVADOR LIVE
Start: 7pm ET, Thursday (Jan 27)
TV Channel: ESPN 2, Unimas, TUDN
Online: Live Analysis on NBCSports.com