Don’t get carried away! The USA celebrate sealing a World Cup spot with the ‘QUALIFIED’ banner after beating Panama … but quickly pull it down after realizing they are NOT safe – despite a 6-0 loss to Costa Rice needs to deny them
- The USA beat Panama 5-1 on Sunday and are close to a World Cup spot
- The team celebrated after the final whistle with a banner that read ‘QUALIFIED’.
- Gregg Berhalter’s side need to avoid a six-goal defeat against Costa Rica
- Star man Christian Pulisic later insisted the gesture was an honest mistake
The US national team appeared to celebrate World Cup qualification a game early on Sunday after their 5-1 win over Panama, with players unfurling a banner that read ‘QUALIFIED’ in front of fans, although their place in Qatar is still official is.
The Christian Pulisic-inspired victory means the United States are close to securing a place in the tournament later this year, but they face a final qualifier against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
A loss of six goals or more would send America into a World Cup play-off, most likely against New Zealand. While such a defeat seems incredible, Pulisic wanted to stress that the banner was an honest mistake and not a sign of his team’s excelling.
The USA national team celebrated their victory in Panama with a banner that read ‘QUALIFIED’ – although they may not yet reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Christian Pulisic (second left), who scored a hat-trick in the win, insisted it was an honest mistake and that his side are focused on Wednesday’s game against Costa Rica
“The boys had no idea what was written there. It was just handed to them by hand,” Pulisic explained. “Once we realized we didn’t have to brag about it anymore because we still have a job to do.
“We approach it honestly like any other game. We will prepare as we would if we needed a win.’
And US coach Gregg Berhalter echoed his star’s comments.
“We’ve taken a big step closer to our goal of qualifying for the World Cup,” he said. “We know we’re not there yet, despite what that banner might have said.
“We know we have one game left and it’s a difficult game in Costa Rica. Our job now is to recover, regenerate and then put healthy guys, fit guys on the field and compete in San Jose where we ‘never won.’
Pulisic was part of the US team that failed to qualify for the 2018 competition in Russia
Paul Arriola said that four years later, the US team is focused on avoiding another shock
Four years ago, the USA beat Panama 4-0 in a qualifier and four days later needed only a draw against Trinidad and Tobago to secure a place in Russia. They flopped to a 2-1 loss and missed out on the World Championship overall.
Pulisic and teammate Paul Arriola are the only two players in the national team remaining from that night and Arriola also stressed caution despite the banner celebrations.
‘I want to be honest with you. I’m not celebrating anything,” said the winger, who scored a first-half header against Panama. “I was in exactly this position or a very similar position four years ago. And we know how that qualifier ended.
“So I think it’s just a matter of maintaining focus and understanding that we still have work to do and anything is possible. For us… the mentality of this group is and must be to go down to get a good result against Costa Rica.’
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