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World Cup 2022: Pulisic hat trick propels USMNT in Panama rout
Christian Pulisic was the star of the show, powering the United States Men’s National Team to the brink of returning to the World Cup.
Pulisic scored his first international hat trick, leading the U.S. to a 5-1 rout of Panama on Sunday night in a World Cup qualifying match in Orlando, Florida.
Pulisic converted two penalty kicks during a four-goal burst in the first half that also featured goals from Paul Arriola and Jesús Ferreira, then boosted the lead to 5-0 on a memorable goal with two brilliant touches that evaded a pair of defenders.
With fans still fretting after the Americans’ failure to reach the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. assumed a commanding position to qualify for the November tournament in Qatar.
Only a loss of six or more goals Wednesday night in the qualifying finale at Costa Rica would cause the Americans not to finish among the top three nations in North and Central America and the Caribbean and claim an automatic berth.
Christian Pulisic's early goals fuel USMNT's dominant first half
Canada has 28 points and clinched its first berth since 1986 with a 4-0 victory over Jamaica, the U.S. is second with 25 points, ahead of Mexico on goal difference. Costa Rica is fourth with 22 points.
While the U.S. has never won at Costa Rica, goal differential is the first tiebreaker, and the Americans are plus-13 to the Ticos’ plus-three. The U.S. also has the second tiebreaker of total goals, 21 to 11.
The U.S. can finish no worse than fourth, assuring at least qualification for a playoff in June against the Oceania champion, likely New Zealand.
After reaching the World Cup for the first time in 2018, Panama was eliminated.
"There are bigger things to come"
The U.S. learned during the national anthems that Costa Rica had won 2-1 at El Salvador, denying the Americans a chance to clinch against Panama. The U.S. then scored four goals in the opening half of a qualifier for the first time since a 5-2 victory over Cuba in 1949.
Here are the top plays from Sunday's action:
Big penalty
Walker Zimmerman hit the turf hard after being grabbed in the box, giving the U.S. a golden opportunity to strike first inside 20 minutes.
U.S. cashes in
And, of course, Pulisic buried it to put the American squad up 1-0 just 17 minutes in.
Christian Pulisic gets USMNT started early
Close call
Panama had a chance to tie it up in response but couldn't put this cross home.
Double trouble
PSA: This is not the U.S. team that showed up against Mexico.
An all-out effort from Paul Arriola gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead at the 23-minute mark.
Paul Arriola's beautiful header
On fire!
The USMNT continued to dominate Panama in the first half, coming up with a third goal just minutes later.
The rout is on!
Another one!
Ahead of the break, the USMNT extended the lead to 4-0, thanks to this smooth penalty kick from Pulisic — his second of the day.
Hat trick!
It was an incredible touch and finish from Pulisic to make it 5-0 for the U.S. after the break.
Pulisic is now tied with former MLS star Eddie Johnson for the fourth-most USMNT goals in a FIFA World Cup qualifier, and he is also just the second U.S. player behind Johnson (2004) to score a hat trick against Panama in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Panama gets on the board
At the 86-minute mark, Panama avoided a shutout by securing its first goal of the match to make it 5-1, and things ended there.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
