FIFA Men's World Cup

World Cup 2022: USMNT bringing confidence, focus to Estadio Azteca

Updated Mar. 27, 2022 7:36 p.m. ET

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

It all comes down to this.

More than 1,600 days after missing a World Cup for the first time since 1986, the U.S. Men’s National Team has an opportunity over the next week to return to the biggest stage in sports by clinching a spot at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

"I've been looking forward to it for years," U.S. star Christian Pulisic, one of the few holdovers from the squad that failed to make it in 2018, said Wednesday from Mexico, where the Americans will kick off the first of their final three qualifying matches for this fall’s World Cup.

"We were in a position to do it last time, and we weren't able to," Pulisic added. "It's something we obviously don't want to go through again."

The U.S. are well-positioned. They have occupied one of CONCACAF’s three automatic berths since the 14-match "Octagonal" kicked off in September. Heading into the decisive window — after Thursday’s contest, the Americans host Panama on Sunday in Orlando, Florida (7 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Sports app), and then play in Costa Rica next Wednesday — the U.S. sit second.

Four more points out of an available nine would effectively guarantee them a place at the main event.

The problem is that Mexico and Costa Rica represent the Americans' two toughest away games yet. The U.S. have never won a qualifier in either country. Should they suffer defeat in Mexico, as they have in 16 of 19 tries all time, the pressure heading into the Panama match would be unbearable.

The solution seems simple enough: Don’t lose at Estadio Azteca.

But given the USMNT’s dismal record south of the border and the importance of the Panama match just three days later, there has been some speculation that coach Gregg Berhalter could rest several starters in the 7,400-foot altitude of Mexico City.

There’s logic to keeping guys fresh. Injuries have limited Pulisic to four starts in the Americans’ first 11 qualifiers. Tyler Adams is one of five players carrying a yellow card, along with Jordan Pefok, Zack Steffen, Tim Weah and DeAndre Yedlin. Another for any of them in Mexico would mean suspension against Los Canaleros.

But with other key players (Brenden Aaronson, Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie) missing because of injuries, it sure sounds like Berhalter will go with his best lineup in each match.

"The Panama game will be an important game, but we also know Mexico will be an important game," Berhalter said Wednesday. "We're going to put a team on the field in Mexico that is going to try to win."

Why wouldn’t they? Three points in Mexico would be just as good as three in Orlando. This young U.S. team has beaten Mexico three straight times over the past year, including a 2-0 win earlier in qualifying. Those results have given the U.S. squad a confidence its predecessors lacked.

The last time the U.S. traveled to the Azteca, for a 1-1 tie in 2017, "I remember the mentality was ‘Let’s just try and get whatever we can from this game,’" said Paul Arriola, who along with Pulisic, Yedlin and midfielder Kellyn Acosta was on the team that lost in Couva, Trinidad, in its final qualifier to miss the 2018 World Cup. "Now we’re going down there to win."

"That’s a different mentality," he continued. "That’s something I think we truly believe that we can do is harm this Mexico team and put ourselves at the best position possible to win the following games."

Still, while the U.S. have gotten the better of their chief rival lately, those three victories won’t mean much when the whistle blows Thursday.

"It adds some confidence, but we can't let our guard down," Berhalter said. "I mean, our record here is horrendous. The odds are against us getting something out of this game, right? We know that, we realize that, and that's just how it is. We're focused on going in and being difficult to play against."

It’s a sound plan. Playing at home, Mexico must be aggressive in the attack. The U.S. can bide their time. A tie would be beyond acceptable. If they can keep the Mexicans off the score sheet, the USMNT will earn at least a point while stopping El Tri — which has an identical 6W-2L-3T qualifying record — from leapfrogging them in the eight-nation standings.

"Preventing early goals, goals we shouldn’t allow — that’s very important," defender Walker Zimmerman said. "The longer it goes scoreless, the longer [our defense] stays solid, we’ll just keep growing into the game."

That hyper-focus must be present in all three matches, though. The margin for error is slim. After what happened last cycle, the U.S. players know all too well what’s at stake.

"We have to qualify. There's just no other option," Adams said Tuesday. "This is obviously a very important window and, without looking ahead, a very difficult game coming up in Azteca.

"But we're confident in our group and the players that we have. We're gonna go down there and go for it."

One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.