USMNT's final home WCQ to be hosted at Exploria Stadium
By Chris Smith
The United States Men's National Team will conclude their home qualifying campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Orlando City's Exploria Stadium, it was announced on Wednesday.
Gregg Berhalter's side are due to face Panama on March 27 in their penultimate qualifier, between away trips to Mexico (March 24) and Costa Rica (March 30).
By then, of course, it's hoped that the USMNT's fate will already be sealed, especially given the tough nature of those two away games. But if not, they'll need an electric atmosphere in Florida to help get them over the line.
Exploria Stadium has hosted the men's national team four times in the past with a 100% win rate, most recently providing the venue for Star and Stripes' 7-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in January 2021.
“We are excited to be back at Exploria Stadium,” head coach Berhalter said in a press release. “This city and these fans have been a huge advantage to us throughout the years. In our last home game of the Octagonal, we look forward to another special night of soccer.”
The USMNT head into a trio of qualifiers at the end of this month in a strong position. Ahead of matches against El Salvador, Canada, and Honduras, they sit second in the Octagonal with 15 points from eight games. Just one point separates them from Canada, who are the only remaining unbeaten team in Concacaf qualifying.
Berhalter's side are also one point ahead of Mexico and Panama - the latter occupying fourth place, which will participate in an intercontinental playoff for the right to play at Qatar 2022. Beyond Panama, the next closest challengers are Costa Rica with just nine points on the board so far.
Concacaf also announced on Tuesday that VAR would finally be implemented for the remaining World Cup qualifying fixtures.
"Following the successful implementation of VAR in the 2021 Concacaf Nations League Finals, the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, and the latter stages of the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, the Confederation has confirmed that it will implement the technology in several of its men’s and women’s competitions throughout 2022," a statement read.
"The remaining Concacaf Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022, which include six rounds of matches across the January and March FIFA international windows, will all include VAR as the region’s top eight men’s national teams compete for the 3.5 Concacaf qualification spots to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022."