This is March, and while the madness associated with the month is typically reserved for college basketball, it'll extend to Concacaf's World Cup qualifying campaign as well. The finish line is in sight, and the region's berths at the fall showpiece event in Qatar are up for grabs.
World Cup qualifying comes to a close for the U.S. men’s national team later this month, with matches at Mexico (March 24) and Costa Rica (March 30) sandwiching a home game against Panama in Orlando (March 27). No matter what, as long as the U.S. takes care of business at home and beats Panama, its floor is a fourth-place finish and the intercontinental playoff against an Oceania side (most likely New Zealand) in June. Absent those three points, though, it could get awfully nerve-wracking for the U.S., considering in its history it has never won qualifying games in either of its two away destinations. Canada, meanwhile, enters the final window four points clear of the U.S. and Mexico, who are both four ahead of Panama and five clear of Costa Rica.
This window comes with no squad caveats for the U.S. Unlike the winter session, nobody is out of season on the club level—MLS will be a month into its 2022 campaign by the time the U.S. heads to Estadio Azteca to face El Tri and all the European leagues who had winter breaks are back in full swing. The one built-in concern is that Weston McKennie won't be available. The U.S. midfielder fractured his foot in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, shelving him for around two months. It's a brutal loss considering what he brings to the team, both in the run of play and on set pieces. He was immense in the two games against Mexico in which he featured last year and has been in the best form of his career.
