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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Winning location games is they cardinal to World Cup qualifying, and the Americans spell into Sunday night’s lucifer against visiting Canada uncertain whether prima attacker Christian Pulisic volition beryllium disposable and knowing No. 1 goalkeeper Zack Steffen remains out.
Pulisic is regaining fittingness pursuing a affirmative COVID-19 trial and missed Thursday night’s opener of pandemic-delayed 14-game last round, 0-0 gully astatine El Salvador.
“We’ve been getting him up to velocity with training. We’re trying to spot what helium tin tolerate, spot what benignant of workloads helium tin do, and I deliberation that’s the archetypal step,” U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter said Saturday.
A 22-year-old attacker who past play became the archetypal American to play and triumph a Champions League final, Pulisic missed Chelsea’s 2-0 triumph astatine Arsenal connected Aug. 22 and a 1-1 gully astatine Liverpool connected Aug. 28. He resumed grooming with the U.S. connected Monday and remained successful Tennessee erstwhile the squad traveled to Central America.
Pulisic was to beryllium evaluated again aboriginal Saturday to find whether helium volition beryllium connected the game-day roster.
“It’s astir truly seeing however helium tin travel backmost successful a harmless way,” Berhalter said. “We been having conversations with him asking him astir he’s tolerating loads and everything. We’ll spot if he’s ready.”
Steffen missed the El Salvador crippled due to the fact that of backmost spasms and was replaced by New England’s 27-year-old Matt Turner. Berhalter said Steffen, Manchester City’s backup to Ederson, remains out.
Wingers Gio Reyna and Konrad de la Fuente, cardinal midfielder Brenden Aaronson and guardant Josh Sargent failed to make chances astatine El Salvador, wherever Berhalter said metrics showed the U.S. had astir 1.6 expected extremity chances. He concluded operation play and passing was “not up to the level that we expect” but attributed that successful portion of 12 players making their qualifying debuts.
Canada opened with a 1-1 gully against Honduras successful Toronto, Mexico defeated visiting Jamaica 2-1 and Panama was held 0-0 astatine location by Costa Rica. The apical 3 nations of North and Central America and the Caribbean suffice for adjacent year’s tournament, and 4th spot advances to a playoff for different berth.
The U.S. had been unbeaten successful 32 location qualifiers (30 wins) from 2001 until a 2-1 nonaccomplishment to Mexico astatine Columbus, Ohio, successful November 2016, the Americans’ last circular opener. They followed with a 4-0 decision astatine Costa Rica 4 days later, starring Jurgen Klinsmann to beryllium replaced by Bruce Arena, and mislaid to the Ticos 2-0 successful September 2017 astatine Harrison, New Jersey.
A 2-1 decision astatine Trinidad and Tobago successful their last crippled the pursuing period near the Americans 1 constituent abbreviated of reaching the 2018 World Cup.
Both teams participate with confidence. The U.S. has won 14 consecutive location games and is ranked 10th, its highest since 2006. Canada is led Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, Lille’s Jonathan David and Beşiktaş’ Jonathan David, and the Canadians are No. 59, their highest since 2010.
A assemblage of astatine slightest 40,000 is expected astatine Nissan Stadium, 1 of 18 venues successful 17 U.S. cities competing to beryllium sites of the 2026 World Cup. Atlanta, Miami and Orlando, Florida, are the different confederate contenders.
These teams person not met successful qualifying since 1997, erstwhile the Americans won 3-0 astatine Stanford, California, and 3-0 astatine Burnaby, British Columbia, the second clinching a berth successful the 1998 World Cup with a crippled to spare.
They met again successful the 2019 successful the CONCACAF Nations League radical stage. With the U.S. missing Pulisic owed to a hep wounded and Steffen due to the fact that of near genu tendinitis, Canada ended a 34-year, 17-game winless streak against the Americans with a 2-0 triumph astatine Toronto that October connected second-half goals by Alphonso Davies and Lucas Cavallini. The pursuing month, the U.S. won 4-1 astatine Orlando, Florida, connected 2 goals by Gyasi Zardes and 1 each by Aaron Long and Jordan Morris. Steven Vitória scored for Canada.
When the sides met astatine the CONCACAF Gold Cup successful July, the U.S. won 1-0 down Shaq Moore’s extremity 20 seconds in, the fastest since U.S. records began successful 1990.
“Canada has a batch of players (who) besides play successful Europe, is possibly akin to us,” said American John Brooks, who volition participate the starting lineup aft being rested astatine El Salvador.
When the U.S. played Mexico successful the Nations League last successful June connected 2 days’ rest, Berhalter inserted close backmost DeAndre Yedlin, defender Tim Ream and midfielder Kellyn Acosta arsenic 3 changes, moving Sergiño Dest from close backmost to near wingback, and benching near backmost Antonee Robinson, and midfielders Jackson Yueill and Sebastian Lletget. Yedlin started astatine El Salvador and Dest was astatine near back, portion Brooks and Mark McKenzie were connected the bench.
“Now it’s a location game. We get to play successful beforehand of our fans.” Berhalter said. “These are the moments that we’ve been waiting for.”
The commencement of Wednesday’s crippled astatine Honduras was pushed backmost 25 minutes to 7:30 p.m. PT by the hosts.
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