Sports Mole previews Friday’s World Cup Qualifying – North Central America clash between USA and El Salvador, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Thursday marks the beginning of the second to last CONCACAF qualifying window for World Cup 2022 as the USA put their unbeaten run against El Salvador on the line when they face them at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.
The Yanks are unbeaten in their last 18 matches played on American soil, currently in second place in the Octagonal phase, while La Selecta sit second from the bottom with six points after blowing a second-half advantage in their previous qualifier last November, losing 2-1 to Panama.
Match preview
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The road to Qatar has been filled with bumps and setbacks for Gregg Berhalter and the US national team, who have not always looked impressive but are in a solid position to get back to the World Cup after missing out in 2018.
In their previous qualifier in Jamaica, they had an opportunity to maintain a 100% record in that qualifying window when Tim Weah put them in front after 11 minutes, before Michail Antonio evened the match at one, as the contest finished in a 1-1 draw.
More than anything that game showed that the reigning Gold Cup champions still have some areas that need fixing, particularly at the back, as the US were caught napping on a few occasions.
They will consider themselves fortunate to escape defeat in that November fixture as Bobby Reid missed a glorious chance in…
