USMNT returns to World Cup, kickstarting new generation

The United States men's national team reached the 2022 World Cup despite a 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica in its final qualifier on Wednesday.

The result saw the two teams finish level on points in the final stage of CONCACAF qualifying, but the U.S. grabbed the last automatic berth by virtue of a superior goal difference over Costa Rica, which heads to the intercontinental playoff.

The United States simply needed to avoid losing by a six-goal margin in the Costa Rican capital to punch its ticket to Qatar.

The Americans have reached eight of the last nine editions of the prestigious tournament, with the 2018 competition the only blemish in the USMNT's modern history.

Though back-to-back draws to begin its qualification campaign and defeats to Panama and Canada ignited panic within the fan base, the U.S. can gesture to its 2-0 defeat of Mexico and Sunday's confident 5-1 dismissal of Panama as evidence of its World Cup pedigree.

"I think at this point, I wouldn't say (qualifying) is the ultimate goal, I think the ultimate goal is obviously to win a World Cup," DeAndre Yedlin said in the buildup to Wednesday's match. "But there's steps you have to take to get there, and one of the huge steps is to qualify for World Cup."

In many ways, reaching Qatar officially kickstarts a new generation for the program. Only five players who have featured during this qualification cycle were also in the 23-man squad that lost at Trinidad and Tobago in October 2017 - the result that cost the U.S. a berth in the 2018 World Cup.

Holdovers from 2-1 defeat in Trinidad:

Fresh talent has emerged. Arsenal-bound Matt Turner, Manchester City's Zack Steffen, Nottingham Forest's Ethan Horvath, and several MLS-based goalkeepers fiercely compete for the No. 1 jersey. Borussia Dortmund's Giovanni Reyna and Valencia's Yunus Musah are among 13 players aged 23 or under in the current squad. Ricardo Pepi, who cost German club Augsburg around $20 million in January, exploded onto the international scene with three goals and an assist over his first two outings with the U.S.

"I don't think it's talked about enough how young this team is and how going through (qualifying) for the first time is challenging," Berhalter said in October. "We're navigating through it, and guys are learning on the fly."

That learning curve will become much steeper when Berhalter's youthful side competes at the World Cup - the sporting competition that draws the most eyes around the globe - when the event begins in November.