The long road that CONCACAF teams must follow to earn a ticket to the World Cup is about to end. Qatar 2022 is just a few days away from knowing which National Teams of this confederation will play on their fields from November 21 to December 18. What does Mexico need to qualify for FIFA's main tournament?
The last date of the CONCACAF Qualifiers are very close to being played. Tata Martino's team had a relatively easy schedule to secure their passage to Qatar 2022. After tying 0-0 at the Azteca Stadium with the USMNT, El Tri will visited Honduras, and managed to get a 1-0 win against the worst team in this qualification process. Now, they close again at home against a battered El Salvador.
After 12 games, Mexico sits in third place of the standings with 25 points, the same amount as the USMNT, which is second thanks to its better goal average. Canada leads the Qualifiers with 28 points. FIFA grants three direct tickets to Qatar 2022 to CONCACAF and one other half for the fourth-ranked, which must play an Intercontinental Playoff against a team from Oceania to decide who gets one of the last tickets to the upcoming World Cup.
Mexico will qualify for Qatar 2022 if...
In a best-case scenario, El Tri could qualify for the upcoming FIFA World Cup .The best way to achieve this would be to win their match against El Salvador, however they can also draw and still qualify. However, after Costa Rica's win on Sunday, they also have a chance in case Mexico lose or draw.
If this happens, the only risk for Martino's boys is that Costa Rica wins its two remaining matches, against El Salvador and the United States, by an outrageous goal difference that would drop them to fourth place and thus see them out of the direct ticket to Qatar 2022.
With its 5-1 win today against Panama, the USMNT already secured at least a play-off spot for Qatar 2022. Meanwhile, Canada also qualified directly after defeating Jamaica 4-0. So, to Mexico the best scenario would be another win.
