Winning the games at home will be the key to qualifying for the World Cup. However, the Americans come into this Sunday’s matchup, hosting Canada, uncertain whether their star attacker Christian Pulisic will be available and whether starting goalkeeper Zack Steffen will remain out.
Pulisic is recovering his physical condition after testing positive for COVID-19 and he missed the first game of the final octagonal of the World Cup qualifying round, postponed by the pandemic, which the United States drew 0-0 on its visit to El Salvador.
“We have been trying to get him in shape. We’re looking at what he can tolerate, what kind of workload he can handle and I think that’s the first step, ”explained USA coach Gregg Berhalter on Saturday.
Pulisic, the 22-year-old attacker who the previous season became the first American to contest and win the Champions League final, missed Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Arsenal on August 22 and the 1-1 draw. 1 with Liverpool on the 28th. He returned to training with the United States on Monday and stayed in Tennessee when the team traveled to Central America.
He was re-evaluated on Saturday to determine if he will be able to be in the squad on game day.
“It’s really about seeing how he can get back safely,” Berhalter said. “We’ve had conversations with him and asked him about his tolerance for workloads and all that. We’ll see if it’s ready. “
Steffen missed the game against El Salvador due to back spasms and was replaced by Matt Turner, 27, a New England goalkeeper. Berhalter indicated that Steffen, the Manchester City substitute, remains out.
Canada started the octagonal with a 1-1 draw against Honduras in Toronto, Mexico beat Jamaica 2-1 and Panama drew 0-0 at home with Costa Rica. The top three CONCACAF nations will advance to next year’s World Cup and fourth place will play a playoff to find another place.
Both North American teams arrive confident at the match. The United States have won 14 consecutive home games and ranked 10th in the world, their best ranking since 2006. Canada is led by Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, Lille’s Jonathan David and Beşiktaş’s Cyle Larin. Canadians are 59th in the world, their best position since 2010.
“We will have to rotate players,” said Canada coach John Herdman. “It will be difficult to maintain the high level in the three games in seven days, but at the same time there are players who have the ability to play consecutive games.”
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