Christian Pulisic treble as USA rout Panama to all-but seal FIFA World Cup berth
Christian Pulisic scored a hat trick as the United States thrashed Panama 5-1 on Sunday to all-but guarantee their qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Pulisic scored a pair of first-half penalties -- both given against Panama captain Anibal Godoy -- before completing his treble with a virtuoso goal in the second half to leave the US with one foot in this year's finals in Qatar. Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola scored the other goals for the US in a victory at Orlando's Exploria Stadium that ended Panama's hopes of qualifying from the CONCACAF region. The win means the United States need only avoid a catastrophically heavy defeat in their final game against Costa Rica on Wednesday to qualify automatically. The United States have 25 points from 13 matches, while Costa Rica are three points behind following their win over El Salvador earlier Sunday.