Christian Pulisic 1st hat trick leads US to win, World Cup brink

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American players unfurled a red-and-blue banner with "QUALIFIED" in bold, white letters, when Christian Pulisic realized what was going on.

"The guys didn’t know at all what it said. It was just hand handed to them," the U.S. star said. "Once we realized — there's no need to show that off because we still have a job to do."

Pulisic's first international hat trick led the U.S. over Panama 5-1 on Sunday night and moved the Americans to the brink of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

Only a loss of six or more goals in Wednesday night’s finale at Costa Rica would cause the Americans not to get one of three automatic berths from North and Central America and the Caribbean. They can finish no worse than fourth, which earns a June playoff, likely against New Zealand.

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United States' Christian Pulisic reacts during the first half of a FIFA World Cup qualifying soccer match against Panama, Sunday, March 27, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

"We honestly approach it like any other game," Pulisic said. "We’re going to prepare exactly the same as we would if we needed a win."

Pulisic converted two penalty kicks during a four-goal burst in the first half that also saw Paul Arriola and Jesús Ferreira score, then boosted the lead to 5-0 on a memorable goal with two brilliant touches that evaded a pair of defenders.

Canada (28 points) secured its first berth since 1986 with a 4-0 win over Jamaica. The U.S. (25) is second ahead of Mexico on goal difference and Costa Rica (22) is fourth.

While the U.S. has never won at Costa Rica, goal difference is the first tiebreaker,