U.S. men's soccer closes in on World Cup spot

The USMNT beat Panama, 5-1, on Sunday in Orlando behind a hat trick from Christian Pulisic, all but guaranteeing a spot in the 2022 World Cup.

State of play: The U.S. would need to suffer a six-goal defeat at Costa Rica on Wednesday to be denied automatic qualification and sent to a playoff with the winners of Oceania.

• The team mistakenly unfurled a banner after the match that said "QUALIFIED" in bold letters.
• The World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Nov. 21, 2022, which will mark 3,065 days since the USMNT's last World Cup game (2-1 loss to Belgium on July 1, 2014).

Elsewhere: Canada beat Jamaica, 4-0, to qualify for its first World Cup since 1986 — just months after the women's team won Olympic gold. Mexico beat Honduras, 1-0, to effectively clinch its eighth straight berth.

CONCACAF standings: The top three teams automatically qualify, and the fourth is sent to a playoff. The first tiebreaker is goal differential (GD).

1. 🇨🇦 Canada: 28 pts (+17 GD)
2. 🇺🇸 USA: 25 pts (+13)
3. 🇲🇽 Mexico: 25 pts (+7)
4. 🇨🇷 Costa Rica: 22 pts (+3)
5. 🇵🇦 Panama: 18 pts (-3)
6. 🇸🇻 El Salvador: 10 pts (-8)
7. 🇯🇲 Jamaica: 8 pts (-11)
8. 🇭🇳 Honduras: 4 pts (-18)