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The USMNT will kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign against El Salvador as they look to avoid a repeat of 2018 when they missed out on the WC tournament altogether. Kickoff is at 10:05p.m. ET and will be broadcast in both English (CBS Sports Network) and Spanish (Universo) on television. If you don’t have access to those channels, all the CONCACAF qualifying matches will be streamed live on Paramount+.
USA vs. El Salvador
Date: Thursday, September 2
Time: 10:05 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS Sports Network, Universo
Livestream: Paramount+
In hopes of avoiding another humiliating World Cup miss, the USMNT will need to start this qualifying campaign off on the right foot with a win over El Salvador. Head coach Gregg Berhalter has led his team to a CONCACAF Nations League title and a CONCACAF Gold Cup title, both in 2021, and will be ready for his first WC qualifying cycle. His squad consists of all the names you’d expect — Christian Pulisic, Zack Steffen, Josh Sargent, Sergino Dest, Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams, Timothy Weah, John Brooks, and Weston McKennie who are all playing in top flight leagues overseas which only bodes well for the US roster. Nine players were called up from MLS including Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman, New England’s standout goalkeeper Matt Turner, FC Dallas youngster Ricardo Pepi, and several others.
It’s been almost 40 years since El Salvador last qualified for a World Cup bid, coming back in 1982 when they exited in the group stage, losing all three games and scoring only one goal while allowing 13. Their only other appearance in 1970 ended in a similar fashion, with no wins and no goals scored. However, El Salvador cruised to a first-place finish in Group A in the first round of qualifying, losing just one game and winning their other three. In the second round, they sailed past Saint Kitts and Nevis with a 6-0 aggregate scoreline over two legs, which brought them into the final round ready to make their mark.