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Message: [QUOTE="SubbaBub, post: 4186355, member: 523"] I may not be officially nervous about missing qualification but, it's in the room as we are the only team playing the other 3 candidates for 2.5 spots. I'd also really like to avoid the playoff. We most certainly will need a win at home at Panama, (who is all but guaranteed 4 pts vs Hon/Can and maybe 6 if Canada takes the day off) and need 1 pt on the road in places we don't historically do well at a time we have trouble scoring, most likely the last game against Costa Rica. Panama will likely have 21-23 pts, not including our match. Mexico will likely have 27, not including our match. Costa Rica will likely have 19 but could have 20-22 since they have Canada at home. We have no gimmies left. If we want to guarantee third place, we need beat Panama at home and Costa Rica on the road. If we want to guarantee at least 4th place we need to get a point off of either Mexico or Costa Rica. Three draws would also work, but that is backing in, in my view. Drawing Panama and losing to Mexico would leave us barely in on goal differential with a draw in the final match and just asking to have it stolen at the whistle of the last game. All because we drew at home to Canada and at Jamaica and El Salvador. Any Concacaf team advancing in Qatar is a longshot. The entire region is down, but if we have dreams of going on a run in 2026, we need to get these youngsters some WC experience. [/QUOTE]