Daily Times

LOS ANGELES: Canada moved to the brink of their first World Cup finals appearance in 36 years on Wednesday with a 2-0 win over El Salvador as the United States reignited their qualification campaign with victory against Honduras. Second-half goals from Atiba Hutchinson and Jonathan David gave Canada a deserved victory in San Salvador and left them leading the CONCACAF qualifying standings with 25 points from 11 games. Although their qualification for Qatar is not mathematically certain, it would require a freak sequence of results for Canada to fail to qualify for their first World Cup since the 1986 finals in Mexico.

The Canadians lead the standings by four points with three games remaining, all to be played next month. A win over Costa Rica in their next game on March 24 would seal Canada’s place in Qatar. Elsewhere on Wednesday, the USA cruised to a 3-0 win over Honduras in a game played in sub-zero temperatures in St. Paul Minnesota. Two Honduras players were substituted at half-time due to the extreme weather conditions at the Allianz Field.

Players from both teams took to the field with multiple layers of clothing, with some opting for balaclavas in addition to gloves and thermal jerseys. Jamaican referee Oshane Nation also wore a balaclava and gloves throughout. USA coach Gregg Berhalter defended the decision to play in St.Paul, where temperatures for the evening kick off plunged to around 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius). Berhalter’s side, beaten 2-0 by Canada on Sunday, bounced back to win with goals from Weston McKennie, Walker Zimmerman and Christian Pulisic.

The victory leaves the USA with 21 points from 11 games, four adrift of Canada. With three games remaining, the US look well-positioned to grab one of the three automatic World Cup qualifying berths available for teams from Central America, North America and the Caribbean. Mexico are in third, level with the USA on 21 points, after battling to a scrappy 1-0 win over Panama in Mexico City on Wednesday. Mexico’s winner in an unconvincing performance at the Azteca Stadium came via Wolves striker Raul Jimenez from the penalty spot. The team finishing in fourth place faces a play-off against the winner of the Oceania qualifying tournament. Elsewhere Wednesday, Costa Rica kept their qualifying hopes alive with a 1-0 away win over Jamaica in Kingston. The victory leaves Costa Rica in fifth with 16 points, just behind Panama (17 points) following their defeat to Mexico.