or the first time since 1986, the U.S. men’s national team will miss out on a chance to play in the World Cup.
Trinidad and Tobago dealt the Americans’ previously strong qualification chances a fatal blow with a 2-1 victory Oct. 10 in Couva, Trinidad.
The defeat — combined with Honduras’ victory over Mexico and Panama’s win over Costa Rica — dropped the Americans from third in the Hexagonal to fifth in the final table.
Instead of securing a berth directly (third place) or sliding into a playoff against Australia (fourth place) with a positive result in Trinidad, the Americans snapped a streak of seven consecutive World Cup appearances and threw away their expected trip to Russia next summer.
