Lessons from Concacaf qualifying: US insecurity in the cold and Canada’s surge

Canada are all but assured of a place at Qatar 2022 but US Soccer's decision to play the weakest team in the group in freezing conditions was an odd one

The wound from the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup is still raw, elite sport is a business of marginal gains and the USMNT is often forced to play road games in heat, humidity and at altitude. But the choice of freezing St Paul for this game exuded insecurity when the US should have projected strength.