USMNT vs. El Salvador: World Cup Qualifying Odds, Time, Live Stream, TV Schedule

The United States men's national team begins its World Cup qualification process on Thursday in El Salvador. 

Thursday's match kicks off a six-month, 14-match process in which the top three CONCACAF teams will automatically qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The fourth-place team goes into an inter-continental playoff.

The goal for Gregg Berhalter's side is to finish inside the top three and avoid the disaster of the last qualification cycle. 

The USMNT has a ton of European-based players at its disposal, but two will be missing for the opening match of the "Octagonal" against El Salvador. 

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen and midfielder Christian Pulisic did not travel to Central America. Steffen is dealing with back spasms, while Pulisic is day-to-day after he tested positive for COVID-19 while with Chelsea. 

USMNT vs. El Salvador Info

Date: Thursday, September 2

Start Time: 10:05 p.m. ET 

TV: CBS Sports Network

Live Stream: Paramount Plus

Odds (per DraftKings Sportsbook): USMNT (-230; bet $230 to win $100); El Salvador (+550; bet $100 to win $550); Draw (+340)

Preview

Losing Steffen and Pulisic for the first match of World Cup qualifying is a blow to the USMNT, but it should be able to handle their absences.

Matt Turner was confirmed as Steffen's replacement in goal. He has had a fantastic summer with the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer and at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the national side. 

Turner beat out Ethan Horvath, who was the hero in penalty kicks in the CONCACAF Nations League final, for the starting gig on Thursday. 

Pulisic's absence was more expected since he tested positive prior to Chelsea's last English Premier League match before the international break. 

Berhalter has a handful of options to plug into the midfield, but he may opt for a more conservative approach since the USMNT is on the road. 

The MLS-based duo of Cristian Roldan and Sebastian Lletget could be called upon in midfield to provide two-way ability to the USMNT setup. 

If the Americans want to be more aggressive, Brenden Aaronson, who scored a few goals in UEFA Champions League qualifying for RB Salzburg, could be called upon to set up chances behind the starting forward. 

The USMNT does not have to win on Thursday. The ideal strategy in WCQ is to win every home game and pick up a handful of points on the road. 

The target number for points to qualify for the World Cup will be altered from the last cycle since the number of teams in the final qualifying stage moved from six to eight. 

El Salvador was one of three teams that needed to go through the first two rounds of qualifying to reach the final stage. 

Thursday's host went 3-0-1 in a group with Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and the U.S. Virgin Islands to reach a playoff against Saint Kitts and Nevis, which it won 6-0. 

The majority of El Salvador's players ply their trade in the domestic league. Alex Roldan of the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC's Eriq Zavaleta are the two MLS players in the squad. 

Roldan could line up against his brother, Cristian. Alex Roldan chose to play for El Salvador in June. Cristian Roldan has been a part of the USMNT setup for a few years. 

Thursday's match is the first of three games in the next week that kick off qualifying for the USMNT. The Americans return to home soil to play Canada in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday, and they visit Honduras on Wednesday. 

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