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U.S. Men’s Soccer Team Clinches World Cup Berth

Five years after a calamitous night cost them a World Cup berth, the United States took the field in Costa Rica and, by merely avoiding a calamitous defeat, earned a place in Qatar.

United States players posed (briefly) with a banner congratulating them for qualifying for the World Cup on Sunday in Orlando, Fla. At the time, they had not, but now it’s official.Credit...Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica — It was not quite spring break, but the United States men’s soccer team traveled to Costa Rica this week carrying all the stress and psychological burden of second-semester college seniors.