USA qualifies for World Cup

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — The United States is returning to the World Cup after the trauma of missing soccer’s international showcase in 2018, clinching a berth for this year’s championship in Qatar on Wednesday despite a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica on the final night of qualifying. Juan Pablo Vargas got behind Walker Zimmerman and headed Brandon Aguilera’s corner kick past goalkeeper Zack Steffen in the 51st minute, and Anthony Contreras knocked in a cross off a scramble in the 59th after Steffen couldn’t hold onto a free kick. A sellout crowd of about 35,000 in National Stadium came to life, but the Americans’ 5-1 rout of Panama at home over the weekend gave them a huge goal-difference margin over Costa Rica. That meant the U.S. men’s national team merely had to avoid losing by six goals or more in order to claim an automatic berth by finishing among the top three nations in North and Central America and Caribbean. American players on the bench walked onto the field at the final whistle and exchanged handshakes and hugs with their teammates who ended the game, while home fans cheered the Ticos. Canada, which had clinched its first World Cup trip since 1986 with a win Sunday, finished first with 28 points after a 1-0 loss at Panama, ahead of Mexico on goal difference. Mexico moved ahead of the United States and clinched its eighth straight World Cup, while the Americans were third with 25 points and a plus-11 goal difference. Costa Rica was fourth with 25 points and plus-five, and the Ticos will meet Oceania champion New Zealand in a one-game playoff in June for a berth in the 32-nation field.

GOLF

› Michael Jenkins, who is well known throughout the Chattanooga area’s golfing community, has been named president of the Tennessee Golf Association. A 2011 Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame inductee and former Notre Dame High School golf coach, Jenkins has helped initiate numerous amateur tournaments in the area, including the Tournament of Players Championship, which was established in 1992. He has helped oversee other local tournaments, including the Metro and Brainerd Invitational. He also served as president of The First Tee of Chattanooga for several years.

BASKETBALL

› Shaheen Holloway is leaving Saint Peter’s to head up the men’s basketball program at Seton Hall, his alma mater, just days after helping the little Jesuit school from Jersey City, New Jersey, make history by becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Seton Hall athletic director Bryan Felt announced the hiring of the 45-year-old coach early Wednesday evening. It really wasn’t a surprise. Holloway played for the Pirates of the Big East Conference, and his move to replace Kevin Willard has been a hot topic since the opening weekend of the NCAA tourney. After the Pirates were beaten by TCU on March 18 in the first round, Willard recommended Holloway be his eventual successor; Willard left last week to become head coach at Maryland. Holloway — whose hard-nosed, defensive-minded Peacocks knocked off No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State and No. 3 seed Purdue before falling to No. 8 seed North Carolina with a Final Four spot on the line — will get a substantial raise. Willard earned $2.4 million last season, about tenfold what Holloway got at Saint Peter’s, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference school.

FOOTBALL

› TAMPA, Fla. — Bruce Arians has retired as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will into a front-office role with the team, a stunning move announced Wednesday night. Arians, who will turn 70 this season, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl title in the 2020 season, Tom Brady’s first as Tampa Bay’s quarterback. The Bucs were 31-18 in Arians’ three seasons, and he was 80-48-1 in eight years as an NFL head coach overall, having spent five seasons leading the Arizona Cardinals. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will replace Arians as coach and becomes the sixth minority head coach currently in the NFL. It is the second major retirement announcement for the Bucs this offseason. Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion who spent most of his career with the New England Patriots, announced his retirement in February but returned 40 days later, saying he would play a 23rd NFL season and noting he had “unfinished business.”