Has the US national team been in this position before during qualifying?

The sky is falling.

At least that's what some US national team fans would have you believe.

After a loss against Guatemala in Guatemala City, USA now sit two points behind Los Chapines for the second spot in Group C in the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Only the two top finishers in Group C, who are currently Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala, will advance to the final round of qualifying.

Here's how the current standings look:

As our own Armchair Analyst pointed out on Monday, if the US lose on Tuesday night vs. Guatemala, then neither Trinidad & Tobago nor Guatemala have to win another game to eliminate the US.

So have the US national team been in this position before? Not quite.

CONCACAF moved to this form of qualification in 1994 but the US did not participate in that tournament due to their automatic qualification to the World Cup as hosts. Since 1998, USA have never been two points back of the second spot after three games. Below you can find the tables for each cycle after three games in the semifinal round.

1998

The schedule was laid out a bit differently in 1998, as Trinidad & Tobago played four games before USA played two, but with some re-jiggering we can see that the US had a healthy lead after three games and cruised to qualification. The US ended up finishing with 13 points while third-place Trinidad & Tobago ended up with 8.

2002

Bruce Arena's team had a tougher time advancing to the Hex in 2002. The US collected just one point in their first two games, a draw at Guatemala and loss at Costa Rica, before reeling off three wins and a draw in their last four games. USA's crucial win came at home to Guatemala, when Brian McBride scored the game's lone goal in the 72nd minute at RFK Stadium. The US finished top of the group on 11 points while Costa Rica and Guatemala tied in second place with 10.

2006

The US were in another dogfight four years later as just two points separated the four teams through three games. Fortunately for Arena and the rest of the team, the rest of qualification was much easier as they defeated El Salvador on the road and then trounced Panama, 6-0, at RFK Stadium. USA ended with 12 points, 5 points clear of third-placed Jamaica.

2010

The 2010 campaign was kind to Bob Bradley and USMNT. The team won their first three games, including wins at Guatemala and Cuba, before cruising to 15 points, 10 points clear of Guatemala in third place.

2014

Jurgen Klinsmann's first qualifying run with the US wasn't all too dissimilar to this one. The team drew at Guatemala before losing at Jamaica in the third game. The major difference is that instead of being two points behind second place, they were tied for it with Guatemala. From there they won the rest of their games, including nail-biters vs. Jamaica and Guatemala. They finished top of the group with 13 points while Jamaica and Guatemala tied for second place with 10.