After almost a year jostling for position in their group, the US national team will wrap up the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers in the next week.
And while the USMNT are certainly in good position to advance to the fifth round, better known as the “Hexagonal,” it's not a given at this point.
With two games left and two teams advancing out of each group, the US currently sit in second place in Group C with seven points — three points behind first-place Trinidad & Tobago and just one point in front of third-place Guatemala.
The good news for the Americans is that they face already-eliminated Saint Vincent and Grenadines on Friday (3:30 pm ET, beIN Sports) — a team with zero points and one that the US walloped, 6-1, to open Group C play in November.
If the US win that game, as expected (although road games in CONCACAF are always tricky), they can ensure passage to the next round if Guatemala lose to Trinidad & Tobago the same day.
If not, the US could be looking at a do-or-die final group-stage game against Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday in Jacksonville (8 pm ET, FS1, UniMás), with the chance to win the group also possibly at stake.
Either way, it probably goes without saying the final week of fourth-round qualifying might be a little too close for comfort for the United States, who have yet to win a Group C road game, tying Trinidad & Tobago last November and losing to Guatemala in March.
Arch-rival Mexico, meanwhile, have already booked a spot in the Hex as Group A winners, having won all four games they’ve played to this point. Honduras and Canada, each with four points in Group A, will look to battle for second place in the group, squaring off in a crucial game Friday (5 pm ET, TSN).
And in Group B, Costa Rica sit comfortably in first place with 10 points, ahead of second-place Panama (seven points) and third-place Jamaica (four points) heading into their final two games.
Once the two teams from each group advance, Hexagonal play will begin in November, with the top three teams advancing to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the fourth-place team moving on to an inter-confederation playoff.
If the US win Group C, they will open the Hex against — you guessed it — Mexico.
