The Big Game between Mexico and the United States may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean attention should shift away from CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. What happens in tonights' Hexagonal fixtures between Panama/Honduras and Costa Rica/Trinidad & Tobago will put the final standings into greater focus with only four matches remaining.
The U.S. are currently in third place, tied with Costa Rica on eight points. Considering the top three automatically qualify for Russia, that’s exactly where they want to be. Costa Rica and Panama (who currently sit two points behind the Ticos and the Americans) will be heavy favorites tonight as they play the bottom two sides in the region.
A win from both would drop the U.S. into fourth, a finishing position that would see them contest a two legged playoff with the fifth-best team from Asia for a spot at the 2018 World Cup. As of now, that would either be Uzbekistan or Australia. After this rollercoaster of a qualifying process, the team and fans will certainly be looking to avoid the extra anxiety of a playoff series.
Fear not. The U.S. has crucial games ahead, but they have put them themselves in a great position. In order to qualify outright, it looks like the U.S. will only need about six to eight points from their final four matches. With two of those four games coming at home, the Americans odds-on favorites to grab those points.
However, the battle between third and fourth is going to hard fought. You know Panama, who has never qualified for a World Cup, is going to fight to the death in these last few matches, and Costa Rica, who made an impressive run to the quarterfinals in 2014 before losing to the Dutch in penalties, will be looking to get back to soccer’s biggest stage without having to navigate the playoff.
As for Mexico, El Tri is sitting pretty at the top of table with 14 points. The leaders have been on fire during qualifying, and fans have close to zero reason to be nervous about the team’s shot at the 2018 dream. The Hex drama is just getting started, folks.
Watch Panama vs. Honduras at 9:35pm EST and Costa Rica vs. Trinidad and Tobago at 10pm EST as the road to Russia continues in CONCACAF.
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