When the United States Men's National Team has really had to come up with three points against an inferior team in World Cup qualifying, they've gotten the job done. They don't need all three to reach the World Cup, but a draw against Trinidad & Tobago would be enough to punch their ticket to Russia in 2018.
This World Cup Qualifying duel will go down Tuesday, October 10, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at Ato Boldon Stadium. The match will be televised live on beIN Sports.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Trinidad & Tobago +700
USA -250
Draw +280
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
In a different World Cup cycle, the Americans probably would have been bigger favorites than the -250 they're set at for this last match of the Hex. That said, this has been a tumultuous cycle for sure, one in which there have been some horribly mixed results. The 11 men on the pitch on Tuesday night will know that a point is good enough to qualify, and that could be a bit of a motivational problem.
How They Got Here
Trinidad & Tobago was the first team eliminated from the Hex this year. They only have one victory over Panama to show for their work in this qualifying campaign alongside eight losses. The Trinidadians have scored just five goals in nine games, but the biggest concern is clearly conceding 18 times.
The USA is probably going to reach the World Cup regardless of what happens here in this match. Even in the situation of a loss, Panama would have to beat Costa Rica to push the Yanks out of the top three.
No team has outscored the Stars and Stripes in CONCACAF qualifying. They've got 16 goals in their nine matches, though it should be noted that 10 of those 16 have come in home wins over Panama and Honduras.
The good news for Bruce Arena's team is that its best performance was saved for its last home match in the Hex. Playing at Orlando City Stadium, the Americans came out on fire, scoring three times in the first half to effectively stamp a ticket to the World Cup.
In the first meeting of these teams, the United States was excellent in the second half of a 2-0 victory. Christian Pulisic, the man who was the hero in the 4-0 win over Panama, was also the Man of the Match back in June. He scored in both the 52nd and 62nd minute in one of the best matches of his career.
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We have to imagine that Arena is going to be playing with a very similar side to the one that beat the snot out of the Panamanians just a couple nights earlier. Geoff Cameron wasn't in the lineup, but it didn't seem to matter.
For all of the flaws that the United States has had at the back – and there are still plenty of questions heading into Russia next year – the game against Panama was clean as could be.
The biggest thing the United States has to continue to do is play through Pulisic. Playing him in the center of the midfield is working out like a dream. He can jump into the attack and has the freedom to play out on either wing when he needs to.
Trinidad & Tobago had no answers for Pulisic in the first meeting, and we don't think it's going to have an answer in the second either. T&T looked the part of a team that was nowhere near the rest of CONCACAF on Friday night against Mexico. Though we think it will be spirited for a half as it was in Denver, the Americans will head into the World Cup with a second straight victory.
World Cup Qualifying Odds: USA 1, Trinidad & Tobago 0
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