US Soccer: Narrow Margins

Rare is the man who would have picked the US to still have a chance to be eliminated from World Cup qualifying on this final match day of this semifinal group stage, but alas, regardless of a nation's expectations of its national team, that is indeed the reality that faces the US in advance of tonight's match versus Guatemala.

The safe money would certainly be on the US to win (or at least not lose) on their way to securing passage on to the final, hexagonal stage of the marathon that is CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, but that safe money shouldn't have to be risked tonight; that bet is one that should have been paid off a couple of matches ago, but, sadly, Jürgen Klinsmann's naivety at times has left the US with a margin that is far too narrow for comfort at this stage.