Tom Szczerbowski/Getty ImagesFor the final round of World Cup qualifying, Jurgen Klinsmann and the U.S. face a daunting opening fixture list with three of the first four matches on the road.

When the draw for the final round of World Cup qualifying was held four years ago, someone asked then-U.S. manager Bob Bradley how the proceedings went.

"We play everyone twice," he quipped.

At the time, Bradley insisted he wasn't trying to be a wise guy, but was illustrating that “once [the draw] begins, you never know what's going to happen. From there it's just an ability to concentrate on each game.”

This time around, aside from the draw being held in the balmy environs of South Beach, and the fact that Jurgen Klinsmann is now in charge of the U.S., not much has changed. The six participants met last month to try to agree on a schedule, but nothing was decided. Part of the reason was that no country wanted to get stuck with the dreaded slot No. 6, which starts with two road games. The desire to avoid playing Mexico on the last day of the competition, with a potential trip to the World Cup on the line, was strong as well.

The U.S. managed to avoid both of these potential pitfalls, as it was the second country to be pulled out of the bowl and was placed in position No. 4. (Costa Rica was unfortunate enough to be first out of the gate and got stuck in slot No. 6.) But the opening fixture list remains difficult, with three of the first four matches on the road. The U.S. will start out by playing at Honduras on Feb. 6, which isn't the worst fixture to get out of the way. The Americans will play their first home game on March 22 against Costa Rica, which is followed up four days later with a trip to the Estadio Azteca to face Mexico, a daunting task despite the fact that the U.S. won there for the first time in its history last August.

A rare triple grouping of games will take place in June with the U.S. playing away at Jamaica on June 7, a home date against Panama four days later, and finally a visit from Honduras on June 18 as the reverse fixtures begin.

A double fixture date in September sees the U.S. travel to Costa Rica on the sixth, followed by the titanic home match against Mexico on Sept. 10.

The U.S. will finish off the Hexagonal a month later with a home match against Jamaica on Oct. 11, and an away game at Panama four days later.

All told, the draw could have been better, and it could have been worse. The aforementioned opening four fixtures are clearly difficult, but looked at another way, the U.S. will get two of its tougher road games out of the way early, and if the Americans can manage to snag points in those matches, they'll be in prime position to qualify. That said, the final-day match against Panama could be tricky if the U.S. finds itself in the position of needing a result in order to progress to Brazil.

In between, fans will no doubt be disappointed that the home match against Mexico will take place in the balmy month of September, as opposed to the cooler months of February or March. But the last time the Americans hosted El Tri in a September World Cup qualifier, in 2005, the U.S. prevailed 2-0 at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

The fact of the matter is that the ebb and flow of matches -- be they home or away -- all evens out in the end. And with the top three teams guaranteed a place in Brazil, and with the fourth-place side playing off against the representative from Oceania –- likely New Zealand -- it's now up to Jurgen Klinsmann's side to safely navigate its way through the next 11 months. It's a journey that will no doubt see its share of stumbles, but one that should end in qualification.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email