After Tuesday night’s point in Honduras, surely everyone involved in US soccer Twitter is totally rational and resting easy, right? Ha, just kidding!

The draw at San Pedro Sula stemmed a potential catastrophe, and still puts the US in the running to qualify for the World Cup. You can review all the sort of convoluted scenarios here. Meanwhile, I have to agree with my colleague Matt Doyle over here. Despite some often convincing-sounding argument otherwise, there is no real good that comes out of the US not qualifying, except for providing Twitter strum und drang for years.

Anyways, here’s one gallows-humor situation in which the US has now found itself, sitting fourth in the CONCACAF table. The team may now have to rely on Mexico to do them a huge favor – to beat Honduras on the road in order for the US to go through.

CONCACAF Hex through 8 games:



1. Mexico* 18 pts

2. Costa Rica 15 (+7 GD)

3. Panama 10 (+2)

4. USA 9 (+1)

5. Honduras 9 (-7)

6. T&T 3 (-11) — Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) September 6, 2017

Here’s how that would work out, in a nutshell, though Sports Illustrated lays it out fully in detail here. Basically, if the US can’t fully take care of business at home vs. Panama on Oct. 6, and can’t win at Trinidad & Tobago on Oct. 10, it comes down to Mexico’s match vs. Honduras on that same, final matchday. If they win, the US at least go through to the fourth-place playoff vs. either Australia or Syria in the intercontinental playoff.

But – maybe – El Tri kind of sort of owe the USMNT in this one respect. San Zusi, anyone? Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane to the last CONCACAF World Cup qualifying cycle.

As it came down to the wire on Oct. 16, 2013, the US, Costa Rica, and Honduras had already locked in berths at the end of their final matchday. Mexico, meanwhile, found itself scrapping for the fourth-place playoff berth as they prepped to face Costa Rica, with the US set to take on Panama – also contending for fourth – the same day.

You remember what happened next. Mexico fell 2-1 to Costa Rica, and it looked like Panama would top the US 2-1… Until, this, in stoppage time – Aron Johannsson’s goal won the game 3-2, but Graham Zusi’s equalizer sent El Tri to the World Cup.

Thus, the legend of San Zusi was born. In a few minutes of stoppage time, Panama’s hopes died and Mexico found themselves … thanking the US:

Headlines in Mexico this morning say it all. Yep, #YoureWelcomeMexico. pic.twitter.com/6vdju6HNSo — Kurt Austin (@kaustin01) October 16, 2013

Picture being presented to @gzusi today by Mexico fans pic.twitter.com/RKwernqEj9 — Thad (@TheBackpost) October 17, 2013

To go along with the Zusi picture pic.twitter.com/xBwYXHaSHH — Thad (@TheBackpost) October 17, 2013

Zusi’s gift to El Tri even still garnered him applause at the Azteca this year:

Un acto milagroso



El Estadio Azteca se tiene que poner de pie y ovacionar a San Grraham Zusi pic.twitter.com/Zf0Wq90u2o — Salvador Borboa (@Insider_del_fut) June 12, 2017

But back to this year, of course. For USMNT fans, here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that this time around, and that the US can beat both Panama and Trinidad.

If not, Mexico could – hopefully, if you’re rooting for the US — return a four-year-in-the-making favor by hopefully handily beating Honduras.

In that case, who would be their equivalent of San Zusi? While perverse poetic justice would have maybe made it late-goal genius Rafa Marquez, but he’s out, of course. And through the Hex, no clear top goal-scorer has really emerged for Mexico (only Chucky Lozano has multiple goals in the Hex). So in this ultimate scenario, who’ve you got?