There’s not a whole lot of suspense left for the United States in this round of World Cup qualifying. As long as the Americans take care of business and win what like they’re supposed to at home, they’re through to the final round of qualifying.

This is the round that’s potentially dangerous, because there are fewer games. An upset loss at home, a failure to win on the road, and the next thing you know, you’ve got problems. A win tonight over Trinidad at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., would make it very tough for the Americans not to move on. They can’t clinch tonight; as best as I can tell, at this moment, they would need 11 points to secure a spot and a win tonight would give them nine. (By the time it’s all done, nine might be enough.) If they win tonight, the only way they don’t get through is to lose their remaining matches and have Trinidad and Guatemala win out (except, of course, for the game between the two).

Having the spot clinched through four games — they should put it away on Oct. 11 against Guatemala in Washington — would mean Bob Bradley doesn’t have to bring his European guys back for the final two matches and give some of the younger guys some experience.

It’s a fairly full day of qualifying around the world. In CONCACAF, Cuba is at Guatemala, El Salvador at Suriname (starting at 2:30 St. Louis time), Costa Rica at Haiti, Jamaica at Honduras, and Canada at Mexico. Jamaica at Honduras is a key one. Jamaica opens with three road matches and has one point from the first two. Any road point is good, but what will decide who gets second to Mexico in this group will likely be who does best in the Honduras-Jamaica head-to-head games. And Honduras has a road win already in Canada.