The USA is in South Africa.
No real surprise, of course, even if the uneven nature of the American performance is a real cause for concern.
You can say exactly the same thing about Mexico, whose rebound from a poor start may be as much of a mirage as the perceived worries about U.S. prospects next summer.
Truth is that qualifying is long, long slog, especially for the favorites. There's no point in being the best team in 2009 when the actual prime time is 2010.
Remember back when it all started and Brazil limped out of the gate. There were calls for Dunga's job. This morning, I'd bet most folks rank Brazil as the 2010 favorite with -- surprise! -- England, Germany, Italy and either Ivory Coast or Ghana considered the best bets for next summer. The Africans deserve the high respect both because of their quality and the home advantage they will possess.
In fact, if you look across the entire spectrum of FIFA World Cup qualifying it's hard to find many real shockers. Perhaps the arrival of North Korea, back in the finals for the first time since that remarkable 1966 team which stunned everybody with its performance, is the best story of the past two years, but for the most part the old boys are where they were expected to be.
The result in Honduras means that the United States has nothing at stake Wednesday night but that doesn't make it a dead game. Costa Rica and Honduras are still fighting for third place and automatic qualification. That means the Ticos must get something out of Washington, D.C. to be sure that they avoid two more games against a South American team, perhaps Argentina.
You cannot expect the U.S. to take any risks with injured or tired players at RFK Stadium, but I'd also be very surprised if the Americans don't come out with a solid effort. Not everything is admirable about America's romance with sports, but one thing we can take pride in is always competing seriously and playing to win.
Honduran fans can have some hopes as long as their bunch takes care of biz in El Salvador.

None of them may be your idea of a potential playoff juggernaut, but with two games left in the regular season there are four MLS wannabees with everything to play for.
Houston, Chivas, Los Angeles and defending champ Columbus are already safely in the post-season while it would appear that Chicago, Seattle and Colorado will join them.
That leaves one spot which could go to FC Dallas, DC United, New England, or Toronto. TFC may have tossed its post-season away when allowing a last-minute equalizer Saturday but there has been nothing especially predictable about the four teams over the past month.
New England is best-placed simply because they are two points ahead of the other three. They finish against Chicago (home) and Columbus (away). That's a tough assignment, especially since the Fire has not actually clinched its spot.
DC United has reeled down the stretch: they host the Crew Saturday, then go to Kansas City,
FC Dallas is home to Colorado, another team that has not actually clinched, then plays at Seattle.
Toronto is home against RSL and away to the Red Bulls, two teams going nowhere. They need wins and help after this weekend’s miserable draw.

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