Closer to home, the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica can also advance their cause by winning when global qualifying continues with 34 matches worldwide.

Qualifying is always a lesson in geography as much as anything, and today’s games are no exception. Here are just two permutations to consider:

If Australia defeats Uzbekistan in Sydney and Bahrain and Qatar tie in Manama, Bahrain, then the Socceroos are in -- not that the Australian players are looking ahead.

"I don’t think they think they’re there [at the World Cup] already," Pim Verbeek, Australia’s coach, said Tuesday.

"All I know is that they want to qualify as soon as possible and tomorrow is a big step towards that."

Similarly, if the Netherlands overcomes Macedonia in Amsterdam and Scotland and Iceland tie in Glasgow, the Dutch will have all but mathematically clinched a place in next year’s world championship.

Several other countries also are closing in on a place in the tournament field of 32, including world champion Italy (playing host today to Ireland in Bari), European champion Spain (playing today at Turkey in Istanbul), Japan and Paraguay.

Intriguingly, also still very much in the mix are North Korea and South Korea, which play each other today in Seoul.

Paraguay, which leads the 10-nation South American group ahead of Argentina, Chile and Brazil, can virtually book its ticket to South Africa if it can defeat Ecuador on the road and at altitude in Quito.

The United States, meanwhile, is coming off a mediocre performance in Central America, where the team appeared flat for much of the game and only salvaged a 2-2 tie against El Salvador by scoring twice in the final 15 minutes Saturday on goals by Jozy Altidore and Frankie Hejduk.

Coach Bob Bradley’s squad plays Trinidad and Tobago today, with the Soca Warriors, who have tied their first two games in the 10-game final round, hoping to cause an upset.

Trinidad and Tobago’s coach, Francisco "Pacho" Maturana, said Tuesday he was looking forward to the match and felt no pressure.

"We are playing the No. 1 contender in the [six-team final qualifying] group, so anything successful tomorrow will have a very significant value for us," Maturana said.

The U.S. holds a 14-2-3 advantage in the series, however, and has outscored the Soca Warriors, 29-10, so any result other than an American victory would be an upset, especially since the U.S. has not lost a qualifying game at home to a Caribbean opponent since 1969.

Still, Bradley is expected to make several changes in his starting lineup, bringing back goalkeeper Tim Howard, who was suspended for the El Salvador game, and defender Oguchi Onyewu, who was injured. He also called Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein into camp on Monday.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica can get its campaign back on track Wednesday by defeating El Salvador in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Ticos were shut out, 2-0, by Mexico in Mexico City on Saturday, ending Coach Rodrigo Kenton’s 12-game unbeaten streak.

Mexico has a more difficult task, having to travel to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to play a Honduran team that defeated "El Tri" in the previous round.

Honduras so far has lost at Costa Rica and been tied in Trinidad and Tobago and will be pressing hard for a victory.