Bruce Arena (pictured) is back for a second stint as the USA's head coach, replacing Jurgen Klinsmann after the Americans opened the CONCACAF Hexagonal with two straight losses. (Photo: Enrique Montoya/Straffon Images)
MIAMI – The final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup resumes Friday with three games.
While some teams are looking to separate themselves from the rest at the top of the table, others are hoping to secure their first points of the competition.
CONCACAF.com takes a look at one storyline for each of the six teams:
COSTA RICA
On June 16, 2001, Costa Rica became the first away team to win a World Cup qualifier against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, posting a 2-1 win on goals by Rolando Fonseca and Hernan Medford. Can history be repeated?
HONDURAS
Honduras has lost its last seven competitive matches at the United States. Can the Catrachos finally post a victory on American soil and take a six-point lead over a side that has qualified for the last seven World Cups?
MEXICO
Forward Javier Hernandez is one goal short of equaling Jared Borgetti’s record for the most goals in Mexico history. The Bayer Leverkusen star has netted only once in 2018 World Cup Qualifying. Will he put his name in the Tricolor record books against Costa Rica?
PANAMA
Panama opened the Hexagonal by shutting out Honduras and Mexico. Can it earn a third straight clean sheet at Trinidad & Tobago, a team that has scored only once in its last 298 minutes of WCQ play?
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Former Trinidad & Tobago star Dennis Lawrence is in charge of his nation for the first time in a competitive match. The 43-year-old played in each of T&T’s three matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Against visiting Panama, can he inspire the Soca Warriors to their first win of the Hexagonal?
USA
The USA kicked off a CONCACAF Hexagonal with two consecutive losses for the first time. With Bruce Arena back as head coach and forward Clint Dempsey recovered from a heart condition, can the Americans return to winning ways?
