By Jose M. Romero

And then there were six.

Six teams to play for three automatic berths in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The biggest sports event on earth in one of the most soccer-wild nations on the planet.

So what if it’s a year and a half away? There is a ton of matches left to play before the final three are set. And a fourth team can play its way in with a two-leg, aggregate goals win over the Oceania region champion in November 2013.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJoseM

That sound you didn’t hear Tuesday night was Mexico efficiently taking care of business, making a goal from Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez stand up in its 1-0 win over Costa Rica in Mexico City.

The win gave Mexico a two-game sweep over the Ticos and put El Tri into the final round of qualifying for the 2014 Brazil World Cup.  Mexico has two matches left to play in the current qualifying round – at Guyana and at home for El Salvador – but those games won’t change Mexico’s place in the Group B standings.

Mexico will win the group when play ends in mid-October with at least 12 points from four wins in four matches, even if it loses its last two matches. Impressive, but expected. Now Mexico will be one of six teams from CONCACAF to play for three automatic berths in Brazil.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJose M

Those last three months went by fast.

When last we saw the U.S. and Mexican national soccer teams in World Cup 2014 qualifying, the Americans had picked up four points with a win over Antigua and Barbuda and a draw in Guatemala.

Mexico won twice for six points, beating Guyana at home and El Salvador away. That was in June.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJoseM

For FOX Deportes

Let’s start with this – the U.S. soccer 1-0 victory over Mexico Wednesday was historic, grand, confidence-building, momentous and just about any other adjective you can come up to describe it. To break a 24-game winless streak in Mexico that spanned 75 years is important. It will pay dividends down the road, namely that the Americans will no longer be as intimidated by Estadio Azteca and the mystique of never winning there.

Let’s also give credit – and huge thumbs down – to those idiotic Mexican fans who attempted to distract the American players (notably goalkeeper Tim Howard) with laser beams. Howard got the last laugh by saving the day numerous times for his team.

Give credit to the U.S. team for accepting that a Mexican home field advantage in Mexico means pretty much anything goes in the stands and dealing with the adversity, not whining about it.

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By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

There are a few moments that felt as big as what I witnessed Wednesday in the United States epic 1-0 victory over Mexico in Estadio Azteca.

2009 Confederations Cup: Bob Bradley took his side over to South Africa and found a way to almost become legend killers. First by taking down a Spain side that would eventually go on to win the World Cup the next year, then getting oh-so-close to winning the Confed Cup in a tough 3-2 defeat to Brazil. It felt like the US had arrived on the global stage, even in defeat.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJoseM

For FOX Deportes

Fact: Mexico is without question the dominant team in the North American soccer region.

Fact: Wednesday night in Mexico City, high above sea level at Estadio Azteca, it will be a night to celebrate Mexico’s Olympic medalists, and party like it was 19… uh, last Saturday, when Mexico won the men’s soccer gold medal.

Fact: El Tri’s opponent is the United States, and this rivalry is pretty one-sided the last three years or so. An American win would be a big surprise.

Fact: This “friendly” means nothing. No World Cup qualifying points at stake, no cup or title on the line and even a draw or loss for Mexico wouldn’t change who holds sway in our part of the world.

But it is USA-Mexico. It’s still a game both sides want badly to win, and its still a hot-button topic that transcends sport.  A win for Mexico further solidifies it as CONCACAF’s best. A win for the U.S., well, would be a confidence builder.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJoseM

For FOX Deportes

I celebrated Mexico’s historic 2-1 Olympic gold-medal victory like countless (OK, maybe hundreds) of Americans of Mexican descent did: over some cold pizza.

What’s more American than that?

I skipped the menudo con tortillas parties at the crack of dawn at local restaurants and stayed home to watch Mexico v. Brazil. I watched the second half by myself. And on Saturday, like every day, it was a good day to have Mexican blood.

Mexico’s win, you see, wasn’t just for Mexico. It was for Mexicans and those of Mexican descent everywhere. It made those of us in the multi-generational Chicano category proud, too. For those young men on that medal stand in London, bouquets of flowers in their hands and gold around their necks, it was the moment of a lifetime. And whether you’re Mexican from Guadalajara or Portland, Ore., it was a beautiful moment, too.

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By Jose M. Romero/@RomeroJoseM

For Fox Deportes

If you like El Tri, you have to appreciate the fact that Mexico plays a lot of men’s soccer friendlies right here in the U.S.A.

So it goes for the next week as the Tricolores opened a three-match trip Sunday in New Jersey against Wales. Mexico goes to Chicago’s Soldier Field next for a match with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday night, then finishes up its World Cup qualifying warm up against Brazil next Sunday afternoon at Cowboys Stadium.

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