The U.S. men’s national team sits in sole possession of first place in Group 1 of the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with nine points from three matches, snagging away victories in their first two matches against Guatemala and Cuba.

With an unblemished 3-0-0 record, the Red, White and Blue has the chance to secure a berth in the Final Round of qualifying with a win against Cuba on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Washington, D.C.

Kickoff for Saturday’s match, which can be seen live on ESPN Classic and Galavision, is set for 7 p.m. ET at RFK Stadium. Fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

Tied on four points, Guatemala is ahead of Trinidad & Tobago based on superior goal differential. The Chapines picked up an important road point in Port-of-Spain in their second game, then trounced Cuba with a 4-1 win in Guatemala City. The swing match could be Oct. 11 in Guatemala City, where T&T will be looking to get back the points lost in the home leg. Cuba has yet to earn a point in the group, but is nowhere near mathematically eliminated from advancing.

The two best teams will move on to the final round hexagonal, which kicks off in February of 2009.

FINAL ROUND IN SIGHT: U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Tim Howard (Everton FC: 6/5 SO), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF: 0/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 16/2), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland: 2/0), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96: 17/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 1/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 13/1), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 11/0), Michael Orozco (San Luis: 0/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 5/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco: 1/0), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 19/4), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach: 5/2), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers: 3/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 3/0), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio: 1/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 0/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.: 0/0), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 9/4), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF: 0/0) Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC: 11/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 24/8)
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals

Press release courtesy of www.ussoccer.com