United States 2, Mexico 0: Tickets Booked To Brazil

One would be very hard pressed to recall another clash between the United States and Mexico that was so defined by the unknown and marked uncertainty. After all, Mexico came into Columbus having just fired, perhaps inevitably and mercifully, Chepo de la Torre following yet another poor performance, this time losing at home against Honduras, while the United States entered the perpetually pivotal game on the heels of a disappointing 3-1 loss in Costa Rica that was only made that much worse through the pregame injury suffered by Michael Bradley and subsequent yellow card suspensions accrued by the likes of Jozy Altidore and Matt Besler.

Indeed, despite the turmoil permeating the Mexico camp at the moment, there were at least some pieces put into place for Mexico to come away with an unprecedented win against the United States at their Columbus stronghold. Yet, despite finding themselves a bit shorthanded at kickoff, Klinsmann's side showed that, yes, history does have a way of repeating itself.

And yet, despite all of the concerns from the US side coming into the game, what we truly saw was something of a testament of just how far the team has progressed in several respects, especially over the span of the 2013 calendar year. The depth that has been cultivated, especially by way of this summer's Gold Cup certainly came to the fore on another fateful night in Columbus.

It would be safe to say that it was a tail of two halves, as Jürgen Klinsmann's men absorbed quite a bit of Mexico pressure in the first half and indeed saw Mexico have the better of the chances, save for a low drive from Jermaine Jones and a couple of deflected chances from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Pragmatism was the law of the land at that stage.

The second half, however, would prove to be rather telling of just where both Mexico and the United States are at the moment. The American showed more endeavor following the interval, and Eddie Johnson's header following a corner kick in the 49th minute was an immediate reward. As if they had seen this script play out far too often in recent times, one could simply feel the air rush out of Mexico's balloon, as the essence of "here we go again" was seemingly written on every Mexican face with their World Cup chances only teetering all the more perilously at the edge of the abyss.

The 78th minute nail in Mexico's coffin was perhaps the perfect microcosm for what is driving the Americans at the moment. Mix Diskerud's inch-perfect low cross found its way to Landon Donovan who, in his now typical roll-back-the-years fashion, made no mistake in coolly finishing. New blood had combined with that of the old guard. Perhaps no better summary is available for the ethos of this team at the moment.

Yes, it was another night of glory at the USA's happy hunting ground of Crew Stadium, and accordingly one would be hard pressed to ever suggest with a straight face that the USA should host Mexico in another venue in World Cup qualifying. It was also a night that all but confirmed the current, if not growing, gulf that exists between CONCACAF's traditional powers. One is already confirmed to be in Brazil this summer; the other is facing the distinct possibility of watching from the sidelines.