5 big matches to watch out for this international week

2. USA v Panama, October 6

Costa Rica v United States - FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier

The USA have grown to be big dogs in the Concacaf region, yet they will face what amounts to a knockout fixture against Panama on Friday. With nine points to their credit, they lie fourth in the group – the playoff spot – one point behind their guests but only ahead of Honduras on goal difference.

Bruce Arena’s side is, therefore, walking a real tightrope before going into their penultimate game of the group stage.

When the teams met in Panama City back in March, Clint Dempsey opened the scoring for the Americans before Gabriel Gomez levelled matters to secure a share of the points. That would not be good enough for Christian Pulisic & Co this time around.