It is do or die time for the US Men's National Soccer Team when it hosts Guatemala on Tuesday.

The Americans are coming off a 2-0 defeat to that very Guatemalan side in what was one of the team's worst performances under Jurgen Klinsmann. Worse still, anything short of a win on Tuesday puts the Americans in serious peril of potentially missing out on the 2018 World Cup. Only two of the four teams in each qualifying group get to the next round of qualifying and the Americans are currently third in their group.

Trinidad and Tobago sit first with seven points and play against group minnow Saint Vincente and the Grenadines. Guatemala sits second with six points after taking down the Americans.

Trinidad and Tobago is set to pick up yet another win over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which should put the former side at 10 points through four rounds of play. If Guatemala beats the US, then the Stars and Stripes will be left five points behind second place with no room for error. At that point the US would only be able to top out at 10 points in the qualifiers and all it would take would be a Guatemala win and a Trinidad tie for the US to be out of Russia altogether. With Guatemala due to play Trinidad and Tobago - a game that both teams could draw to the US's detriment -- and Saint Vincente and the Grenadines, those two outcomes could be easy to come by.

That is why a win on Tuesday is a mandate for the Americans and requires a performance far more cohesive that the one showcased on Friday.

That means Klinsmann putting players in their rightful positions instead of floating them around in areas they are unaccustomed to. That means the Americans actually running at Guatemala instead of looking scared and ready to break at any moment. That means star players being that.

Prediction: The Americans are in a fragile state, so it should not be any surprise to see them struggle out of the gate and look scared to attack or defend. But they will pull out a 2-1 win after falling behind.

The game will be showcased on ESPN2 at 7:25 PM EST.

The game will be played in Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

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