Ezra Shaw/Getty Images While casual soccer fans might think the United States road to the World Cup is a short and simple one, the truth is that the journey to the biggest stage in the sporting world is a long one, and right now, the U.S. Men's National Team is on the verge of making their journey to Russia in 2018 a lot more complicated than it needs to be. The USMNT competes in CONCACAF during World Cup qualification, which will automatically send three teams to the World Cup, with the possibility of a fourth depending on the outcome of an inter-confederation play-in game. The three teams that automatically qualify are determined by the Hexagonal, known colloquially as "The Hex," a round-robin tournament of six teams that serves as the final competition that CONCACAF teams must get through to make the World Cup. With three games left to play in The Hex, the USMNT currently find themselves in third place, tied with Honduras at eight points each, with Clint Dempsey and company leading on goal differential.