After drawing 1-1 in their first-leg playoff against Syria on Thursday the Socceroos will now need either a win or a 0-0 draw in the second leg in Sydney on Tuesday to advance to the final playoff, where they will meet the fourth-placed North and Central American side.
The US currently sit fourth in the CONCACAF standings, just one point behind third-placed Panama, with two games remaining - the top three sides will book an automatic spot in next year's World Cup.
With Mexico already through to Russia as the top-placed side and Costa Rica certain to join them, it's essentially a three-way battle between Panama, the US and Honduras to clinch third sport in the group.
The US will meet Panama on Friday (Saturday AEDT) and Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).
They will likely need a win against the Panamanians followed by a victory or a draw at Trinidad and Tobago to book a ticket to Russia.
Failure to qualify automatically however, would mean they're likely to face the Socceroos in the cut-throat CONCACAF-AFC two-leg playoff in November.
Should the US snatch third place in their group, the Socceroos will face either Panama or Honduras.
