Eddie Johnson scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 90th minute, to lift the United States to a 2-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda in CONCACAF World Cup semi-final qualifying Friday.
Positioned on the far post, Johnson took a pass from substitute Alan Gordon and headed the ball past goalkeeper Molvin James for the winner.
Panama and El Salvador both missed out on opportunities to book early berths in the final qualifying round in CONCACAF.
Panama and Honduras played out a scoreless draw in Panama City leaving the Hondurans on eight points and will host Canada on Tuesday knowing a win will book a ticket to the final stage.
Panama's final match is against the winless Cubans in Havana.
Canada won 3-0 over a Cuba squad that played with only 11 players after the coach said several players had left the team without permission.
With their victory, the Americans moved into a tie with Guatemala for first place in Group A with 10 points and control their own destiny entering their last semi-final round match Tuesday against Guatemala in Kansas City, Kansas.
The USA is guaranteed to advance with a win or a draw against Guatemala and could potentially advance with a loss.
The Americans appeared to be heading to a surprising draw with winless Antigua before Johnson's heroics at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Johnson scored his first goal in the 20th minute, heading home another accurate cross, this time from Graham Zusi.
Antigua equalized just five minutes later with Peter Byers driving into the area on the right and then sending the ball to Dexter Blackstock, who was inside the six-meter box for an easy finish.
The Americans created few chances after halftime and Antigua nearly went in front in the final 10 minutes as Byers curled a drive just wide of the right post.
Antigua goalkeeper James then produced a good save on Michael Bradley's header to keep the match even.
Mexico, already assured of a berth in next year's final round, kept their perfect record in intact as they scored all their goals in the second half to rout Guyana 5-0 in another qualifier for the 2014 Brazil football showdown.
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, Andres Guardado and Oribe Peralta got Mexico rolling with late goals in a neutral-site match at Houston, Texas.
Guyana defender Charles Pollard knocked in an own-goal in the 83rd minute and El Tri's Hernandez headed one in less than two minutes later.
Angel Reyna capped the scoring with a 25-yard blast for Mexico, who are a perfect 5-0 in group play with one game remaining.
With a report from Reuters
CONCACAF RESULTS AND STANDINGS
Friday's results and tables from semi-final round matches of CONCACAF 2014 World Cup qualifying with top two teams from each group advancing to the final regional qualifying round in 2013 (p w d l gf ga pts):
Group A
at St. John's
Antigua-Barbuda 1 (Blackstone 25) United States 2 (Johnson 20, 90)
at Guatemala City
Guatemala 2 (Figueroa 16, Ruiz 85) Jamaica 1 (Shelton 61)
Group B
at Houston, USA
Guyana 0 (Pollard 82 OG) Mexico 5 (Guardado 78, Peralta 80, Chicharito 85, Reyna 86)
at San Salvador
El Salvador 0 Costa Rica 1 (Cubero 31)
Group C
at Toronto
Canada 3 (Ricketts 14, Johnson 73, Edgar 79) Cuba 0
at Panama City
Panama 0 Honduras 0
Group A
Guatemala 5 3 1 1 8 5 10
United States 5 3 1 1 8 5 10
Jamaica 5 2 1 2 5 5 7
Antigua-Barbuda 5 0 1 4 3 9 1
Group B
Mexico 5 5 0 0 13 2 15
Costa Rica 5 2 1 2 7 5 7
El Salvador 5 1 2 2 8 9 5
Guyana 5 0 1 4 5 17 1
Group C
Panama 5 3 1 1 5 1 10
Canada 5 3 1 1 5 2 10
Honduras 5 2 2 1 4 2 8
Cuba 5 0 0 5 0 9 0
Tuesday's matches
United States v Guatemala
Jamaica v Antigua-Barbuda
Mexico v El Salvador
Costa Rica v Guyana
Cuba v Panama
Honduras v Canada
Previous Results
September 11
Group A
United States 1(Gomez 55) Jamaica 0
Antigua-Barbuda 0 Guatemala 1 (Ruiz 25)
Group B
Mexico 1 (Hernandez 60) Costa Rica 0
Guyana 2 (Richardson 1, Nurse 62) El Salvador 3 (Romero 12, Alas 56, Burgos 76)
Group C
Panama 2 (Blackburn 23, Perez 57) Canada 0
Honduras 1 (Bengtson 32) Cuba 0
September 7
Group A
Jamaica 2 (Austin 22, Shelton 62) United States 1 (Dempsey 1)
Guatemala 3 (Ruiz 58, 79, Pezzarossi 90) Antigua-Barbuda 1 (Byers 38)
Group B
Costa Rica 0 Mexico 2 (Salcido 43, Zavala 52)
El Salvador 2 (Gutierrez 4, Romero 21) Guyana 2 (Bobb 20, 54)
Group C
Cuba 0 Honduras 3 (Bengtson 31, Bernardez 63, Chavez 90+2)
Canada 1 (De Rosario 77) Panama 0
June 12
Group A
Antigua-Barbuda 0 Jamaica 0
Guatemala 1 (Pappa 82) United States 1 (Dempsey 40)
Group B
Guyana 0 Costa Rica 4 (Saborio 19, 25, 51, Campbell 77)
El Salvador 1 (Pacheco 65) Mexico 2 (Zavala 60, Moreno 82)
Group C
Canada 0 Honduras 0
Panama 1 (Barahona 58) Cuba 0
June 8
Group A
United States 3 (Bocanegra 8, Dempsey 44, Gomez 72) Antigua-Barbuda 1 (Byers 65)
Jamaica 2 (Phillips 41, Johnson 46) Guatemala 1 (Pezzarossi 90+)
Group B
Mexico 3 (Salcido 11, Dos Santos 15, Rodriguez 51-og) Guyana 1 (Moreno 62-og)
Costa Rica 2 (Saborio 10, Campbell 16) El Salvador 2 (Gutierrez 24, Romero 54)
Group C
Cuba 0 Canada 1 (Occean 54)
Honduras 0 Panama 2 (Perez 65, 81)