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• Vote: Will the United States win, lose or draw when it visits Azteca Stadium?

No offense, SportsNation, but there are far worse road trips than those featuring blue people or yellow towels. And when the United States national soccer team heads to Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Mexico, it will face one.

Imagine Michigan Stadium, if you put it at Denver's altitude and then some, added an industrial revolution's worth of air pollution and filled it with people who actually have a pulse (sorry, Wolverines fans). This isn't really even a road trip; it's a quest.

The small picture is that the United States is in relatively good shape to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, while Mexico's fortunes hang by an increasingly slender thread. The Americans beat Spain and nearly beat Brazil earlier this summer; the Mexicans lost to El Salvador. But this is a trip to Mexico, which is why SportsNation, despite picking the United States to win, admits that result would be a significant upset.

In the aftermath of another upset, this one against Spain in the Confederations Cup, 57 percent of SportsNation considered it a game-changing moment for soccer in this country (that more than 200,000 people voted on a soccer question is itself evidence of something). But after losing to Brazil, nearly two out of every three voters felt the tournament wasn't a turning point for the sport in the United States. The moral? Win Wednesday.

• SportsNation overwhelmingly thinks a World Cup title is out of reach for United States.
• But more than half of SportsNation thinks a return to World Cup quarterfinals is likely.
• Beyond the Nation: Soccernet's Jeff Carlisle breaks down the game.
• Groups: USA National Team | Soccer/Futbol fans | world cup 2010

“

Everyone talks about the altitude. Remember these guys know what they are going into. Even though they get there late they will acclimate themselves. They have to do so to win. I think IF the motivation can be maintained and they get a goal or two in the first half, the USA has a good chance to steal this game. Mexico is tough but they are beatable

” -- ringo2005

“

The reality is that Mexico is expected to win this game. If we even gain one point from this match then it's party time. This is why I believe we should take the game to them. I'm not saying be reckless in going forward, but let's not just try to hang on and hope for the 0-0 tie. I'll be shocked if Bradley doesn't use all three sub options because our boys will be huffing and puffing and he'll need to bring in fresh legs (and lungs) to get through 90 minutes. Besides, chances are somebody will draw a red card at some point (this being an away game in CONCACAF).

” -- totti744