2010 FIFA World Cup Betting Tips, Picks and Odds: U.S. enjoys golden chance for top World Cup seeding

Winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup won't have anything directly to do with the U.S. national team qualifying for the World Cup.

The Gold Cup is the championship of the CONCACAF Region - North & Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. has reached seven of the eight semis - winning in 1991 and 2002 - and supplanted Mexico as the power in the region. But one more victory in the competition could very well go a long way toward solidifying a high seeding for the Americans if they make it to Germany.

Still, the U.S. - which passed powers France, England, Portugal and Spain to move within one spot of Mexico - is rounding into form. Forward Landon Donovan and midfielder DaMarcus Beasley have three goals each, tying Wilmer Velazquez of Honduras and two others for the tourney's top scorers.

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New Yorker Chris Armas made the team at defensive midfielder and former MetroStar Eddie Pope will start in central defense. ADO den Haag's John O'Brien is shaking off the rust of hamstring and Achilles' injuries that limited him to just five games over the past two years at Ajax, rounding into form and providing the midfield savvy the U.S. usually gets from Springfield, N.J., star Claudio Reyna. The image â€œhttp://sportsbettingindex.net/images/sports_02/usfans.jpgâ€ cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

The Americans, who beat Honduras, 2-1 in the semifinal at Giants S tadium tonight, learned that they are rated sixth in the world - their best ever showing in the FIFA poll - according to the latest rankings.

Those rankings certainly aren't the last word in seeding teams for the World Cup. But they are among the top criteria when FIFA determines the top eight seeds at the draw in Leipzig, Germany, on Dec. 9; 2002 World Cup seeding was based on that, and how countries fared in the previous three Cups.

If the U.S. is among the top eight, it means one less powerhouse to face, such as defending champion Brazil, Argentina or Germany. That could mean the difference between qualifying for the second round or going home early.

If U.S. coach Bruce Arena was impressed, he sure would have liked it. It certainly can't hurt as the Americans jumped four spots past France, England, Portugal and Spain to move within three points of archrival Mexico, ranked fifth.

With a hot Mexican squad surprisingly eliminated from the Gold Cup, the Americans (3-0-1) are the team to beat as they've outscored their opposition, 9-2. Colombia meets Panama to determine who will face US in the finals.