Few would've predicted that Mexico would be down in fifth position in the CONCACAF qualifying Hexagonal after three games, two of which have been at home.

The general feeling in both Mexico and around the region prior to qualifying was that El Tri was going to walk through the World Cup qualifying process, swatting away rivals with ease.

It's clear now that won't be the case, so where does Tuesday's 0-0 draw leave El Tri?

With a clear head, it's difficult to come to the conclusion that Mexico performed poorly against the United States. It wasn't the team's best performance and there will surely be better nights ahead, but there were some positives to take away.

El Tri attacked in waves and seemingly had the U.S. on the ropes during periods of the game. Javier Aquino was sharp and incisive down the right, Giovani Dos Santos was again sprightly and Javier Hernandez was the only player you could perhaps say didn't play well.

The problem is that Mexico has struggled to unlock tight defenses on one too many occasions now and Chepo de la Torre needs to analyze exactly why that is.