What to know ahead of Canada's final World Cup qualifier

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As you may have heard, the Canadian men's soccer team clinched its first World Cup berth since 1986 with a 4-0 win over Jamaica on Sunday. That means the pressure is off tonight in Panama, but there's still plenty at stake as the CONCACAF qualifying tournament wraps up with three meaningful matches at 9:05 p.m. ET. Here's what to know:

Canada can finish first in the group — and maybe earn an easier World Cup schedule.

The Canadians head into tonight's finale leading the United States and Mexico by three points. That's exactly how much a win is worth, so they could all end up tied in points if Canada loses to Panama, the U.S. defeats Costa Rica and Mexico beats El Salvador. But only the Americans have a (semi-)realistic shot of overtaking Canada on the first tiebreaker, which is goal differential. Canada's is plus-17 — four better than the States' and 10 better than Mexico's.

Of course, the Canadians won't have to worry about that if they can earn a win or a draw against Panama. That shouldn't be too hard for a team that has lost only once in its 13 final-round qualifying matches and is facing a fifth-place, already-eliminated Panama side that didn't put up much of a fight in Sunday's 5-1 loss to the U.S.

Finishing atop this group would be a stunning accomplishment for a Canadian team that, when qualifying began a year ago, would have been happy just to reach this stage. Now it's hours away from being able to look down on traditional CONCACAF powers Mexico and the United States and call itself the best team in the region. Powerful stuff.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really mean