Tottenham midfielder Clint Dempsey fears his side's push for a place in the Champions League is in danger of being ruined by the nervous atmosphere at White Hart Lane. Andre Villas-Boas's side suffered a setback in their bid to finish in the Premier League's top four after being held to a 2-2 draw against Everton on Sunday. Spurs, who needed Gylfi Sigurdsson's 87th-minute goal to rescue a point, were seven points ahead of Arsenal last month but a slump in form has gifted the initiative back to third-placed Chelsea and fifth-placed Arsenal.

By Simon Evans MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A battling United States held Mexico to their third straight draw in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, grinding out a goalless stalemate in a tense encounter at the Azteca Stadium on Tuesday. The result was only the second time the U.S. have earned a point from a qualifier at the Azteca and the gutsy display with an injury-hit squad took the U.S. to four points from their three games.

The United States defied the difficulties of driving snow to get their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign back on track Friday with a 1-0 triumph over Costa Rica. In a match put in jeopardy by blizzard conditions, which saw the grounds crew in a constant battle to keep the pitch clear enough for play, Clint Dempsey leapt on a deflection in front of the Costa Rica goal in the 16th minute and nudged the ball in.

Landon Donovan will rejoin the defending Major League Soccer champion Los Angeles Galaxy in the last week of March, the club said on Sunday, but the striker's US national team status remains unknown. Donovan requested a leave of absence from the team after helping the Galaxy with their fourth MLS crown last December and has not played for the US team since then either as he ponders his future plans a year before the World Cup.