The United States scraped a 1-0 win over El Salvador in their World Cup qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday as freezing temperatures tested both teams.
U.S. and Fulham defender Antonee "Jedi" Robinson broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute, driving the ball home from close range after forward Jesus Ferreira headed to him.
Robinson then launched into a celebratory cartwheel into a backflip into a fake injury and a celebratory strut, to the delight of a roaring home crowd of 20,000 in Columbus
'They made it difficult for us, they were aggressive,' Robinson said. 'We kept patient, we kept doing what was working.'
The sentiment of being linked to mystical abilities works just fine for Robinson, who has been called Jedi since he was a young boy due to his fascination with the Star Wars movies.
"I feel weird being called Antonee," he said. "I prefer being called Jedi."
El Salvador, second bottom of the eight-team group, made a flurry of substitutions late in the second half but were unable to wrest back the momentum amid temperatures hovering around 31 degrees Fahrenheit (-0.56°C).
It was not the dominant performance the United States had hoped for ahead of Sunday's match against Canada in Hamilton after Jamaica held them to a draw in their previous qualifier.
That result gave the United States brief leadership of the CONCACAF qualifying group but Canada reclaimed top spot with a 2-0 win over Honduras.
Elsewhere, Mexico trailed 1-0 to Jamaica with less than 10 minutes left before Henry Martin and Alexis Vega scored from close range to snatch victory in Kingston.
Canada top the table on 19 points, one ahead of the United States, with Mexico third on 17 points.
The top three sides qualify automatically for the World Cup in Qatar, with the fourth-placed team, currently Panama on 14 points, going into an intercontinental playoff.