The Manchester City goalkeeper won his 26th cap in a hard-fought goalless draw that puts Gregg Berhalter’s side on the brink of clinching a place in Qatar.
Steffen made a number of key stops in an end-to-end game at the Estadio Azteca.
The 26-year-old did well to keep out Cesar Montes’ powerful header from a Mexico free-kick in the opening stages and made a brilliant save to tip Hirving Lozano’s fierce drive over the bar late in the game, though the referee chose to award a goal-kick rather than a corner.
The draw leaves the US second in the table, three points behind Canada after 12 games in CONACAF World Cup qualifying.
The top three teams will automatically progress to the final tournament, with the fourth-placed side entering a playoff.
The USA will seal their progress if they beat Panama in their penultimate game on Sunday and fourth-placed Costa Rica fail to win against El Salvador.
