San Pedro Sula, Honduras: Two starters are injured, one tested positive for COVID-19 and the fourth sent home as punishment. The star is regaining fitness after a battle with the coronavirus.
Less than a week into World Cup qualifying, a lot has gone wrong for the United States, who are back in another challenging Central American stadium. American players play with intense pressure, major absences and a messy discipline issue in Honduras on Wednesday night after disappointing draws against El Salvador and Canada.
“If I’m a fan, I’m not happy with two points after two games, I’m not, American coach Greg Berhalter said Tuesday evening at the team hotel. And I can understand the disappointment. It’s completely normal. But you have to look at the bigger picture. It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint. You don’t qualify in one window. There are five different windows you get a chance to qualify for.
Mexico (2–0) went into the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region with six points in their game going to second-placed Panama (1–0–1), with four. Canada (0–0–1) is third in total goals over Honduras and the US, El Salvador is further behind, with Costa Rica (0–1–1) and Jamaica (0–2) gaping.
I think the group is ready to respond, star attacker Christian Pulisic said. We know we are a good team to go into tomorrow and get three points.
If the US fails to win and has just two or three points in its first three games, it will be the Americans’ worst start to the final round of qualifying since reaching the 1990 World Cup, ending a 40-year absence. .
Even as the Americans failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, they suffered a 2–1 loss at home to Mexico and a 4–0 loss at Costa Rica at home to Honduras. Lost by -0. The first two defeats resulted in Jurgen Klinsmann being fired and replaced by Bruce Arena.
I can see that it’s just memories of the past, memories from the previous qualifying rounds coming back and people saying, oh, were in the same position, I can totally understand that, Berhalter explained. I’d say it’s a different group and was focused on winning the game. Focused on scoring points. And the thing is, we haven’t lost a single match in qualifying. Sometimes you have to remind people.
It is not a win game, not following the expansion of the round from 10 matches to 14 due to the pandemic. But failing to come away with three points from the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano would draw the October 7 match against Jamaica in Austin, Texas, closer to the ssential.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner said that we knew we could have done better in both our matches. Our mindset is shaped over the years regarding response and how we respond to adversity.
The United States entered qualifying 10th place, the highest since 2006 after titles in the CONCACAF Nations League and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Along with Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna and Sergio Dest, they headed to qualifying with their most talented roster.
But Pulisic missed a 0-0 draw in El Salvador last Thursday while back in fitness after COVID, Reyna strained a hamstring in that game and Dest played against Canada in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday. Sprained the ankle in the 1-1 match. Pulisic returned for that game, but McKennie was dropped for violating team COVID-19 protocol, then sent back to his Italian club Juventus by Berhalter on Tuesday.
And No. 1 goalkeeper Zack Stephens is missing all three qualifiers with back cramps, which have resulted in a positive COVID test.
The players were unhappy with their performance on Sunday.
Midfielder Brendan Aaronson, who scored against Canada, said, “I think a tie was not good enough for us. We know we can move the ball faster to open up more gaps for players to get involved.
Number 63 Honduras, looking to participate in its fourth World Cup appearance after 1982, 2010 and 2014, will play its home opener after a 1–1 draw in Canada and a 0–0 draw in El Salvador. FIFA and CONCACAF, soccer’s regional governing bodies, allow the use of substandard fields, leaving American players to say the conditions are difficult for professionals used for European leagues and Major League Soccer.
The Cattrachos changed nine starts for their second game, including their defensive line, so they could have new legs.
Since a 3–2 win in Honduras in the 2009 qualifiers, the Americas lost 2–1 in 2013 and were drawn 1–1 in 2017.
Berhalter and his players were expected to come up with six points.
People are like, Wow, why didn’t we win the first two games? Why didn’t we win them the first two games 4-0? Berhalter said. We said it was going to be difficult. There are going to be many challenges. Unexpected things are about to happen. You’re going to get hurt. You are not going to do well in one match. You’re not going to miss out on some opportunities. That would be the qualification. And our job was to stop there because the ultimate goal is to be in the top three after 14 matches.
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