USMNT continues World Cup Qualifying tonight vs Honduras

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Men’s National Team looks to bounce back from Friday’s 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica when it visits Honduras on Tuesday, Sept. 5 in Final Round Qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The Matchday 8 clash kicks off at 5:30 p.m. ET, with beIN Sports and UNIVERSO providing coverage from Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula.

U.S. MNT Roster by Position (Club; WCQ Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 14/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 37/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo; 34/6),Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 11/1), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/ENG; 23/2), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX; 15/0), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas; 0/0), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 0/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 6/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 4/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 19/3)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 4/0),Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 4/1),Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 9/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 36/7), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 17/1), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers; 8/0), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 10/5), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 0/0)

FORWARDS (4): Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC; 40/18), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 4/0), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg/GER; 11/4)

x- Qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup

MATCHDAY 8 SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Sept. 5
Honduras vs. USA 5:30 p.m. ET (beIN Sports, UNIVERSO)
Panama vs. Trinidad & Tobago 9:30 p.m. ET (UNIVERSO)
Costa Rica vs. Mexico 10 p.m. ET (beIN Sports, Telemundo)

STORYLINES

USA FALLS 2-0 TO COSTA RICA
The U.S. Men’s National Team had its chances but came up empty-handed as Costa Rica forward Marco Ureña tallied on both sides of halftime to give Los Ticos a 2-0 win in front of a sold-out crowd of 25,600 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Friday. In what captain Michael Bradley described as “a game of moments” , the U.S. felt it should have been awarded a penalty kick when Jozy Altidore was hauled down in the area in the 24^th minute, before Ureña found the back of the net in the 38^th minute. After halftime, two more golden opportunities from Christian Pulisic and Altidore were thwarted by Costa Rica ‘keeper Keylor Navas, before Ureña iced the match in the 82^nd minute.

MOVE ON QUICKLY
Though disappointed by Friday’s defeat, the MNT has been united in its resolve to move on from the result andmake things right in Tuesday’s visit to Honduras . In his post-game press conference, Bruce Arena said, “This is how you deal in competition and sports. You don’t win every game, and when you get a bad result you’ve got to put it past you real quick and get ready to play the next game.”

Goalkeeper Tim Howard echoed Arena’s comments saying, “We’re professional. We’re an experienced group. We’ll bounce back, forget about it and move forward.”

And captain Michael Bradley added, “The group is strong. The group is ready to respond to this in a big way.”

ALL TO PLAY FOR WITH MNT STILL CONTROLLING ITS OWN DESTINY
When it comes to booking its ticket to Russia 2018, the USA still controls its own destiny with three matches remaining in the Hex. Tied on eight points with Honduras (but ahead on the first tiebreaker of goal differential) and just one point ahead of Panama, the MNT faces those two nations in its next two matches – Honduras in San Pedro Sula on Tuesday and Panama on Oct. 6 in Orlando. The USA’s last match to close the Hex is away against Trinidad & Tobago on Oct. 10.

With Mexico clinching qualification and Costa Rica all but there, it comes down to a three-team race between the USA, Honduras and Mexico. It goes without saying that the next two matches will be vital in determining which of those three countries will claim CONCACAF’s third automatic qualifying spot, which will advance to the two-game playoff with a member of the Asian Football Confederation for another place at the World Cup and which will be left out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Here is the remaining Hex schedule for the three third-place contenders:

USA LOSES ALTIDORE TO YELLOW CARD ACCUMULATION
When it faces Honduras on Tuesday, the MNT will be without forward Jozy Altidore, who received his second yellow card of 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying in the 80^th minute of Friday’s 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica. Altidore received his first caution in the team’s 4-0 defeat at Costa Rica, and is the sixth U.S. player to serve a suspension due to yellow-card accumulation during this cycle, joining Michael Bradley, Timmy Chandler, Jermaine Jones, Michael Orozco and DeAndre Yedlin.

HEAVY ON EXPERIENCE
With the Final Round reaching crunch time, Arena has called upon a group loaded with experience in World Cup Qualifying. A total of 11 players on the roster have made 10 or more FIFA World Cup Qualifying appearances: Clint Dempsey (39), Tim Howard (36), Michael Bradley (35), DaMarcus Beasley (34), Geoff Cameron (22), Graham Zusi (18), Fabian Johnson (16), Omar Gonzalez (15), Brad Guzan (14), Matt Besler (11) and Christian Pulisic (10). Additionally, 17 players earned themselves a medal by winning the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

SPREADING THE SCORING WEALTH
A total of 13 U.S. players have gotten on the scoresheet in 2017, and seven of them are on the roster headed to Honduras. Clint Dempsey leads all scorers with five goals, while Jordan Morris and Christian Pulisic each have four. Morris netted the championship-winning goal in this summer’s Gold Cup, while three of Pulisic’s goals have come in World Cup Qualifying including a pair in the 2-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago. Most recently, Michael Bradley’s wonder chip in Mexico City earned the MNT a vital point on the road.

HISTORY IN HONDURAS
While away matches in Honduras are always difficult affairs, the U.S. has had its share of successes, going 3-1-1 when visiting Los Catrachos in World Cup Qualifying. After earning a win and a draw in two matches played during the 1966 cycle, a Bruce Arena-led MNT returned to San Pedro Sula in 2001 and earned a valuable 2-1 victory at the start of the Hex.

In 2009, a Conor Casey brace and Landon Donovan free kick led the USA to a wild 3-2 victory in a match which clinched qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In its most recent visit in 2013, the MNT ran out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Clint Dempsey’s 36^th-minute volley, only to have Honduras recover to collect a 2-1 victory. That result is the USA’s only defeat in five away World Cup Qualifying matches in Honduras.

Take a look at the MNT’s full World Cup Qualifying history against Los Catrachos:

USA-HONDURAS NOTES

• Since first meeting in 1965, the U.S. Men’s National Team holds a 16-4-4 record against Honduras.
• The MNT is 6-2-1 all-time in World Cup Qualifiers vs. Los Catrachos and 3-1-1 when those matches are played on Honduran soil.
• The USA’s three away qualifying wins in Honduras is the team’s highest total against any Central American nation.
• The teams’ most recent meeting came on March 24, 2017, when the USA utilized a hat trick from Clint Dempsey and goals from Sebastian Lletget, Michael Bradley and Christian Pulisic to earn an emphatic 6-0 win in San Jose, Calif.
• U.S. MNT head coach Bruce Arena is 6-1-0 all-time vs. Honduras.

USA ROSTER NOTES:

• A total of 11 players on the roster have made 10 or more FIFA World Cup Qualifying appearances: Clint Dempsey (39), Tim Howard (36), Michael Bradley (35), DaMarcus Beasley (34), Geoff Cameron (22), Graham Zusi (18), Fabian Johnson (16), Omar Gonzalez (15), Brad Guzan (14), Matt Besler (11) and Christian Pulisic (10).
• Seventeen players logged time during the team’s June World Cup Qualifying matches: goalkeepers Brad Guzan and Howard; defenders Beasley, Cameron, Gonzalez, Ream, Jorge Villafaña and Zusi; midfielders Kellyn Acosta, Paul Arriola, Alejandro Bedoya, Bradley, Johnson, Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic; forwards Dempsey and Wood.
• Seventeen players also took part in the U.S. MNT’s 2017 Gold Cup championship campaign: Acosta, Arriola, Bedoya, Besler, Bradley, Dempsey, Gonzalez, Guzan, Matt Hedges, Howard, Eric Lichaj, Dax McCarty, Jordan Morris, Nagbe, Cristian Roldan, Villafaña and Zusi.
• The U.S. will be without forward Jozy Altidore, who earned his second yellow card of World Cup Qualifying in Friday’s 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica.
• Arriola, Bedoya, Besler, Bradley, Cameron and Dempsey come into camp on World Cup Qualifying caution watch and will serve a one-match suspension with their next yellow card.
• Six players will look to make their World Cup Qualifying debuts: goalkeeper Nick Rimando, defenders Matt Hedges and Eric Lichaj, midfielders Dax McCarty and Cristian Roldan and forward Chris Wondolowski.
• With his substitute appearance on Friday, Clint Dempsey tied Landon Donovan for first on the MNT’s World Cup Qualifying caps list with 40. The pair are also tied for the MNT’s all-time goal scoring lead with 57.
• With seven goals in nine appearances, Dempsey is the MNT’s all-time leading scorer vs. Honduras, with the Central American nation also being the nation the U.S. forward has scored most against
• With 18 goals, Dempsey is the U.S. MNT’s all-time World Cup Qualifying scoring leader and tallied during the USA’s last visit to San Pedro Sula, a 2-1 defeat on Feb. 6, 2013.
• That goal, combined with his hat trick in the 6-0 win on March 24 give Dempsey four World Cup Qualifying goals vs. Honduras. Bradley and Pulisic each have one against Honduras, both coming in the March 24 match.
• Bradley and Howard lead the list of seven players that have experienced a World Cup Qualifier in Honduras. The others: Cameron, Dempsey, Gonzalez, Johnson and Zusi.

HONDURAS ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ricardo Canales (Vida), Donis Escober (Olimpia), Luis López (Real España)

DEFENDERS (9): Ever Alvarado (Olimpia), Bryan Beckeles (Necaxa/MEX), Felix Crisanto (Motagua), Henry Figueroa (Motagua), Maynor Figueroa (FC Dallas/USA), Emilio Izaguirre (Al-Fayha/KSA), Jhonny Leverón (Marathón), Jhonny Palacios (Olimpia), Carlos Sánchez (Honduras Progreso)

MIDFIELDERS (10): Bryan Acosta (Tenerife/ESP), Jorge Claros (Real España), Juan Ángel Delgado (Honduras Progreso) Carlos Discua (Motagua), Oscar Boniek García (Houston Dynamo/USA) Alexander López (Olimpia), Alfredo Mejía (Xanthi/GRE), Oliver Morazán (Olimpia), Esdras Padilla (Juticalpa) Sergio Peña (Real Sociedad)

FORWARDS (7): Carlo Costly (Olimpia), Alberth Elis (Houston Dynamo/USA), Eddie Hernández (Unattached) Ovidio Lanza (Juticalpa) Anthony Lozano (Barcelona B/ESP), Rony Martínez (Baoding Rongda/CHN), Romell Quioto (Houston Dynamo/USA)

HEAD COACH: Jorge Luis Pinto

HONDURAS NOTES

• Following their 2-1 away win in Trinidad & Tobago on Friday, Honduras enters Matchday 8 tied with the USA on eight points, but sitting fourth due to a -7 goal differential.
• Four Honduras players ply their trade in M.L.S, including the Houston Dynamo trio of Alberth Elis, Rommell Quioto and Oscar Boniek Garcia. Team captain Maynor Figueroa also features for FC Dallas.
• Honduras will be without defender Emilio Izaguirre, who was sent off in Friday’s win at Trinidad & Tobago after receiving two yellow cards.