Whew. That was a close one. Facing the prospect of two points from its opening three World Cup qualifiers, the USMNT rallied for a big 4-1 win on Wednesday night in Honduras, salvaging a decent showing over the September international window. It wasn’t great, but the Americans avoided disaster, which makes our USMNT player ratings (and coach rating) all the spicier.
The USMNT played one of its worst opening 45 minutes in the modern era on Wednesday night in Honduras, and then followed that up with one of the greatest second halfs we've ever seen. Both were largely down to the choices of Gregg Berhalter, and while we should ultimately value and treasure the second 45, we shouldn't immediately forget about the first half.
Panic meters were reaching Cuova levels on Wednesday night in San Pedro Sula. The U.S. trailed Honduras at halftime and it looked like the Americans were headed toward a dismal two points from their first three World Cup qualifiers. Gregg Berhalter made three halftime changes, somewhat surprisingly leaving on qualifying novices Ricardo Pepi and James Sands.
Ricardo Pepi repaid the faith.
Will the US qualify for the World Cup? One month ago, even the most pessimistic of USMNT fans would begrudgingly say this squad will qualify for Qatar 2022.
Fast forward to the afternoon of Sept. 8 and there’s a thick fog of anxiety and nervousness in the air ahead of the American’s clash against Honduras.
In August, we put out a guide for how to watch USMNT World Cup qualifiers in the United States. Based on Twitter replies to the @USMNT account, it seems we need to revisit, specifically how to watch USMNT Honduras on Wednesday, Sept. 8. Even USMNT players can’t figure out how to watch the game.
The USMNT is only two matches into its 14-game CONCACAF World Cup qualifying odyssey, but one look at the early table shows you why Wednesday’s meeting between the U.S. and Honduras in San Pedro Sula is feeling like a must-win.
While qualification obviously doesn’t hinge on the result, there’s a sense that if the tournament successes of the past summer are to have any real meaning, then the U.S. needs to end this September window with its first win of the Octagonal.
As things stand, we’re not going to the World Cup. We’re going to the inter-confederation playoffs. Yes, it’s only two games down and 12 to go, but we’ve already messed with the formula. Don't ever mess with the formula: win at home and draw away.
The scoreless stalemate against El Salvador at Estadio Cuscatlán last Thursday could be forgiven as part of the plan, but not this. Not like this. Not Alphonso Davies skinning DeAndre Yedlin out wide to silence Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
After a 2020 season that was hugely disrupted by COVID-19, resulting in both the men’s and women’s College Cup finals being played back on May 17, the 2021 NCAA Division I soccer season marks a return to normalcy as we’re now almost two weeks into the fall campaign.
It’s early doors but we’ve already seen some spectacular play around the country, so much so that SportsCenter’s Top 10 has already featured a couple stunning goals.
Orlando City blew a two-goal lead before Júnior Urso scored the go-ahead goal in the 69th minute for a 3-2 victory against visiting Columbus on Saturday night to extend their point streak to seven games.
Daryl Dike returned to the lineup and had a goal and an assist for Orlando (10-4-8, 38 points), which has three wins and four ties during its run. Columbus (7-10-6, 27 points), the reigning MLS Cup champion, has lost seven of eight and is below the playoff line.
While the USMNT is dealing with the travails of Concacaf World Cup qualifying, MLS play continues on, because international breaks are for the weak, or something. But MLS is still seeing its share of Concacafy nonsense, if this Henry Kessler time wasting is anything to go by.