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.
Four years ago, in the midst of his team’s ill-fated quest to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, USMNT coach Bruce Arena challenged any European nation to try to qualify for the World Cup in Concacaf. Arena compared Concacaf World Cup qualifying to a season of Survivor, I think.
My Spanish is a little rusty, but here is a snippet from a conversation overheard between a few El Salvadorian fans shortly before the country's World Cup Qualifier against the USMNT on Thursday:
Guy No. 1: "OK, here's the plan: step one — get a ladder. Step two — carry the ladder into the stadium."
*Pause*
Guy No. 2: "What's step three?"
Guy No. 1: "What do you mean step three? That's the whole plan, we take the ladder and bring it into the game. That's it."
Win at home; draw on the road — that’s long been said to be the formula for success in Concacaf World Cup qualifying. If true, the U.S. is at least on track to book a trip to Qatar, but it wasn’t exactly the barnstorming start to World Cup qualifying many U.S. fans were hoping for after a summer full of trophies.
It’s almost been 90 days since the raucous CONCACAF Nations League final in Denver between the USMNT and Mexico, but still just thinking about the atmosphere, the back-and-forth scoreline and the improbable ending is enough to give you chills.
The match was perfectly poised throughout, beginning with Tecatito Corona’s early opener and Gio Reyna’s first-half response, and continuing into the second half with Diego Lainez’s impressive strike cancelled out by Weston McKennie’s late towering header.