I watched the USMNT play Honduras play last night in the first game of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup and I was admittedly a bit confused in terms of how to rate this team. Yes, they won 2-1 but it was a very sloppy game that was helped by the inconsistent referee in charge of the game.
Honduras came out strong with the play of the up and coming Andy Najar. Instead of their usual “park the bus” affair, Honduras came out swinging at the opening whistle testing USMNT goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
But all that attacking wasn’t meant to be as the USMNT was able to get it together enough to score the first goal of the night. The goal was a sloppy mess but it culminated with the quick timing reaction of Clint Dempsey to head in the goal after it was bouncing around in front of the goal.
Things picked up in the 64th minute as Dempsey scored again. This time, it was a world class goal. Michael Bradley launched a terrific free kick to an open Dempsey and headed in another goal.
The “dos a cero” chants from the American Outlaws stopped just four minutes later. Carlos Discua came back to launch a brilliant shot to cut the lead down to 2-1.
The two goals were enough for the USMNT as they were able to take the 2-1 win and take the lead in the group with three points. Honduras is likely to be the biggest test in the Group Stage so I can cut the USMNT a little bit of slack. It’s probably best to see how they play in the other two games.
Let’s also not forget that unless the USMNT really reverts, they are advancing to the Knockout Stage. All they need to worry is that they don’t get injured and they’ll be fine for the Knockout Stage.
