World Cup Qualifiers: USA 6-0 Honduras
USMNT was against the wall before the game, they had to win to score the first points in the final qualifying phase and to close the gap with the leaders Mexico and Costa Rica. They did in an empathic way netting six golas to a poor Honduras defense. Clint Dempsey scored a hat-trick in this critical game.
Reactions from the game:
Coach Bruce Arena:
“We had to win this game and we had to have an aggressive, attacking concept to break down a team that defends well. So we had to have a number of players in advanced positions.The combination of Altidore, Dempsey and Pulisic was outstanding. I’m amazed at how we came out in the second half, to be honest with you.
I told them at halftime that Honduras was going to come out and be all over us. We wanted to play the opening kickoff into their end of the field. Little did I know that it was going to result in a goal.”
Striker Dempsey on his hat-trick for his return with USMNT after a nine-month absence:
“For sure, there’s always the possibility that you’re not going to be able to come back to be at that level. It was a tough process going through that and not really knowing. … You’re just grateful for every day, grateful for every game that you get to play in because you never know when it’s going to be taken from you.”
Next is Panama for the US and another must-win situation to keep the Russia World Cup objective alive.
