USA vs. Honduras, Concacaf Nations League Semifinal: What to watch for

The United States Men’s National Team will begin their quest for a trophy this weekend in Denver as they compete alongside Mexico, Costa Rica, and Honduras in the Concacaf Nations League Finals. First up is a semifinal match tomorrow against Honduras. The USMNT will want to get out to a hot start against Los Catrachos in order to book their trip to the Final. It’s the first trophy in this competition’s history, so there’s added incentive for the USMNT to win and forever be known as its first winner.

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USA

L (1-2) - Switzerland - Friendly

W (2-1) - Northern Ireland - Friendly

W (7-0) - Trinidad and Tobago - Friendly

W (6-0) - El Salvador - Friendly

W (6-2) - Panama - Friendly

Honduras

L (1-2) - Greece - Friendly

D (1-1) - Belarus - Friendly

L (1-2) - Guatemala - Friendly

D (1-1) - Nicaragua - Friendly

W (4-0) - Trinidad & Tobago - Concacaf Nations League

What To Watch For

Finish chances. Against Switzerland, the USMNT did a decent job in the first half of creating opportunities, but they just didn’t finish them. Against Honduras, they will be able to use our creative attackers to cut holes through the defense. But, it doesn’t mean a thing if they can’t punch it home. Whoever plays as the 9 will be very important because he has to be super dangerous and keep the pressure on the Honduran defense.

Control the midfield. Our midfield will be extremely important in keeping possession and ensuring that nothing gets behind them to the defense on counters. We want to keep the ball moving forward and keep Honduras on their back heels. If our preferred midfield is healthy and ready to go, we should have the advantage there. Let’s exploit it.

Dominate quickly. The guys who played 90 minutes on Sunday in St. Gallen looked gassed towards the end of the match when they were pushing for a goal. So it’s simple: dominate the match early. Get the goals you need early so that you can rest guys and rotate people in to save legs for Sunday.

Lineup Prediction

We’re going to assume that everyone on the 23-man roster is fully fit and available for selection. With that being the case, I think head coach Gregg Berhalter is gonna to put out what he thinks is his best lineup to get the win:

Zack Steffen is back after being on the bench for Manchester City in the Champions League final, and he assumes his place as the #1 goalkeeper. Sergiño Dest will start on the right this time on the back line, with Antonee Robinson operating as the left back. This should hopefully give Dest more room to play his game. John Brooks and Mark McKenzie looked to be a good centerback pairing, and they get the start.

Tyler Adams, held out against Switzerland to rest, gets the start in the middle, and he is joined by Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah. The midfield is going to be important, and with Adams back there, Musah and McKennie have the freedom to move forward as well.

For the forwards, Champions League winner Christian Pulisic is back as well, and he will be on the left side for the USMNT. Gio Reyna again gets the start on the right, where he can hopefully partner with Dest in space on the right flank. Up front, Josh Sargent will be the man, and he will look to show that he can be the first choice at the 9 for the United States for these big time matches.

Prediction

The USMNT take a few minutes to get their legs under them, as Honduras tries to bog the game down in the trenches. The USMNT eventually get going and open up the scoring in the middle of the first half, and they don’t look back. The USMNT win 3-0 to move onto the Nations League Final on Sunday.