The United States men's national team got its first win of the World Cup qualifying cycle on Wednesday, coming from behind to beat Honduras 4-1 in San Pedro Sula. Staring a defeat in the face at half time, manager Gregg Berhalter was proactive this time around, making changes that ended up paying off. Substitute Antonee Robinson scored just minutes after coming on, fellow sub DeAndre Yedlin came off the bench and delivered a brilliant assist as Ricardo Pepi headed home the winner in the 75th minute in his world cup qualifying debut. The 18-year-old also recorded two assists. The USA would also get goals from Brenden Aaronson and Sebastian Lletget.
Here's the winning goal:
The win moves the red, white and blue to five points after three games, putting them back into good standing as qualifying continues next month. Anything but a win in this one would have seen a mountain more of pressure on manager Gregg Berhalter, but now he has some breathing room, some film to work with and much-needed confidence entering October.
While the U.S. ended up with the three golden points, the first half was all Honduras, despite only having a couple good looks on goal. DC United talent Andy Najar was the creative engine in the middle, at times making his markers look silly with his skill moves and turns. In front of a packed crowd in San Pedro Sula, it felt like the hosts were the most likely to get the opener, and that's just what happened thanks to a header by Brayan Mora as the American defense was caught sleeping in the 27th minute.
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In the second half, Berhalter made numerous changes, and the team quickly responded through Robinson's fine finish inside the box in the 48th minute. From that moment on, the team grew with confidence and looked like the most likely team to take all of the points.
While the match was there for the taking, the U.S. looked improved and sharper with each minute. Even after star Christian Pulisic came off injured in the second half, the U.S. was on the front foot, came alive late and earned what may end up being a monumental victory.
USMNT ratings
| Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
(GK) Matt Turner | 90 | Made a couple really big saves to keep his team in it, including a glancing header just after the hour mark. As steady as they come. | 7 |
(DEF) George Bello | 45 | Really energetic and positive early on but at times needed to react a bit better to passes that were diagonal and was badly caught out on the goal. Taken off at the break. | 5 |
(DEF) Miles Robinson | 90 | Very good again when dealing with one-on-ones. Used his physical ability to shoulder Honduran attackers and gave this team a rock at the back that it needed. | 7 |
(DEF) John Brooks | 45 | Sloppy and unfocused in his passing. Was also nowhere to be found on the goal due to pushing too high into midfield and was taken off at the break. | 3 |
(DEF) Mark McKenzie | 90 | Kind of quiet in the sense that he didn't make any big mistakes nor did he have to step up in big moments. He'll take that, and so will the fans. | 6 |
(DEF) Tyler Adams | 90 | Moved to right back for this game and was just completely out of his best position. Did OK, but it wasn't his fault he was moved to where he shouldn't be playing. Moved centrally later and helped change the game. | 7.5 |
(MID) Kellyn Acosta | 90 | Never looked sharp on the ball, and was incredibly disconnect with James Sands in midfield, and it was like playing a man down in the first half. Was better in the second when the team shifted to a midfield three and also contributed defensively. | 6 |
(MID) James Sands | 73 | Really bad in the first half but pretty solid in the second. Just doesn't have the range to play without two midfield partners. Did well in the air and made some good challenges, though at this point he shouldn't be starting. | 5.5 |
(FWD) Christian Pulisic | 62 | Showed fight as always, but he got very little service. He had one good chance in front of goal that he skied all the way to Tegucigalpa. Had another late in the first half that was blocked, adding to his frustration. Helped set up the first goal but was taken off due to an injury. | 4 |
(FWD) Ricardo Pepi | 90 | Just completely dominated off the ball by the bigger, stronger Hondurans in the first half. Then completely turned it around in the second half, with his holdup play helping create the equalizer before bagging the winner. A sensational second half. | 8 |
(FWD) Josh Sargent | 45 | Passing was off, was never given a decent look at goal but did nearly set up Pulisic in the first half. Still, it wasn't good enough and lasted just 45 minutes. | 4 |
| Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Brenden Aaronson | Sargent | Came off the bench and got a goal, remaining the team's top scorer in qualifying. Brought the quickness and creativity that was needed. | 7 |
Antonee Robinson | Bello | Came on and changed the game after three minutes with his equalizer and always looked dangerous. Composed display. | 7 |
Sebastian Lletget | Brooks | Brought much-needed experience and stability into the middle and was rewarded with a goal. | 7 |
| Cristian Roldan | Pulisic | Came on for 28 minutes and was a tad sloppy in his passing but it wasn't costly. | 5 |
| DeAndre Yedlin | Sands | A key addition that assisted the winning goal just two minutes after coming on. The super sub. | 7.5 |
| Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
Gregg Berhalter | 5 | The first half was absolutely awful, but the second half was the complete opposite. Deserves credit for getting his team to respond and picking up three huge points. He also actually made changes early with a halftime triple subsitution. But his work is just getting started. So many issues to fix ahead of next month. | 7 |
Concacaf World Cup qualifying standings
| RNK | TEAM | MP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
2. | Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
3. | United States | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
4. | Panama | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
5. | Costa Rica | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
6. | Honduras | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
7. | El Salvador | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
8. | Jamaica | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 1 |
USMNT: Concacaf qualifiers schedule
(All times U.S./Eastern)
Thursday, Oct. 7 (Matchday 4)
United States vs. Jamaica, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 10 (Matchday 5)
Panama vs. United States, 9 p.m. (Paramount+)
Wednesday, Oct. 13 (Matchday 6)
United States vs. Costa Rica, 7 p.m.
Nov. 11-13 (Matchday 7)
United States vs. Mexico
Nov. 14-16 (Matchday 8)
Jamaica vs. United States (Paramount+)
Thursday, Jan. 27 (Matchday 9)
United States vs. El Salvador
Sunday, Jan. 30 (Matchday 10)
Canada vs. United States (Paramount+)
Wednesday, Feb. 2 (Matchday 11)
United States vs. Honduras
Thursday, March 24 (Matchday 12)
Mexico vs. United States
Sunday, March 27 (Matchday 13)
United States vs. Panama
Wednesday, March 30 (Matchday 14)
Costa Rica vs. United States (Paramount+)