Has ‘Ted Lasso’ helped soccer’s popularity in the US? Jason Sudeikis weighs in
Sports Seriously: We asked "Ted Lasso" star Jason Sudeikis how the show has helped the growth of soccer in the United States, and his response was spot-on.
With the situation atop the Concacaf World Cup qualifying standings tightening up, the U.S. men's national soccer team faces a virtual must-win situation against Honduras in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday night.
After Sunday's result in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada took control of the qualifying standings, sitting four points clear of both the USMNT and Mexico, with each having collected 18 points through 10 matches played. Panama sits in fourth place with 17 points, and Costa Rica is in fifth with 13. El Salvador (nine), Jamaica (seven) and Honduras (three) round out the standings of the "Octagonal." The top three teams automatically qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while the fourth-place team must compete in an inter-continental playoff.
What makes Wednesday's qualifier urgent for the USMNT is what lies ahead in the final round of qualifying. Road matches against Mexico (March 24) and Costa Rica (March 30) sandwich a home game against Panama (March 27) in Orlando, Florida. All three teams are in the thick of the race for the coveted top three World Cup qualifying spots, and the USMNT has never won a World Cup qualifier at either Mexico or Costa Rica.
The USMNT will be without two key players against Honduras. Central midfielder Tyler Adams (hamstring injury) and defender Chris Richards (ankle injury) will miss Wednesday night's game. Adams, who has captained the USMNT in six of its 10 qualifiers, is the key conductor in the team's engine room. Expect Kellyn Acosta, who replaced Adams in the 69th minute on Sunday, and Walker Zimmerman, who started alongside Richards in the win over El Salvador on Thursday, to slide into the starting 11 vs. Honduras.
KEY PLAYERS OUT: Tyler Adams, Chris Richards ruled out for USMNT's World Cup qualifier vs. Honduras
MORE: Latest transfer window shows MLS has rising global profile
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Stay up to date with our sports newsletter
Here's everything you need to know for Wednesday's match:
When is the USMNT-Honduras World Cup qualifier?
Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, home of Major League Soccer's Minnesota United.
How can I watch the USMNT's World Cup qualifier vs. Honduras?
FS1 will air the game, with streaming available on Foxsports.com/live. Spanish-language broadcast available on Univision and TUDN. The game also is available on fuboTV.
Which players are on the USMNT and Honduras rosters?
USMNT roster
Goalkeepers (4): Sean Johnson (New York City FC), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire FC), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/England), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
Defenders (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista/Portugal), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/Spain), Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United), Mark McKenzie (Genk/Belgium), Chris Richards* (Hoffenheim/Germany), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/England), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), DeAndre Yedlin (Unattached), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Midfielders (7): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), Tyler Adams* (RB Leipzig/Germany), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/Netherlands), Sebastian Lletget (New England Revolution), Weston McKennie (Juventus/Italy), Yunus Musah (Valencia/Spain), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
Forwards (8): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/Austria), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg/Germany), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/England), Tim Weah (Lille/France), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew)
* Adams and Richards will miss Wednesday's World Cup qualifier.
Honduras roster
Goalkeepers (3): Luis López (Real Espana), Roberto Lopez (Vida) Edrick Menjívar (Olimpia)
Defenders (9): Omar Elvir (Motagua), Maynor Figueroa (unattached), Franklin Flores (Real Espana), Devron Garcia (Real Espana), Denil Maldonado (Motagua); Wisdom Quaye (Real Espana), Diego Rodríguez (Motagua), Raul Santos (Motagua), Allans Vargas (Real Espana)
Midfielders (8): Bryan Acosta (Colorado Rapids/USA), Jorge Alvarez (Olimpia), Kervin Arriaga (Marathón), Ivan Lopez (Motagua), Kevin Lopez (Comunicaciones), Alfredo Mejia (Levadiakos), Edwin Rodríguez (Olimpia), Cristian Sacaza (Honduras Progreso)
Forwards (6): Alberth Elis (Bordeaux/France), Anthony Lozano (Cádiz/Spain), Brayan Moya (Olimpia), Romell Quioto (CF Montreal/Canada), Bryan Rochez (Nacional/Portugal), Jonathan Toro (Academica/Portugal)
The US Men’s National Team will wrap up their CONCACAF World Cup qualfiying winter window with a match at home against last-place Honduras. The Americans just suffered a 2-0 loss to first-place Canada, putting them four points behind the Canadians, and tied on points with Mexico. Luckily, USA holds the goal differential tiebreaker, putting them in second place.
The match, set to take place at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. With temperatures in the single digits, it’ll be a freezing cold night as the Americans look to take all three points and finish off this window with a victory.
The match will be broadcast nationwide on FS1 as well as Univision and TUDN. If you don’t have a TV or cable subscription, or just won’t have access to a television around game time, you can find a streaming option on fuboTV with a subscription.
USA vs. Honduras
Date: Wednesday, February 2Time: 7:30 p.m. ETChannel: FS1, Univision, TUDN
Livestream: fuboTV
Honduras, winless through their first 10 games, is already mathematically eliminated from contention and will not be advancing to the World Cup. With not much left to play for other than pride, they’ll hope to spoil the Americans’ game plan and surprise them with a win. The USMNT, however, will hope to finish this window strong with a win as they look to close the gap on Canada.
They’ll have to do it without midfielder Tyler Adams (hamstring) and defender Chris Richards (ankle), who both suffered injuries in the loss to Canada. Both Bundesliga-based players will miss the match against Honduras, but by all counts should be ready to go for the final three matches at the end of March.
The USA is heavily favored to win, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with moneyline odds at -575. Honduras sits at +1200 to win, while a draw is set at +600.
It’ll be Mexico taking on Honduras as CONCACAF World Cup qualifying continues Sunday. Mexico is third in the standings right now, which is the last automatic berth for CONCACAF at the 2022 World Cup. Honduras has been eliminated from World Cup contention and is left to play spoiler. Here’s all the information on the match.
Mexico vs. Honduras
Date: Sunday, March 27Time: 7:05 p.m.Channel: Telemundo
Livestream: Paramount+
Mexico will look to recapture some of the magic from its 3-0 win over Honduras earlier in the competition. This offense has been extremely inconsistent, but Mexico should be able to at least get a point here to avoid falling into the fourth-place spot in the standings.
Honduras has taken on the spoiler role now and will be looking for some revenge. Going down to 10 men is tough, which is what happened to Honduras in that 3-0 defeat. Expect no mistakes this time on that front, but Honduras will have to either park the bus or make some progress towards Mexico’s goal.