USA vs. Honduras: Preview, lineups, live stream

The USMNT face Honduras in a crucial World Cup Qualifying match on Friday, March 24. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the game.

The USMNT find themselves in a tight spot in their bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after losing their first two games in the Hex to Mexico and Costa Rica.

Those losses marked the end of Jurgen Klinsmann’s reign as manager. The German was replaced by former U.S. manager Bruce Arena, whose first competitive games come against Honduras and Panama in what are now must-win matches. The U.S. are dead last in the Hex with eight matches left to play.

The good news is they’ve played two of their three hardest matches already — home to Mexico and away against Costa Rica — and they’re favorites to beat Honduras in San Jose on Friday.

The bad news, beside their current position in the table, is the team has been hit by a vicious injury bug. The most notable names to miss out are Fabian Johnson and Bobby Wood, who pulled out of the squad earlier and was replaced by Sacha Kljestan, while DeAndre Yedlin continues to recover from a longer-standing injury.

There are four forwards in the squad  — Jozy Altidore, Jordan Morris, Chris Wondolowski and Clint Dempsey — which would be less of a problem if Morris wasn’t dealing with a lingering ankle injury, Dempsey wasn’t still getting back up to speed after missing most of last season with an irregular heartbeat and Wondolowski wasn’t in the squad.

The pressure, then, falls on Christian Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe to provide Altidore with the service he needs. Both are talented players — there is particular excitement to see how Pulisic performs given his recent form for Borussia Dortmund — but this will be the biggest game of both their international careers so far.