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Honduras and the USA lock horns at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium on Friday for the first of their two-legged CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals.
Both sides will be aiming to progress to the final for a chance to take on either Mexico or Costa Rica for the ultimate prize.
Honduras will aim to end their poor run of results and progress to the inaugural final of the CONCACAF Nations League tournament.
Fabian Coito’s men finished top of Group C after impressive wins over Trinidad and Tobago and Martinique back in 2019.
However, they have failed to taste victory in each of their subsequent four friendly matches.
Most notable was the 2-1 defeat against Guatemala back in November 2020. Alexander Lopez grabbed a consolation goal in the 68th minute after the hosts raced to a two-goal lead thanks to a brace from Darwin Lom.
Meanwhile, with nine points from four outings, USA finished top of Group A after edging out second-placed Canada on goal difference.
However, Gregg Berhalter’s men will resume their CONCACAF title hunt off the back of a 2-1 friendly defeat to Switzerland on 30 May.
Prior to the loss, the USMNT had picked up five straight wins and were unbeaten in their previous nine outings.
Honduras vs USA Head-To-Head
With 16 wins in their 25 meetings, USA are the clear superior nation in this fixture. Honduras have picked up five wins while four games have ended in draws.
The USA are currently unbeaten in their last five games against Honduras. Their most recent meeting was back in 2017 when both sides played out a 1-1 draw.
Honduras Form Guide (all competitions): W-D-L-D-L
USA Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-L
Honduras vs USA Team News
Honduras
Head coach Fabian Coito has called up a strong 23-man squad for the final three games of the tournament. The squad comprises 13 players from the Honduras Liga Nacional, including Edrick Menjivar, Ever Alvarado and Deybi Flores.
However, defender Maylor Nunez has been withdrawn from the squad due to injury.
Injured: Maylor Nunez
Suspended: None
USA
Striker Tyler Adams is a doubt for the first leg as he makes his return from a back problem. Other than that, the USA have a full strength squad. Following his UEFA Champions League triumph with Chelsea, Christian Pulisic is expected to return straight into the starting XI.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Tyler Adams
Suspended: None
Honduras vs USA Predicted XI
Honduras Predicted XI (4-3-3): Edrick Menjivar; Ever Alvarado, Maynor Figuerora, Marcelo Pereira, Kevin Alvarez; Bryan Acosta, Deybi Flores, Rigoberto Rivas; Romell Quioto, Alberth Elis, Anthony Flores
USA Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Zack Steffen; Tim Ream, Matt Miazga, John Brooks, Sergino Dest; Weston McKennie, Sebastian Lletget; Christian Pulisic, Giovanni Reyna, Yunus Musah; Josh Sargent
Honduras vs USA Prediction
USA will look to move on from their friendly defeat against Switzerland and place one leg firmly in the final. They head into this tie with a much stronger squad and are in better form.
Given their dominance in this fixture, we predict the USA will claim the win unscathed.
Prediction: Honduras 0-2 USA
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