SAN JOSE, Calif.- When the first whistle finally echoes throughout Avaya Stadium, the week-long anticipation for the vital qualifier involving USMNT and Honduras will finally weave its way out. Both CONCACAF teams find themselves in an “every point matters” scenario, but The Stars and Stripes have much more to lose: playing on home soil and positioned dead last in the table of six teams with no points under their belts.
USMNT v. Honduras: Coaches Bruce Arena and Jose Luis Pinto Differ in Mentality
The Bi-Color early on, has had adequate performances: defeating Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 in Honduras and losing to Panama only 1-0 at a grueling Estadio Rommel Fernandez. Despite USMNT’s gruesome initiation to CONCACAF’s qualifiers; coach Bruce Arena has shown no signs of panic. Opposite of what Honduras coach Jose Luis Pinto is calling for.
After 11 dragging years of much MLS glory stirred in-between; coach Bruce Arena is returning to the touchline for a crucial World Cup qualifier as the helm of the USMNT. Whether it is his confidence on past achievements such as the unpredictable quarterfinal run the United State’s had in the 2002 World Cup, or the tenderness of the qualifier, coach Arena exuded a passive approach to the “must win” implications.
“Right now, the U.S. is six points out of first place. Tomorrow night in a worst case scenario: we can be probably seven points out, nine points out,” said coach Arena. “Seven games remaining; you’re still there. I mean, this is the early stage of it, but you know we’re not. You said, we’re playing for everything; we’re not planning on that right now.”
Colombian and Honduras coach Jose Luis Pinto is no stranger to success. With a coaching résumé that extends back into 1984, and extensive CONCACAF experience (most recently leading Costa Rica to the quarterfinals during the 2014 World Cup). Despite being aware of the tough situation the USMNT finds itself in, and their superiority to that; he is pleading high expectations from his men.
“In soccer, all matches place pressure on you; as they have pressure, so do we. We need to win, and so do they,” said coach Pinto. “The first, second, third, and fourth all qualify, anyways. So, the points can be very variable, but we all know that we are focused on earning no less than 18.”
