SAN JOSE, CA (March 24, 2017) – The United States Men’s National Team had an emphatic win in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying on Friday night in San Jose, CA. The Yanks blew out Honduras 6-0 in a nearly must-win game. They are up to fourth in the Hexagonal standings. Sebastian Lletget made his first start in a meaningful game for the side. He scored a huge opening goal, but it wasn’t all roses for the San Francisco native.
Sebastian Lletget Scores Game Winner In Bittersweet Hexagonal Debut
Lletget got his first ever call up to the national team in January Camp of this year. Head Coach Bruce Arena was high on the midfielder after the time he spent coaching him with the LA Galaxy. Lletget made his senior team debut in a friendly against Serbia. While it’s hard to draw major conclusions from January Camp, all the reports were that Lletget impressed his teammates and the coaching staff.
With Jermaine Jones suspended for this match and Lletget playing well for the LA Galaxy, he had a chance to play in this game. The 24-year-old started at right midfield in a flat 4-4-2, wearing the #9 shirt.
The Americans came out very aggressive. They dominated play early, pushing forward and getting a few shooting opportunities. They were able to draw first blood just five minutes into the game. The US was able to create a turnover at the top of the box. Christian Pulisic and Jozy Altidore had a nice exchange that put Pulisic in on goal.
Goalkeeper Donis Escobar was able to get a piece of it, but it fell to the far post. Lletget was pushing up as the play advanced. He ran onto the ball and tapped it in far post. Da Boy and the United States were off and running.
It would be a short lived period on Cloud 9 for Lletget though. He took a hard foul in the 15th minute from center back Ever Alvarado. Alvarado received a yellow card for the tackle and Lletget was attended to by the medical staff.
He would go down with further pain minutes later. Arena subbed Lletget out for Alejandro Bedoya in the 18th minute. The Americans went on to roll Los Catrachos 6-0 behind Pulisic and a hat trick from Clint Dempsey.
As of Thursday night, the report is that Lletget has a left ankle injury. He will undergo further testing in the near future. Lletget might not be a starter for a fully healthy US team. Still, this injury could hurt the depth of this team going into the match at Panama next week.
