The reigning Gold Cup champions the United States begin their title defense on Wednesday evening as the largest soccer tournament in North America commences in Frisco, Texas.
USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is confident that his side can prevail for a second consecutive time, but knows that the daunting task will be even more difficult the second time around.
"We have four days to prepare for a game against Honduras," Klinsmann said. "If you guys had a chance to watch them play Mexico two days ago, you can expect a very, very nasty game from Honduras, a very aggressive and difficult game."
The title defense begins against Honduras, a team that made the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and will be the farthest thing from a pushover. Also in Group A is Panama and Haiti.
Honduras is the second best team in the group, and should test the United States right out of the gate. Fortunately, USA defeated Honduras 3-1 in the semifinals in 2013 and are rolling at the moment, defeating the Netherlands, Germany, and Venezuela soundly in their last two matches.
Honduras is led by Costa Rican head coach Jorge Luis Pinto who believes Honduras can improve mightily from their defeat at the hands of the U.S. in 2013.
"We have changed a lot," Pinto said. "I feel that the team plays more with the ball and suddenly is more tactical and looks to play faster football. We will see teams like the U.S. and Costa Rica to which we'll give a good fight. There are fundamental things that need to improve."
Team USA's roster will look similar to how it did in the 2014 World Cup when stars like Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Omar Gonzalez, Timothy Chandler and DeAndre Yedlin take the pitch. Midfielder Michael Bradley will make his 100th appearance for the national team as well.
Honduras has stars of their own like forward Anthony Lozano and strong players like Roman Castillo, Erick Hernandez and Erick Andino. Oscar Boniek Garcia plays for the Houston Dynamo of the MLS and also can be a name to look for on the Los Catrachos roster.
We believe this will be the toughest test for the United States during group play, but nonetheless, they should be able to get past Honduras with three points. At worst, Honduras could get a result and steal a point. If they defeat the U.S. we would be surprised, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Prediction: 3-1 United States
Betting Favorite: United States -1
Over/Under 2.5 Goals.
The game will kickoff on Tuesday, July 7th at 9:30PM EST from Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game will air live on Fox Sports 1 and can be seen in Spanish on Unimas and Univision Deportes. It can be live streamed here. If you prefer to watch the game on your mobile device, download the Fox Sports Go app from your app store.
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