The United States and Honduras are 2 of the 4 teams left standing as the CONCACAF Gold Cup heads into the final 2 rounds.
Thanks to an impressive 5-1 victory over a talented El Salvador squad, the USMNT team head into the upcoming semifinal against Honduras feeling great about its chances of advancing to the final match.
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With a solid win in their own right over Costa Rica, Honduras enters the final with confidence on both sides of the ball thanks to timely offensive output along with strong net play from keeper Donis Escober, who continues to put together a phenomenal tournament.
When and Where to Watch Semifinal Match
The first of 2 semifinal matches taking place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the United States and Honduras will meet on Wednesday, July 24th at 7:00pm, ET. Television coverage will be provided the FOX Soccer Channel with pregame coverage starting at 6:30pm.
Those hoping to catch the game via on-line live stream can do so by visiting FOX Soccer 2 Go.
Match Preview
The Honduran national team is making its fifth appearance in the semifinal round thanks to a grueling 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in the quarterfinals.
The offense didn't have much going early on thanks to strong defense from the opponents and after a goal in the 36th minute was disallowed thanks to a foul called against Marvin Chavez, it wasn't a certainty that the Hondurans would be able to break a strong defensive unit.
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That mentality quickly changed in the 49th minute when Andy Najar played a beautiful cross from teammate Alex Lopez to send a header behind Honduran keeper Patrick Pemberton for what turned out the be the only tally of the match.
Having fallen to the United States in the Gold Cup semi's in 2005 and 2009, Najar and company will certainly look to script a different outcome this time around with the winner advancing to the final to take on either Mexico or Panama.
While Honduras comes in off an impressive victory, the United States national team continues to put up eye-popping numbers on both ends of the field.
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Thanks to the club's 5-1 victory over El Salvador in the quarters, the USMNT has now outscored opponents 16-3 in 4 Gold Cup contests while using a variety of skills to take down some of the best international soccer talents around.
"What we're trying to do is catch up with big teams in the world," USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann told CONCACAF reporters. "It's to raise the bar. It's all about speed. I'm not talking about physical speed. I'm talking about mental speed, passing speed, about compactness, about going both ways. That's what we're working on."
"This is a process," he continued. "And I think this is a process that is coming along, with both groups. The group that was in there in May-June and the group that is in July."
Thanks to strong offensive play from the likes of Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson and the tournament's leading scorer Chris Wondolowski, the USMNT has every reason to believe that superior speed and continuity can certainly propel them into another final, a final they've won 4 times before.
Wrap Up
Catch all the Gold Cup semifinal action on Wednesday, July 24th at 7:00pm, ET as the United States battle Honduras with a trip to the championship match on the line. Television coverage will be provided by the FOX Soccer Channel with an on-line live stream available by visiting FOX Soccer 2 Go.
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