The US national team will face CONCACAF rivals Honduras in a friendly on Oct. 8 at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium, US Soccer announced on Friday. That match will mark the USMNT’s return to South Florida for the first time in seven years.
The announced match falls during October’s international fixture break, which will allow US head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to call on a full complement of players based in Europe, Mexico and MLS. The US will then head to Connecticut three days later to take on Ecuador, according to the Ecuadorian federation.
Though this will be the first matchup between the US and Honduras since World Cup qualifying in 2009, the Americans know los Catrachos well — they hold an 11-3-3 advantage all-time against the Central Americans. The Honduran team is in what is considered a golden period, coming off a semifinal finish in this summer's Gold Cup and their second-ever World Cup appearance in South Africa last summer.
“Honduras is a team that we may see in World Cup qualifying, so this is a very good opportunity for our players,” Klinsmann said in a statement. “Honduras is a skillful team, and you could see their quality in the last World Cup. These are important experiences for our team as we prepare for next summer.”
Honduras also have three MLS players in their current camp as they take on Colombia at Red Bull Arena on Saturday and then Paraguay on Sept. 6 in San Pedro Sula: Houston’s Carlo Costly, FC Dallas’ Marvin Chávez and D.C. United’s Andy Najar. (Sporting KC’s Roger Espinoza chose to remain with his club.)
The October match marks the fourth of Jurgen Klinsmann’s tenure as US national team boss. The Americans host Costa Rica on Friday night at the Home Depot Center (11 pm ET, ESPN2, Galavisión) before traveling to Brussels to take on Belgium next Tuesday, Sept. 6. US Soccer has yet to make an official announcement on the Ecuador friendly.
The US last faced Honduras in a friendly in January of 2010 at the Home Depot Center, a 3-1 victory for the Catrachos that wrapped up the USMNT's annual January camp.
Their previous meeting in San Pedro Sula in October 2009 was a 3-2 victory for the US that clinched the Americans' spot in the 2010 World Cup. Conor Casey scored a brace and Landon Donovan added an insurance goal in that match. Honduras eventually qualified for South Africa as well thanks to the US’ draw with Costa Rica in the final match of CONCACAF qualifying.
