WASHINGTON - For Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda, there is only one favorite for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. It is the team on the other side of the pitch tomorrow night at RFK Stadium.
"(The United States is the favorite) because they're the host, because of their good form, because of the boost in morale they have from their performance in the Confederations Cup," Rueda said.
The United States, which has won consecutive Gold Cup titles is the standard of excellence in the region, Rueda said.
"For me, there has always been an effort to develop a permanent soccer culture in the United States," he said. "What you have to admire about the United States is that constant evolution and development in everything they do. They proved that in the Confederations Cup - it was a manifestation of all the excellent development going on here, both in the league and with the federation."
So how does Honduras beat such a team?
"We want to be as precise as possible," he said. "You have to have order and be ready for a team that has a lot of strengths, but at the same time realize that on the soccer field, we are equally capable of winning."
The United States is currently atop Group B on goal difference after a 4-0 thumping of Grenada and Honduras' 1-0 victory against Haiti. But this match between sides still alive in World Cup qualifying will go a long way to determining the winner of the group.
"You certainly put yourself in a nice position to win the group, the winner of tomorrow's game," defender Steve Cherundolo said. "That's certainly our goal and I hope that we're standing here tomorrow night discussing the win."
The United States is expecting an emotionally charged Honduras squad, one looking to avenge a 2-1 loss in a World Cup qualifier last month in Chicago.
"I'm expecting them to come out in the first 10-15 minutes with a flying start and really putting pressure on us," forward Charlie Davies said. "But I think we'll settle into the game well and we just have to play our game and I think we'll be successful."
A win at RFK Stadium on Wednesday will put Los Catrachos in excellent position to reach one of its goals in the tournament - to win the group.
"You want to win the group first," midfielder Roger Espinoza said. "You can't worry about anything ahead of you because you don't know if you'll get there. We're worrying about right now and then worry about who our next rival will be. We're very positive, everyone is happy we got the win and we have to worry about Wednesday."
