"For the World Cup, For the World Cup": USA v. Honduras

Where do I begin? So much has happened in the world of American soccer in just the last two weeks. Let’s start with the big news:

First: The anticipation is building for the World Cup Qualifying match between the US and Honduras on Saturday night. The US, in full training mode down in Miami, will travel to San Pedro Sula, Honduras for their second to last qualifying match. On the surface, the game plan for the US is simple: win and you’re in. Lose and next week’s match against Costa Rica becomes a white-knuckled event.

For those of you who need clarification, if the US wins in Honduras they can book their flights to South Africa for next summer’s World Cup. Lose and US will put themselves into a must-win situation against Costa Rica at RFK Stadium on October 14. And what about a tie scenario? Getting out of Honduras with one point would not be devastating; however the US would leave themselves vulnerable and would still need a win at RFK. Saturday, therefore, is a must win.

Second: The US squad will not be at full strength on Saturday after receiving news that midfielder Clint Dempsey injured his shoulder in last Saturday’s match for his club team Fulham. Dempsey stayed behind in England to aggressively treat his injury in case he is able to play on October 14. Dempsey has been a mainstay in the US starting XI since his debut for the US where he scored the Americans’ lone, yet memorable goal against Ghana in the 2006 World Cup. His creativity and experience will be sorely missed and begs the question: who will replace Dempsey?

Manager Bob Bradley seems to have three good options to replace Dempsey. The general consensus among the knowledgeable soccer-ites seems to be a choice of Houston Dynamo’s Stuart Holden, Pachuca’s Jose Francisco Torres, or AFG’s Benny Feilhaber. Each brings a different skill set to the table that Bob Bradley will have to closely consider.

Holden has impressed in three substitution stints with the top squad against Mexico and El Salvador. He brings great energy and some good crossing and playmaking ability to the field.

Feilhaber has been in and out of the US lineup over the last two years appearing in 18 matches. Having shown flashes of creativity, Feilhaber brings possession skills that the midfield tandem of Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark lack. The US has been without a midfielder who is able to hold the ball and create scoring opportunities since former captain Claudio Reyna retired. (Disclaimer – I am by no stretch comparing Feilhaber to Reyna).

Finally, Torres, the youngest of the trio, brings great speed that can be an advantage to the US on the wing. However, Torres hasn’t seen the field for the US since June 6 against Costa Rica even though he was on the roster for every international match since then.

Is Feilhaber the answer to the lack of US creativity? If Holden or Torres are chosen, will they bring their great work ethic because they know their spot is on the line? Who would you choose if you were Bob Bradley?

Finally, third - there is a problem with the broadcast of Saturday night’s match. According to FIFA rules, the host country of each qualifying match holds the broadcast rights to the match. Therefore Honduras sold the rights to a network called Copa TV. Never heard of it? Yeah, me either. Well, Copa TV decided to broadcast the match on a closed circuit, which means unless you’re at a bar, you will not be watching the US. To add one more hitch to the problem, because Copa TV is charging a ton of money for the rights to show the match (like Pay-per-view), most bars will not be making it available. So far 29 bars in the United States, yes ONLY 29, will be showing the English broadcast and about 200 will be showing the Spanish broadcast. Here are three links to the lists of bars showing the game:

Bar List 1 Bar List 2 Bar List 3

It is an insult to soccer fans across this country that both ESPN (“the worldwide leader in sports”) and Fox Soccer Channel allowed an unheard of network to outbid them for this match, especially since ESPN spent so much money to buy the rights to show every World Cup match next year.

If you’re reading this please contact your local bar or pub and ask them to consider buying the feed to the game. It is absurd that only 29 locations in the United States can watch our boys possibly qualify for their 6^th straight World Cup!

More to come…