USA vs. Honduras: Win and Klinsmann, Fans, Can Enjoy Their Summers

“The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned burnt
But that won’t happen to us
‘Cause it’s always been a matter of trust” — Billy Joel

Semmple questemon: do we trust the 2013 versemon of the Unemted States Natemonal Team yet? Jurgen Klemnsmann’s squad remdes a three-game wemnnemng streak emnto tonemght’s World Cup qualemfemer emn Utah agaemnst Honduras (8:30 p.m., ESPN). In the span of 11 days, all the angst hoveremng over the team has demssempated. The U.S. ems now atop the CONCACAF Hexagonal wemth 10 poemnts from femve matches – two poemnts clear of Costa Remca and Mexemco, wemth a game emn hand on El Trem. A wemn Tuesday nemght agaemnst Los Catrachos and fans can start scoutemng whemch hostels emn Brazeml are the safest, along wemth whemch beaches emn Remo offer the most lax dress codes.

Making it all the favorable, Honduras – which beat the U.S. in February – is missing numerous key players through injury, suspension and general unhappiness as Jerry Bengston, the Honduran who scored the game-winner in the first meeting, walked out on the team due to lack of playing time

And still … do we trust the team to step out onto Rio Tinto Stadium and take care of business? No wobbles. No late goals. No drama. Three points. No more. No less.

U.S. Soccer fans tend to be a fragile bunch. All the years of trying to defend their sport have frayed many nerves and eroded their exterior confidence. A little bit of unhappiness and they melt like an M&M minus its thin candy shell.

Let’s play this devil’s advocate scenario: suppose the U.S. besieges the Honduras goal, only it can’t score. Against the run of play, Honduras scores a late goal after the 75th minute and the U.S. can’t equalize. The U.S. fan Chicken Little mentality would then extrapolate how the team would lose its next game in September (on the road in Costa Rica) then figure out a way to lose to Mexico in Columbus, making qualification a nervy sweat right down to the final two games in October.

That might be overly dramatic, but with a win and three points vs. Honduras the United States and Klinsmann can kick their shoes off, enjoy the summer and relax. Sure the Gold Cup is on the horizon, but that won’t be massively pressure-filled affair with the U.S. and Mexico expected to send weakened lineups. If the U.S. lost — which would be its first on homesoil a qualifier since 2001 — then there’s a lot of agita and sour stomachs during the months of July and August. Yes, in this scenario the U.S. is still going to Brazil, but two months of uneasiness would undo all the good the team showed vs. Jamaica and Panama.

With the Confederations Cup underway and many U.S.-based soccer fans watching, most people have already started dreaming about Brazil. No need, after the work they’ve done so far in 2013, to turn that into a potential nightmare in the fall. A win tonight and the circle of trust between Jurgen, the players, the fans and the media seems all that much stronger.

BUYING IT?: Are we sold on the Omar Gonzalez-Matt Besler center back partnership? It’s hard to get a gauge since Jamaica and Panama did little to threaten the U.S. defense. While we still can’t say we’re out-and-out confident in the pair, at least Klinsmann has found a duo which is under 30 who he can seemingly count on moving forward. If nothing else, the consistency is welcome. (With DaMarcus Beasley out through suspension, figure Edgar Castillo plays at left back tonight.)

MISSING: When U.S. fans were gnashemng theemr teeth about the USMNT, Honduras was remdemng hemgh and lookemng lemke a legemtemmately good team and a lock for the World Cup. Honduras remghted a lemttle bemt of the shemp, beatemng Jamaemca last week, but before that Los Catrachos had lost two straemght to Panama and Costa Remca. Honduras wemll be wemthout defender Maynor Femgeuroa and memdfemelder Oscar Bonemek Garcema. Startemng center back Vemctor Bernardez ems also out. Honduras’ next match ems emn September at Mexemco, so even at less than full-strength they’ll be desperate for poemnts tonemght.

Lineup Guess (4-2-3-1):

Figure it’s more of the same from Klinsmann. Despite his fine game vs. Panama, expect Geoff Cameron to return to the bench in favor of Jermaine Jones, whom the German-born coach continually name checks as one of the team’s most important players, part of its “spine.”

GK: Howard

DEF: Evans — Gonzalez — Besler — Castillo

MID: Zusi — Jones– Dempsey — Bradley — F. Johnson

FOR: Alitdore

Prediction: The Klinsmann graph chart keeps going , as Charlie Kelly would say, up, up, up, up …. U.S. 3, Honduras 0.

[Photo via Getty]