World Cup Betting Qualifier - Honduras at United States

The cakewalk that was expected for the United States to make it into 2010 World Cup betting has hit a major snag. After getting routed by Costa Rica 3-1 on Wednesday, the United States has dropped to second place behind Costa Rica in the group and the U.S. is just three points ahead of third place Honduras. The top three teams qualify so, the match on Saturday night at 8:00pm EST on ESPN in Chicago against Honduras has suddenly become a must win for the United States.

What makes Saturday’s match so important is that the next qualifier for the U.S. is in August at Mexico where they are 0-22-1. The good news for the United States is that they are 15-0-1 in qualifying at home since 2001. The match against Honduras was expected to be not much more than a formality but after a poor draw against El Salvador and the rout against Costa Rica, the U.S. is feeling the heat. Head coach Bob Bradley knows that his team must be better on Saturday. "We came up short against Costa Rica in every way," Bradley said. "I don't think there was any area at all where we were good enough to win a game against a good team. We fell short and we recognize that. We need a quick turnaround for the next game." After the match against Honduras the United States plays the Confederations Cup in South Africa, where they will play Brazil, Italy and Egypt in Group B.

If the U.S. would perform poorly in those games it could put even more pressure on Bradley. The failure of the United States in 2006 World Cup betting has put the pressure on the U.S. team to do well. A loss against Honduras on Saturday is just not acceptable. In fact, anything other than a win is not acceptable. "It's never easy coming off a loss," said central defender Oguchi Onyewu. "But as professionals, we have to put it behind us. We have to work as a team and move forward for the next game. Honduras is a talented team. We have a quick turnaround time between the games, so we have to do what is necessary to be prepared and have a better result. Right now, we have to learn from our mistakes and put that towards Saturday."