Two of the three sides who lost their Hex round openers in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying are squaring off in San Pedro Sula, with Honduras hosting their second straight match as Trinidad and Tobago come to town. Both teams are hoping to get a crucial first win, because a second straight loss or even a draw would threaten to put these teams in a deep qualifying hole that they will struggle to get out of.
Honduras vs. Trinidad and Tobago 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
After a flat performance to open the Hex, Honduras need to bounce back in a big way.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
If either team wants to actually have a shot at qualifying to the World Cup -- which of course they do, otherwise they wouldn’t have worked this hard to get here — they cannot afford to go as much as six points behind the top three teams this early, especially with tough stretches of their schedules looming. Honduras are hoping that the home field advantage will see them through, but after their home loss to Panama and with Trinidad and Tobago likely hitting desperation mode themselves, there are no guarantees as to what will happen in this game.
TV: NBC Universo (U.S.), Canal 5 Televicentro, GolTV (Honduras)
Online: NBC Universo Now, beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 5:05 p.m. ET, 4:05 p.m. local
Venue: Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Three big things to know
- Honduras need to come out of their shell in a bad way. After teasing us with playing like an exciting, forward-thinking team during the Olympics and at times during the summer, they retreated fully into their old turgid, hyper-defensive ways against Panama, and they paid the price for it with a bad loss at home. They can’t afford to make the same mistakes against Trinidad and Tobago, and they need to come out swinging, aiming for a multi-goal win just to regain some kind of positive footing after Friday’s disastrous game.
- Similarly, Trinidad and Tobago need to find some way, any way to get something positive out of this match. Many analysts are already picking the Soca Warriors as the team to beat in the Hex, but not in the positive, “we think they’re going to beat everyone” way that phrase is often used. No, they mean that everyone else in the Hex can and should beat Trinidad and Tobago pretty much every time they play, because they have been that poor lately. Unless they want to become the punching bag of the group, they need to prove fast that they’re not going to go down without a fight.
- To that end, both teams need to make better use of their younger, up-and-coming stars. Cordell Cato and Joevin Jones have the ability to make a big impact for Trinidad and Tobago on the wings, but when they’re even on the pitch they’re too often restrained tactically from doing the things they’re best at. The same goes for Alberth Elis for Honduras, who could have been used much more effectively against Panama -- and rising attacking star Oscar Salas wasn’t used at all despite that game crying out for his skills in the final third. Neither team will be going anywhere if they don’t make better use of their best talent.
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