Winners And Losers: USA Versus Honduras

By Noah Davis

It took more than an hour -- and two key substitutions -- but the United States Men's National Team eventually got the result it wanted in group play of the 2009 Gold Cup, defeating an inspired Honduran side 2-0 in Washington D.C.'s RFK Stadium. The victory clinches advancement for the American squad, which plays Haiti in the final match of group play on Saturday, while the Catrachos -- the last CONCACAF team to beat the U.S. on its home soil -- will need a result against group whipping boys Grenada to ensure their place in the knockout phase.

Winners

Charlie Davies

The match changed in the 64th minute when Confederations Cup veterans Davies and Benny Feilhaber stepped onto the pitch. The move by Bob Bradley paid dividends almost immediately as the striker almost deflected an attempted clear by Honduran keeper Donis Escobar into the net. In the 76th minute, the pair worked a beautiful passing sequence that resulted in Santino Quaranta's tally. The more Davies -- who quietly had one of the best seasons by an American playing in Europe last year -- plays for the Nats, the more you can see him starting up top for the U.S. in South Africa next summer.

Kyle Beckerman

The Real Salt Lake defensive midfielder seemed to tire as the match wore on (although he did pick up a loose ball near the U.S. goal line in the dying stages of the game), but he worked tirelessly during the opening 30 minutes. Beckerman tracked back into his box and helped on the defensive end, while keying the attack. He played a wonderful ball to Brian Ching in the 23rd minute that represented one of the American's best chances of the early going. Beckerman could use some creativity in his distribution -- Honduras held the U.S. scoreless in the opening stanza -- but he didn't make any costly mistakes.

Santino Quaranta

The D.C. United midfielder and Baltimore, Maryland native earned his first cap in a long while against the Catrachos and nerves got him early. He looked uncomfortable and rushed some touches during the opening 45 minutes, but ran himself into the match and rewarded his coach's faith. Quaranta opened the scoring with a rifle blast off of Davies' pass. It wasn't perfectly placed, but the strength of the strike was more than enough to get through Escobar. It couldn't have come at a better time for the U.S., as the team had gained momentum but struggled to score.

 Losers

Michael Parkhurst

The man who made his name in Major League Soccer for rarely being out of position didn't have his best night in D.C. Parkhurst's lack of speed was exposed in the 19th minute on a Honduran ball over the top, forcing Troy Perkins to make a difficult play. The centerback made a nice play, knocking Walter Martinez off the ball 10 minutes later and winning a number of other balls throughout the match, but he did make a number of potential dangerous mistakes. If Clarence Goodson can't play on Saturday, you have to wonder if Bradley will turn to Jimmy Conrad to anchor the middle of the U.S. defense.

 Freddy Adu

All things considered, Adu was okay. He had a nice flick-on of a Heath Pearce cross that Ching should have done better with, and the striker had a free header that he put directly at the Honduran keeper. However, in one-on-one situations -- supposedly his bread and butter -- the striker struggled to beat his defender. More damningly, I'm not sure I saw the desire or the work rate necessary to succeed against the world's better team. (Does Adu get to the Escobar clearance his replacement Davies almost blocks into the net? I don't think so.) The U.S. needs much more out of a player who is supposed to challenge for a roster spot, maybe even a starting slot, next summer.

 Robbie Rogers

The consensus Man of the Match against Grenada needed to show more against Wednesday night's opponent. Too many times Rogers attempted to take on a Honduran defender and beat him down the wing. While he was successful on occasion -- drawing a yellow card after being dragged down by Nery Medina -- he frequently turned the ball over and needs to show more love for possession. That said, it's all relative, of course. Rogers has a place on the South African squad; he just needs to be a bit better.

Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.