Honduras 1, USA 1 | CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Recap

Charles Boehm

Bobby Wood added his name to US national team lore on Tuesday evening, as the Hamburg striker fired home a late equalizer to earn the Yanks a nerve-jangling 1-1 draw with Honduras at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula.

The substitute's late heroics rescued an otherwise painful outing for the USMNT, who turned in a jittery, uneven performance under crushing pressure and trailed most of the game thanks to Houston Dynamo striker Romell Quioto.

🇭🇳 GOOOOAAAAL: @RomellSamir strikes first, and #USMNT will have to wake up from an early nightmare! #USAvHON #WCQ2018 pic.twitter.com/cIvRMugIU2
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) September 5, 2017

Quioto beat US center back Omar Gonzalez just short of the half-hour mark and for most of the ensuing hour, it looked more likely that Los Catrachos would add to their lead than a Yanks comeback.

But with the final minutes ticking away, Wood was the man on the spot deep in the Honduras penalty box after a long-range Kellyn Acosta free kick sparked havoc.

🇺🇸GOOOAAAAL: It's a mess, but @BobbyS_Wood to the rescue for #USMNT! #USAvHON pic.twitter.com/FbtF4b6ToS
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) September 5, 2017

Goals

27' – HON – Romell Quioto
85' – USA – Bobby Wood

Three Things

AND...EXHALE
: A draw is a fine result for the visitors, who remain a nose ahead of Honduras and control their destiny heading into the final brace of
CONCACAF Hexagonal
qualifiers next month. But most of those watching back home were hitting full panic mode as the USMNT defense continued to look ponderous and creaky, even with a host of changes from the lineup that
lost to Costa Rica
on Friday. Disaster averted ... but problems persist.

Lost, lacking energy or fight, letting opponents win so many 50/50s. WCQs are hard, sure, but at some point gotta get in there.
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) September 5, 2017

TROUBLE, MADE IN TEXAS: At times Los Catrachos looked like a white-and-blue facsimile of the Dynamo, with Quioto, Alberth Elis and Boniek Garcia bedeviling the US with their speed, skill and menacing counterattacks. And while Gonzalez was the one victimized on his goal, Quioto went very close to bagging another one earlier in the game, ghosting past his club teammate DaMarcus Beasley only to fire over the top from point-blank range.

KELLYN COMES GOOD: Acosta's rising USMNT star was sullied a bit by a less-than-ideal Gold Cup campaign in July. The FC Dallas Homegrown made amends on Tuesday, though. He covered incredible amounts of ground in the energy-sapping tropical heat, filled in at left back late in the game and set the stage for his team's equalizer with a well-hit free kick that forced goalkeeper Luis Lopez to give up the rebound that led to Wood's strike.