The United States rode an 85th-minute goal from forward Bobby Wood to steal a point against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on Tuesday on Matchday 8 of the Hexagonal in CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying.
Kellyn Acosta’s free kick was saved by Luis Lopez, then was kept alive by Matt Besler and headed back toward Wood by Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris. Wood, who came on for Darlington Nagbe in the 73rd minute, took Morris’ flick off his chest and slammed home the equalizer.
“You’ve got to fight through it, and I think the team did that to get a point,” Morris said. “We know we have a lot of work left to do, but it keeps it more in our hands now. We have two really, really big games [left]. We’ll go back to our clubs and get ready for those two games in a month or so.”
Fellow Sounders forward Clint Dempsey started alongside Morris and went the full 90 minutes on a blistering afternoon. Dempsey earned his 41st World Cup Qualifying cap, which breaks Landon Donovan’s U.S. men’s record. Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan did not dress.
The U.S. are in third place in the Hex, but even on points with Honduras with just two matches to go. The top three Hex finishers will automatically qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The fourth-place finisher will compete in a home-and-home playoff against the fifth place team from the Asian Confederation, which will either be Syria or Australia.
The United States will host Panama at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 6 before finishing their WCQ campaign at Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 10.
