USA vs. Honduras: What Went Right, What Went Wrong for USMNT

On Tuesday night in Boca Raton, Florida, the United States men's national team tied Honduras 1-1.

After going up 1-0 on a 10th-minute goal by Jozy Altidore, the USMNT conceded a late equalizer in the 86th minute to finish with a tie.

The result was eerily similar to the Americans' last match, just four days ago against Ecuador, in which the U.S. took a fifth-minute lead only to concede an equalizer in the 88th minute.

The Americans are now 1-0-2 since the 2014 World Cup.

Here's what went right and what went wrong for the USMNT.

Graham Zusi Was a Disaster

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Whether it's due to World Cup fatigue, a hectic travel schedule between club and country commitments, or just a bad game, Graham Zusi struggled to get anything going on Tuesday night.

Early in the game, Zusi couldn't find a way to get involved in the match and when he finally did start to find the ball, he lost possession over and over again.

He was mercifully subbed off in the 64th minute as head coach Jurgen Klinsmann put an end to a night filled with poor touches, lost dribbles and unconnected passes.

With plenty of competition, especially on the wing for the U.S., Zusi will have to do much better in the future to keep his spot in the lineup.

Mix Diskerud Put in His Third Solid Effort in a Row

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One of the standouts for the U.S. in their win against the Czech Republic in September and in the U.S.'s match last week against Ecuador, Mix Diskerud put in another impressive performance on Tuesday night.

Although it was his foul that led to Honduras' late equalizer, Diskerud's effort throughout the match was strong.  Playing as the No. 6, Diskerud sat in front of the U.S. center backs for most of the match and provided the Americans with the simple possession they needed to transition out of the defensive third.

His great defensive effort in the middle of the pitch for the U.S. also seems markedly improved from where it was just a year ago and, in fact, it was his defensive effort that won possession in the build up to the opening goal.

Oddly enough, Diskerud was assigned the role as the holding midfielder against Honduras while Michael Bradley was once again assigned the duties as the No. 10—a role he struggled at in last summer's World Cup.  Because both players were playing slightly out of position, it did create a few problems, especially as Bradley repeatedly dropped deep—particularly in the second half—to receive the ball.

Diskerud nearly scored a goal of his own in the 74th minute with some fancy footwork at the top of the 18, beating two defenders and putting himself in on goal before a late Honduras tackle broke up the play.

With some of the team's other midfield options, such as Kyle Beckerman and Jermaine Jones, aging, and the performances of Bradley not up to their usual excellence as of late, the future of the U.S. midfield is Diskerud's for the taking.

Not a Great Day for the MLS Crew

Only one day after comments from Klinsmann about whether the level of play in Major League Soccer was good enough to keep his players in top international form, many of the MLS-based players didn't exactly cover themselves in glory.

Besides the overall poor performance of Zusi, the MLS contingent of Bradley, Matt Besler, Clint Dempsey, Nick Rimando and Jones had only a few bright spots.

Besler was caught out of position repeatedly and Bradley gave away a number of simple possessions. Rimando, for his part, made a number of uncharacteristic errors—including a missed clearance in the 19th minute that nearly gifted Honduras a goal. Between the errors of Besler and Rimando alone, it was only Honduras' offensive ineptitude that kept them from scoring.

On the positive side, Bradley did deliver an inch-perfect pass to Altidore for the team's lone goal and Dempsey, while generally unproductive, did put together a few nice passing combinations in transition.

The only MLS-based player whose overall performance can be portrayed in a positive light was Jones.

Playing a new position, center back, Jones was strong for most of the match providing good cover for his teammates and some excellent passing out of the back line.

He did get beat badly once on the dribble and did pick up a yellow card on another occasion, but, overall, Jones did much better than many expected.  His athleticism allowed him to make a number of last ditch tackles to prevent chances for Honduras, especially when his teammates left him out to dry in one-on-one situations.

A Reversal of Fortunes for Jozy Altidore?

It's hard not to feel for Jozy Altidore. In the 2012-13 club season, when he scored 31 goals in all competitions for AZ Alkmaar, Altidore suffered through a massive goal drought at the international level.

Then, in the summer of 2013, he went on a tear for the U.S., only to see his club situation deteriorate as he moved to Sunderland and only scored twice in 39 games in the 2013-14 club campaign.

But as the U.S. approached the World Cup last summer, Altidore quickly got back into form for the U.S. scoring a number of key goals in the Americans' warm-up matches before going down with a hamstring injury only minutes into the actual tournament.

Now Altidore is back at Sunderland and struggling again this fall, not just for goals but also for playing time. In the 2014-15 campaign, Altidore has zero starts and just a grand total of 53 minutes in four substitute appearances in league play.

On Tuesday night, Altidore found the net for the U.S. on an excellent play in which he took down Bradley's pass with a perfect first touch, beat a defender one-on-one and expertly finished his chance.  However, the rust in Altidore's game was also evident as he struggled to provide much of an impact thereafter.

The U.S. found out in Brazil how truly valuable Altidore was—through his absence—and U.S. fans have to be hoping that the big striker will find some consistent form at both the club and international level soon.

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