Honduras vs. Mexico: Date, Time, Live Stream for 2018 World Cup Qualifier
Mexico started their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign on the right foot by beating El Salvador 3-0, and they will hope to carry that momentum into their next match—in Honduras on Tuesday.
The hosts started their campaign with a 1-0 loss against Canada and will be eager to find some kind of result against Mexico. That won't be easy, however, as El Tri looked fantastic under new manager Juan Carlos Osorio.
Here's everything you need to know about Tuesday's match.
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Date: Tuesday, Nov. 17
Time: 9 p.m. GMT/4 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
TV Info: BeIN Sports USA
Live Stream Info: BeIN Sports Connect
Preview
El Salvador were never expected to truly test Mexico in their first 2018 World Cup qualifier, and Osorio's debut played out as expected as the CONCACAF giants cruised to a 3-0 win.
ESPN FC's Tom Marshall certainly didn't oversell the achievement after the final whistle:
Neither did Osorio, who instead highlighted areas of improvement in his post-match press conference, per Marshall: “We had a lot of possibilities, the team was consistent and efficient in the last third. There will be games where we don't have as many options and we have to finish better.”
The press conference was a prime example of the man Osorio is, in comparison to his predecessor, Miguel Herrera. The latter may have become a little too enthusiastic with the result and used the exact same team and tactics against Honduras, something his successor likely won't do.
Los Catrachos present an entirely different challenge as one of CONCACAF's most physical sides, a defensive unit that gives up little space. Honduras have qualified for the last two World Cups for a reason―they're a very good team, particularly at home.
Fortunately for El Tri, they're catching Honduras at the right time. Los Catrachos had a disastrous 2015 Gold Cup, and their poor form has continued past that tournament, culminating in the loss against Canada.
The likes of Andy Najar and Alfredo Mejia also haven't been called up, and the side that lost against the Canadians seemed to be lacking any form of creativity.
In contrast, Mexico looked superb in their first match, although Andres Guardado's early goal may have had something to do with that. The PSV Eindhoven man's superb free-kick in the seventh minute meant the team got to play stress-free football the rest of the way, and it showed on the pitch.
Hector Herrera and Carlos Vela scored the other goals, which was another boost for Osorio. Vela and Javier Hernandez form, arguably, the top attacking partnership in CONCACAF, providing both are on form. The former has struggled in Spain with Real Sociedad in 2015-16, and no one knew whether those struggles would carry over.
It now seems they haven't, which is bad news for Honduras. Vela may have not looked his best entering the international break, but the same can't be said for Chicharito, per ESPN Radio's Maximiliano Bretos:
Hernandez can't stop scoring right now, finding the net six times in his last five matches for Bayer Leverkusen, according to WhoScored.com. Osorio has decided to take advantage of his strong form by pushing Vela to the right wing and allowing the La Real man to cut inside rather than playing them next to each other up front.
The result is a more dynamic attack, which should find space against Honduras' physical but static defence. The Canadians exposed this weakness in Los Catrachos' team by running at the full-backs, and you can expect El Tri to do the same.
If Mexico can improve their finishing, which was woeful against El Salvador, they shouldn't have any trouble bagging another win against an out-of-form Honduras squad.
Prediction: Mexico beat Honduras by at least two goals.
