United States 2, Honduras 1
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — The night before the game, Clint Mathis was practicing free kicks at Olympic Stadium from a distance of 22 yards.
On Wednesday night, he found himself at that spot again and scored on a free kick around a defensive wall in the 87th minute, giving the United States a 2-1 victory over Honduras in a World Cup qualifier.
"I guess it was a pretty good practice," Mathis said. "I did not even see the goalkeeper, but I knew where I wanted to put the ball. He made a dive as the ball dipped in, and I saw it hit the net and I just took off" in celebration.
It was an especially sweet victory for the United States, which was missing four regular starters and had not won a qualifying game in Central America in 12 years.
Earnie Stewart, celebrating his 32nd birthday, scored on a deflected 35-yard shot in the first half, but U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel was beaten by Julio Cesar de Leon's 32-yard shot early in the second half.
After Chris Armas was fouled, Mathis scored the go-ahead goal with a bending shot over a five-man wall.
The Hondurans, under pressure to look good in front of 42,000 screaming fans, played an erratic first half and only came alive in the second when they put the U.S. team under intense pressure. But the U.S. defense calmly withstood the Honduran advances.
"We expected Honduras to come at us with everything. We were not surprised at the kind of pressure we saw," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said.
The Americans had been 0-3-4 in qualifiers in Central America since September 1989, giving up late goals in a 1-1 tie at Guatemala last summer and a 2-1 loss at Costa Rica.
This time, the United States had to hang on while a man short in injury time after Cobi Jones was ejected in the 90th minute.
"We fell into the U.S. trap," Honduras coach Ramon Madariaga said. "They tied us up and at times they made us act desperate."
After two games in the finals of the North and Central American and Caribbean region, the United States (2-0) is in first place with six points, followed by Costa Rica (1-0-1) with four, and Mexico and Jamaica (each 1-1) with three apiece.
Honduras (0-1-1) has one point and Trinidad and Tobago (0-2), which lost 3-0 at Costa Rica on Wednesday night, is last.
Each nation plays 10 games, and the top three qualify for the 2002 World Cup tournament in Japan and South Korea.
Stewart scored a surprising goal in the 33rd minute, taking a pass from Mathis and lofting a long shot that deflected slightly off defender Jose Reynaldo Clavasquin and sailed under the crossbar.