Weather appeared to be a factor on Wednesday night.
Two Honduran players, goalkeeper Luis López and forward Romell Quioto, exited Wednesday night's 3-0 loss to the United States at halftime due to the inclement weather conditions.
Honduras' official twitter account explained that “extreme weather conditions prevailing in the stadium” led each to be subbed off. The game was played at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, with temperatures in single digits throughout. Sports Illustrated's Brian Straus noted the temperature eventually wound up at 0 degrees with a wind chill of -17 as the game concluded.
Per 90Min, Honduran commentator and reporter Oscar Funes confirmed the two players were being treated for hypothermia.
“It is difficult, very complicated. Soccer is not for suffering like that,” Honduras coach Hernán Dario Gómez said afterward. “I cannot analyze the boys in this type of environment and match climate.”
Honduras, which became the first side to be mathematically eliminated from Concacaf’s World Cup qualifying competition after Sunday’s home loss to El Salvador, concede goals to the U.S. in the eighth, 37th and 67th minute.
While the United States is unlikely to obtain the top spot in the Octagonal, finishing at least third will allow the USMNT to qualify for the upcoming World Cup.
“We wanted to minimize travel. We knew we were going to be playing in cold weather in two of the games, and we figured to do it in the third game as well instead of switching climates,” U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter said afterward. “A cold spell came through and it's something we can't control. All we can do once that happens is try to mitigate the risk by having warm-weather gear and going out there and competing, and we did that.”
The United States plays its next qualifying match on March 24 against Mexico. It then plays Panama on March 27 and Costa Rica on March 30.
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