MINNEAPOLIS — Maybe it’s naive or maybe it’s prophetic, but either way, this is how U.S. Soccer coaches and staff envision Monday night in the Twin Cities: An eight-hour flight arrives from Honduras, via Houston, at around 9 p.m. Off shuffles the beleaguered Honduran national team, which became the first side to be mathematically eliminated from Concacaf’s World Cup qualifying competition after Sunday’s home loss to El Salvador. It’s been dark for hours, and the wind chill is under 20 degrees. It was in the 70s back home.
The Octagonal has been a disaster for Los Catrachos. They’re winless through 10 games. The coach, veteran Colombian manager Hernán Darío Gómez, said Sunday that “everyone’s patience is gone, [and we’re] at a stage where this job is unpleasant,” according to CBS. A blast of arctic air hits them as they exit the terminal to board their bus. They don’t want to be here.
Wednesday evening’s qualifier between Honduras and the U.S. men at Minnesota United’s Allianz Field is going to be cold. On Monday, the forecast predicted a brutal wind chill of -11 degrees during the second half. While snow is unlikely, it still seems like folly to attempt anything in those punishing conditions, much less play a meaningful pro soccer game. U.S. Soccer chose this place on purpose after weighing variables that included the distance from Sunday’s venue in Hamilton, Ontario, as well as who would be buying tickets, the facilities and field conditions, and more. They know it’s going to be uncomfortable. But like creatives who suffer for their art, coach Gregg Berhalter and his players seem eager, or at least willing, to suffer for whatever advantage they’ll have secured when Honduras steps on that field. A place in the World Cup is worth it.
