The United States did not get off to the start they might have imagined in the opener of the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, going down to Honduras 2-1, after initially taking the lead.
Jerry Bengston scored the all-important goal ten minutes from time, taking advantage of a defensive mixup from the U.S. backline.
It all started well for the visitors at San Pedro Sula, with Clint Dempsey netting the opener in the 36th minute.
Jozy Altidore, who has been in tremendous form for his club AZ Alkmaar in Holland, passed the ball to Jermaine Jones, who in turn flicked it over the Honduras defense for Dempsey to smash home a volley from eight yards.
The goal was Dempsey's 31st in 92 appearances, taking him past Brian McBride into third place on the all-time goalscorers list.
However, despite scoring the opener, it was Honduras that looked like the more dangerous side going forward, creating the majority of the opportunities against a rather sedate away side.
"Overall, there were too many mistakes done and too many players today just didn't reach their usual potential," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said.
"They stayed behind their own game and therefore, it's really difficult coming away with a win here if you're not having everybody 100 percent at their limits."
Juan Carlos Garcia tied the scores in the 40th minute with a spectacular bicycle kick off a corner which was poorly dealt with by the U.S. defense.
Carlos Costly put the ball in the back of the net for Honduras soon after, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
However, Honduras were not to be denied a win when defender Geoff Cameron and goalkeeper Tim Howard, both of whom play in the EPL, went for a pass from Maynor Figueroa, which Oscar Boneik Garcia got to first before laying it off to Bengston to slot home into an empty net.
"We had problems closing down the passing lanes, also on the outsides throughout the whole first half and also in the second half," Klinsmann added.
