Three times in the leadup to the last three Olympic Games, the U.S. went into its final match of qualifying needing just one goal to keep alive its hopes of playing in the men’s tournament.
And for the third time the U.S. came up one goal short Sunday, losing to Honduras 2-1 in a chippy, physical semifinal of the CONCACAF pre-Olympic tournament on a warm 90-degree afternoon in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The win sends Honduras on to the Summer Games for a fourth straight time while the Americans, who haven’t qualified since 2008, will have to wait three years for another chance.