:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54549173/usa-today-9723965.0.jpg)
The 2017 CONCACAF Men's U-17 Championship has reached its Classification Stage. Six of the original 12 qualifiers have made it through to this round, and they are divided into two groups of three. The top two teams from each group qualify for the 2017 U-17 World Cup - hence "Classification Stage": the stage at which CONCACAF's class of World Cup qualifiers is decided.
This match - between Cuba and Honduras - is effectively an early playoff for one of those qualifying spots. The two teams share a group with the USA: the heavy favorite to beat them both, make the World Cup, and move on to the final of this Championship (where it is perhaps now the favorite to win the title, since it beat Mexico in the group stage).
Since Cuba and Honduras are both expected to lose to the USA, the winner of the match between them is expected to clinch second place in Group D of the Classification Stage and book a flight to the U-17 World Cup in India later this year.
The game doesn't have to produce a winner, and a tie would make the second World Cup qualifying spot likely come down to whichever of Cuba and Honduras loses to the USA by the fewest goals. But that scenario is unlikely to be of much service to either team, so expect them to chase the win.
Certainly, rely on Honduras to do so. Los Catrachos have been a reliably attacking outfit in this tournament. In the group stage, the team fired off 15 shots at Panama (and lost, 4-2), 25 shots against Curacao (and won, 3-0), and 15 shots against Haiti (another win, 3-1). Carlos Mejia has profited most from all that shooting, scoring four times in three games in the tournament to date.
Cuba has not been nearly so active in front of goal, collectively scoring only four times in the group stage, and never once out-shooting an opponent. But its most sustained attacking display, against Canada, also yielded the surprise 2-1 win over a perceived-to-be superior opponent that put the Cubans in this round.
Cuba hasn't looked as lively an attacking team as Honduras, but it has scored in every game it has played in the competition so far. Los Catrachos are favorites; Cuba is in this round because it upset a favorite. And both teams know there is likely only room for one of them in CONCACAF's delegation to the World Cup.