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The USA gets its Classification Stage underway against Honduras on May 3. Los Catrachos posted an impressive 7-1 win over Cuba in their opening game of this round of the 2017 CONCACAF Men's U-17 Championship, and - since it is expected the USA will find its way to a similar result against Cuba - are considered nearly certain to qualify for the U-17 World Cup later this year.
But the USA isn't just expected to be one of the top four teams in this tournament and make the World Cup, it is now expected to win the CONCACAF U-17 title. The primary question the Americans had to answer coming into this tournament was whether they could beat Mexico, and they answered that with a 4-3 win over El Tri in the group stage. They are expected to win Group D in the Classification Stage and face Mexico again in the final - this time as favorites.
First, however, the USA must see off the challenge of an aggressive Honduras side spearheaded by current Championship top-scorer Carlos Mejia. Los Catrachos like to get forward and can be expected to seek to force an open game. An attacking approach won't derail the USA - the Americans have a lot of firepower in their squad - and the team might be happy to accept Honduras' invitation to play an end-to-end match.
Strong potential for entertainment in this one, if both teams play up to their attacking strengths.