Football
ESPN staff 7y

Dempsey makes return to U.S. starting XI, Pulisic gets start vs. Honduras

Clint Dempsey makes his return to the starting lineup for the United States against Honduras in San Jose, California, on Friday night.

Dempsey, 34, missed the end of the 2016 Major League Soccer season and the Americans' first two Hexagonal qualifiers -- losses to Mexico and Costa Rica -- with an irregular heartbeat.

Jozy Altidore starts up top with Dempsey, while Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic plays in the No. 10 role with captain Michael Bradley, Darlington Nagbe and Sebastian Lletget for the U.S. 

The U.S. are currently last in the qualifying table after a pair of November defeats against Mexico and Costa Rica, which led to the firing of then-manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

Bruce Arena, who managed the U.S. team from 1998-2006 took over the reins of the team for a second time after Klinsmann was let go, and the Honduras match will be his first meaningful game back in charge of the U.S. team.

The team is dealing with multiple injuries to key players including DeAndre Yedlin, Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris and is also without Jermaine Jones and Timmy Chandler to suspensions.

But Arena was confident the squad could still weather the storm, saying the injuries made it a "next man up" situation for the national team as it seeks a first win in the Hex.

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