USA defeats Honduras 2-0 in CONCACAF Gold Cup

The US national team heads the Group B table of the CONCACAF Gold Cup after defeating Honduras 2-0 in Washington.

The following are post-match quotes from coach Bob Bradley:

On the challenge of facing Honduras:
"We knew that this would be a good challenge tonight. Honduras is a good team and this was the game that was going to go a long ways towards determining who would finish first in the group. I thought the response of our team was quite good. Games like this there's got to be a good collective effort from start to finish, you have to have the ability at certain points to bring on subs who help and in all ways I thought it was a good solid team effort."

On Santino Quaranta's goal for the U.S.:
"Obviously, it's also special that Santino scores the first goal. He has worked hard in many different ways to be here tonight and so that's a very special part of the evening."

On the subs the U.S. made midway through the second half and how that affected the game:
"Both Charlie and Benny came on the field and brought good energy. Benny has done well in a number of situations when he comes on as a sub and starts connecting plays and gets us going a little bit. Charlie, with his physical qualities, has a real good ability to step on the field when things are slowing down and make a difference."

On Freddy Adu's status for the rest of the Gold Cup:
"This will be the last game that Freddy will be here for the gold cup. That was part of the arrangement from the start and I think he's going to have a few days break and then the challenge for him is to get back to Benfica and start to earn playing time. There's no specific replacement, that's the reason we were given an expanded roster."

On the experience for his young players and what they can take from this game:
"You try to establish with players and with the team what harder games are all about and how you, as a team, go about things. We had a few days prior to the first game and the first game was a good way to start a tournament like this, but we know that's not a big enough challenge. That wasn't the type of game that gets us where we want to be. Tonight we knew it would be better. At halftime the only thing you're saying is "We still, as a group, have to put more into it and raise the level a little bit more." I think the second half saw more of that and you hope that when players are in these type of games that they start to understand better what playing international soccer and playing for the national team is all about."

On Chad Marshall's play for the U.S. in the center of defense:
"Tonight's game is the kind of game where you start to see more. I think tonight he was very solid in the back. His decision making was good and he was very good in the air. When you talk about playing in a harder game and playing against difficult players, like Carlos Costly, who are physically strong and imposing players, I think this was good to see."

On the U.S. attempting to take the game to the opposition in the second half:
"There were times in the game where I think we couldn't find the right rhythm but there was still a good understanding of pushing the tempo. When we push the game for 90 minutes we feel that's an advantage for us. Often times teams will start to get more spread out, we'll have more space and that's a plus. You could see that in the second half tonight."