Matchday 5 of the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying is in the books, and there was movement in the standings.
At the midpoint of the Hex, Mexico remain atop the standings, extending their lead after beating Honduras 3-0 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Oswaldo Alanis, Hirving Lozano and Raul Jimenez scored the goals for the hosts.
LA Galaxy forward Giovani dos Santos played 56 minutes for El Tri, while FC Dallas defender Maynor Figueroa captained Honduras and played 90 minutes. Houston Dynamo forward Alberth Elis also went the distance for Los Catrachos. Elis' Dynamo teammates Boniek Garcia came off the bench to play 37 minutes for Honduras, while Romell Quioto played 33 minutes for the visitors.
Elsewhere, Costa Rica and Panama played to a 0-0 draw in San Jose, Costa Rica. Former Columbus defender Giancarlo Gonzalez earned a 55th-minute red card for Los Ticos, who gave up ground to the US national team with the result.
Three current MLS players started for the hosts: Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps), Christian Bolanos (Whitecaps) and Johan Venegas (Minnesota United FC), while Portland'sDavid Guzman and San Jose'sMarco Urena came off the bench. Panama started four MLSers: Adolfo Machado (Dynamo), Roman Torres (Seattle Sounders), Anibal Godoy (Earthquakes) and Armando Cooper (Toronto FC).
Those results, coupled with the US national team's2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago, moved the US ahead of Panama into third place following Matchday 5. It's an important distinction, as the top three countries in the Hex automatically qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Meanwhile the fourth-place finisher is required to play an inter-continental playoff for the chance to reach the World Cup. The US also sit just a point behind Costa Rica in second place for the moment.
