SAN JOSE — Bruce Arena just wanted three points in his return to the U.S. soccer team Friday night at Avaya Stadium.
Clint Dempsey just wanted to reaffirm his status as a world-class scorer.
Then there was midfielder Christian Pulisic, 18, on the cusp of becoming a breakout star.
It added up to a definitive statement about the Americans’ chances of reaching the 2018 World Cup.
Call it the Rout in the Rain.
Dempsey, who missed eight months after learning he had an irregular heartbeat in August, returned to the national team with venom, scoring a hat trick as the United States flattened Honduras 6-0 on a wet night in San Jose.