Honduras Team Profile – 2010 FIFA World Cup
Honduras – The country, the football
Honduras’ total area is estimated to be of 112,492 km2, and its territory takes in over 7,800,000 people.
The country's national football team – also known as Los Catrachos, La Bicolor (meaning “The Double-Colored” in English), or La H – experienced a great improvement recently in the sport. They even claimed the third position of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, as well as the third place of the UNCAF Nations Cup - all during the year of 2009.
They also qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa, and as a rising team from the CONCACAF, one could expect them to be the surprising package in the tournament this summer.
Honduras – The road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals
The 2010 World Cup qualification period in the zone from CONCACAF saw 35 national football teams competing for three places in the finals.
Second Round:
Due to their seeding, Honduras started their campaign from the Second Round, where they met Puerto Rico in Group 2 in a two-legged encounter. The task of surpassing this level didn’t seem too hard for the Hondurans though, who wasted no time in defeating the Puerto Ricans 4-0 at home, despite drawing 2-2 in the return leg.
Third Round:
Being among the twelve winners of the Second Round, Honduras advanced into the Third Round of the qualifiers. There, they landed in Group 2, along with Mexico, Jamaica, and Canada; as per the draw which took place in the South African city of Durban, on November 25, 2007.
Sadly, La H suffered a first defeat away to the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in their first challenge against Mexico – on August 20, 2008.
A second-half double from R. Núñez was fortunately enough for Honduras to grab a win over Canada on September 6, 2008. For this match, Los Catrachos again played as visitors – this time, at the Saputo Stadium in Montreal.
Afresh, Núñez registered his name on the scoring sheet for Los Catrachos in his country’s 2-0 victory against Jamaica at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano four days later. W. Martinez, Costly, and Thomas then resisted the Canadians on October 11, 2008 through a 3-1 triumph in San Pedro Sula. But the Hondurans were surprisingly defeated by the Jamaicans four days later, as they lost by a goal to nil.
This score line was subsequently exchanged in support of Honduras on November 19, 2008 just as Osorio powered his country to a stunning 1-0 win over Mexico at home to let La H finish their run in the Third Round with a positive end result. Honduras progressed in the Fourth Round as their group’s leaders with 12 points – either two points in front of runners-up Mexico.
Fourth Round:
Honduras then joined the remaining countries in a single group in Round 4, being with the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago. Honduras lost their first match 2-0 in Round 4 away to Costa Rica, after Furtado humbled them by scoring two goals at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, in San José.
On March 28, 2009 La H drew 1-1 with Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain, before winning 3-1 at home against Mexico, thanks to a double from Costly, and a goal from Pavón.
On June 6, 2009 in Chicago, Honduras went down by two goals to one against the United States. In that particular match, Costly scored an early goal after five minutes for the visitors, but a 43rd minute penalty from Donovan leveled the score line for the U.S. national team. 25 minutes from time, Bocanegra then scored the winner for the home side, denying the Hondurans the 3 points.
Four days later, La Bicolor got a consolation through a 1-0 win over El Salvador at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, due to a goal from Pavón. Their first big victory came on August 12, 2009 when Honduras destroyed Costa Rica 4-0 with goals coming from Costly, Pavón, and Valladares.
Los Catrachos went on to humiliate Trinidad and Tobago with a 4-1 victory in the following month, as Pavón scored a double ensure his side got the triumph. On September 9 last year, Honduras lost 1-0 to Mexico in Mexico City, and they suffered their second consecutive defeat about a month later when they were overpowered 3-2 by the United States in San Pedro Sula.
The Honduran de León first gave his country the lead on 47 minutes against the U.S.A, but at the 71st minute, La H were trailing by three goals to one. The first goal scorer de León then found the target again for his side, but after 90 minutes of proceedings, the score line could only remain 3-2 in favor of the away side.
On October 14, Honduras edged 1-0 past El Salvador with Pavón again getting his name on the scoring sheet for Los Catrachos, and by this final victory, the Hondurans ended their World Cup qualifying Fourth Round with 16 points. Despite being third in the standings behind Mexico and the United States, La Bicolor still obtained a spot in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa; leaving Costa Rica to advance into the play-offs.
Honduras – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stage
Honduras arrived in Pot 2 ahead of the final World Cup draw for the finals’ group stage. There, they found other countries from Asia, Oceania, North and Central America, and the Caribbean. After the draw which happened on December 4, 2009 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa, Honduras were placed in Group H, being drawn with European champions Spain, in addition to Switzerland, and Chile.
So ironically, La H landed in Group H, but how well can they cope with their opponents there? Read on to get brief analysis on each match-day regarding the Hondurans in their group.
Match-day 1: Honduras vs Chile
The Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit will witness a strange match between Honduras and Chile, on June 16, at 13:30 local time.
Chile overpowered Argentina in Round 10 of the South American World Cup qualifiers, and they even finished in second position of their continent’s group – with only a single point less than leaders Brazil.
Nevertheless, as a country in progress in terms of football, Honduras are not expected to be intimidated by the Chileans. Rather, Los Catrachos are likely to trouble their South American counterparts just as they did to Mexico in the Fourth Round.
Match-day 2: Spain vs Honduras
This will be one of Group H’s crunch matches. This game is set to take place on June 21, at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, at 20:30 local time.
The Spanish are the current European champions – having won the Euro 2008 tournament – and they are among the hot favorites at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Their squad is made up of big stars mainly featuring in the Spanish Primera Division – and this shows everything that is in the Spanish national football team: from their names, to their experience, to their mentality.
The Hondurans will have to gather their pieces and be confident ahead of this big encounter; otherwise, they could suffer a huge disappointment which could affect their road in the tournament.
Match-day 3: Switzerland vs Honduras
This will be the final game of the Honduras in Group H. After meeting Chile and Spain in their previous two games, La H will finally have to face the Swiss at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on June 25, at 18:30 GMT.
Switzerland is a surprising European country capable of producing shocks. Underrating them will perhaps be the last thing the Hondurans would want to do, but even so, they’ll need to give their 200% to play their part in securing a place in the knockout phase of the tournament.
Honduras – Current 2010 FIFA World Cup squad
Goalkeepers:
Donis Escober; Noel Valladares; Ricardo Canales
Defenders:
Osman Chavez; Mauricio Sabillon; Johnny Palacios; Emilio Izaguirre; Sergio Mendoza; Oscar Garcia; Maynor Figueroa; Victor Bernardez
Midfielders:
Danilo Turcios; Hendry Thomas; Wilson Palacios; Ramon Nunez; Amado Guevara; Roger Espinoza; Julio Cesar de Leon; Edgard Alvarez
Forwards:
Walter Martinez; Carlos Pavon; Georgie Welcome; David Suazo
Honduras – Expectations from the country and its top stars
Honduras will be entering the FIFA World Cup with the intention of showing the world how good they really are. Analytically, their leading players Pavón and Costly will be the right men to be placed on their front line, unless other players suddenly influence the formations of Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda.
Carlos Pavón:
The 36-year-old striker can be regarded as an expert when it comes to football. The Honduran player has been transferred 20 times in his club career, and this shows how cooperative he can be with diverse styles of play. Pavón played a major role in his country’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup, scoring regularly for La H.
The forward has featured nearly a hundred times for Honduras, and he has already scored over 55 goals for the CONCACAF members; sending a big warning to opposing keepers in Group H at the 2010 World Cup.
Carlos Costly:
The Honduran striker Carlos Costly was also a key member of his national team during the qualifiers. He is another great goal scorer, but unlike his country mate Pavón, Costly is yet to be called an “old player” – as he will only be 27 of age when playing at the 2010 World Cup finals.
Costly has appeared over 35 times for Honduras, and he maintains an average record of about a goal in every two and half games. This looks encouraging, and Honduras fans can therefore expect a superb combination between their two Carlos in front, this summer.
Honduras – Relevant quote
Reinaldo Rueda: “We can make it to the knockout phase”
The head coach of the Honduras national football team Reinaldo Rueda believes his players can defend theirselves well in the group stage against other teams, but he stated that opponents such as Chile and Switzerland were treacherous. Below is the statement of Reinaldo Rueda on this matter:
“For me, each and every team in Group H has his unique style of play, but the team that we need to beat are ourselves. If we get ready physically and mentally, then we can certainly expect to reach the knockout phase (of the 2010 World Cup).”
“Chile are a great South American team, and Switzerland also have really being improving. However, Honduras are always in perfect shape against the most difficult sides, and I hope we can prove that again.”
Honduras – FIFA World Cup record
In all their history, it is only the second time Honduras participate in a FIFA World Cup tournament. Below is the record of La H at the World Cup:
2010: Qualified as participants
1982: Group Stage
LiveSoccerTV.com is the best site for you to follow Honduras' progress during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. There will be previews, reviews, video highlights, and much more!
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