World Cup 2010
Honduras (38th) v Chile (18th) – Group H
Wednesday 16th June 2010 – 1330hrs
This is another match in the finals that pits the wits of the minnows of the world stage against Group H’s second favourites, Chile.
Chile have been handed a favourable group draw and really should qualify along with favourites Spain into the knock-out stages.
Let’s take a look at the Hondurans first – they qualified from their CONCACAF group courtesy of a rather generous 3rd place automatic position in the table, as opposed to top 2 automatically progressing, and narrowly ousted Costa Rica on goal difference (+6).
Their record in the group was nothing to write home about either as they finished up on 5-1-4 17 for 11 against. This inconsistent form has been carried through their warm-up matches as well; a good 3-1 win over USA, was quickly followed by losses to Turkey & Venezeula (losing 0-2 and 0-1 respectively), before playing out draws with Belarus & Azerbaijan (2-2 & 0-0 respectively), and then rounding things up with a 0-3 loss against Romania.
In terms of dangermen, Honduras will likely have to do without midfielder Wilson Palacios (Tottenham) & striker David Suazo is rated 50/50 for their opening clash. They will already be without another striker, Carlos Costly.
However, Premiership fans may recall Wigan duo midfielder Hendry Thomas & right back Maynor Figueroa, along with Bari’s winger Edgar Alvarez. That said, they will surely miss Palacios’ steel in the middle of the park, and this could well leave their already vulnerable defence at the mercy of the Chileans.
Chile qualified from arguably the hardest qualifying group in the world, the CONMEBOL, a South American ten team group. Chile came runners-up to winners Brazil, losing out by just one point. In a hard-fought group they recorded impressive stats of 10-3-5 32/22, and this form has stood them in good stead for their warm-up matches; their last five matches have seen them record four wins (2-0 v Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0 v Zambia, 1-0 v Northern Ireland, 3-0 v Israel) and one loss (0-1 v Mexico).
Their team is built around leading striker Humberto Suazo who should be fit to play. They also possess two attacking wingers, Alexis Sanchez (5 goals, 3 assists for Udinese, Serie A last season) and Mark Gonzalez who some of you may remember played for Liverpool during the 2006/07 season, scoring 2 goals.
Chile’s defensive prowess seems to be the key here though, and they don’t tend to concede many goals – if I had to go for a scoreline, I’d be backing a 1-0 Chile win.
Pick: Chile @ 1.65 with Pinnacle Sports
