República de Honduras
Federación Nacional de Fútbol (FENAFUTH) 1951
Coach: Reinaldo Rueda
Confederation: Concacaf
FIFA Ranking (Nov 09): 38
Previous Appearances: 1 (1982)
Honduras v Chile 16 June; Nelspruit
Honduras v Spain 21 June; Johannesburg
Honduras v Switzerland 25 June; Bloemfontein
Record
1982 First Round
Background
This will be the second World Cup for Honduras. The Central American nation played in the top tournament for the first time in Spain 1982. The most notable achievements for Honduras was a third place finish in the 2001 Copa America and a second position in the CONACAF Gold Cup in 1991. It has won the Central American Championships twice. Year 2009 has been one of the best in Honduras' football history. Apart from World Cup qualification, they also qualified for the Under-17 and Under-20 world championships. Honduras had also participated in the Beijing Olympics.
The road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals
There were 35 national teams competing for the three places from CONCACAF in the finals of the 2010 World Cup.
Honduras were seeded directly into the second round started their campaign with a home and away against Puerto Rico in Group 2. they won the home match 4-0, but were held to a 2-2 draw in the away match.
Third Round:
In the third round Honduras was placed along with Mexico, Jamaica, and Canada. Starting off with a defeat against Mexico, they regained some lost ground by winning against Canada by a brace scored by R. Núñez. Núñez again struck once in Honduras’ 2-0 victory against Jamaica. They then accounted for Canada 3-1, but were stunned by the Jamaicans 1-0. However, the plucky Honduras surprised the strong Mexicans 1-0 at home and progressed to the Fourth Round leading the group with 12 points.
Fourth Round:
In the fourth round there were five teams other than Honduras vying for the three automatic slots in the World Cup. They were the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Honduras did not have a bright start and lost their first match 2-0 away to Costa Rica and then drew 1-1 with Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain. Their interesting duels with Mexico continued, the La H being the victor this time around. The score read 3-1 thanks to a double from Costly. Despite Costly scoring an early goal, Honduras went down by 2-1 against the United States.
However La H pulled back in quick time through a 1-0 win over El Salvador, Pavón netting the winner. Honduras demolished Costa Rica 4-0 with Costly and Pavón again figuring in the score-sheet and went on to destroy Trinidad and Tobago 4-1 Pavón scoing a double.
But then Mexico was back again to trouble them defeating Honduras 1-0. This was followed by a grim battle with the United States, the latter getting the best of five goals. However, the qualification issue was settled on the 14th of October 2009, when Honduras stifled El Salvador 1-0 scoring again. With this win the Fourth Round tally went up to 16 points and this was sufficient to put Honduras in the finals, behind Mexico and the United States.
Strengths
With fast players in the front line, counterattack is Honduras’ major weapon. La H has a sturdy defence and a commanding midfield. Honduras conceded less goals than any other teams in the qualifiers, an indication of their strong back line.
Weaknesses
Honduras is a force to reckon with when playing home, but the same intensity is somehow lacking when playing in other countries. May be this is due to lack of opportunities to play with top international sides more often. But this psychological limitation may be lifting with more players joining European clubs. The goalkeeper Noel Valladares was perceived by many as weak during the qualification phase.
The Coach
Reinaldo Rueda, the coach from Colombia adopted offence at home and defence away as his strategy. At home, it was 4-4-2 formation, with two forwards spearheading the attack. However, in the away matches, Rueda used 4-5-1, reducing a forward and adding a midfielder. This had come under criticism during the qualification phase.
Star Men
Carlos Pavón:
The 36-year old striker has featured for Honduras nearly hundred times, and has scored 55 goals. Carlos Pavón has been transferred 20 times in his club career, and he is well versed with diverse styles of play. Considered an expert in all matters pertaining to football, Pavón scored regularly and played a key role in his country’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup.
Wilson Palacios:
The Tottenham striker has been in good form during the second phase of the English Premier League. Honduras will have enough reasons to celebrate if Palacios can carry the excellent touch to South African fields.
David Suazo (Inter)
He is fleet footed and has a powerful kick, always threatening to score. It is his first world cup like the other Hondurans and it will be an apt stage for displaying his abundant talents.
Amado Guevara (Toronto FC, Canada)
A born leader, the captain of Honduran team is inspiring on the field. This accomplished midfielder has great technique and is a regular for Honduras. More than all, Guevara is cool on the pitch and is a great calming influence on his teammates.
Best Footballing Moment
In the Copa America 2001 in Colombia, Honduras was invited when USA declined. La H made the maximum of the unexpected call, and destroyed Brazil in quarter-finals 2-0. Honduras finished in third place..
World Cup Objective
Getting into the round of 16. Anything more will be a fantastic bonus.
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