Honduras

The tiny country from Central America is stepping out onto the World’s biggest stage for only the second time in their colourful history. A 1-1 draw against hosts Spain in 1982 was a superb achievement, but one further draw against Northern Ireland and a loss against Yugoslavia were enough to send them home after a brief encounter with the World Cup.

28 years later and a tasty tie against European champions Spain is yet again on offer, a 1-1 draw here would certainly eclipse their finest hour in 82. Unfortunately, that outcome is somewhat unrealistic, so it may be against Switzerland and Chile that the success of their trip to South Africa is decided.
Yet, really the true success was getting there in the first place. Amongst a presidential coup – of Jose Manuel Zelaya – Honduras saw qualification fall within their grasp, only to be taken away again briefly after a loss to Mexico and the USA. With one game to go, away at El Salvador, Los Catrachos were sitting 4th in the group, with Costa Rica two points above them where a tricky tie against the USA awaited them.

Carlos Pavon scored the only goal, giving Honduras a 1-0 victory. The radios around the stand were then quickly turned on to listen to the fate of the other match. Costa Rica were winning 2-1, leaving Honduras in a play-off position. However, in the 94th minute American defender Jonathan Bornstein scored a last-gasp equaliser, sending the Honduran fans into ecstasy, as they qualified automatically due to having a greater goal difference than the unfortunate Costa Rica.

The country declared a national holiday in celebration of the achievement, much to the annoyance of Harry Redknapp, whose player Wilson Palacios was refused a flight back to England in order to return in time for his Premier League match for Spurs, instead being forced to join in with the celebrations that were in store. It is a hard life for some.

Expect Palacios to be the driving force behind the Honduran side, in a team that is expected to lose emphatically in South Africa. Renowned for his defensive ability, Palacios may well also be burdened with creating opportunities further up the field, not because he is necessarily the most attacking player, but simply because he is by far the best footballer the country has.

The Wigan pair of Hendry Thomas and Maynor Figueroa will add some familiarity to the team, yet despite both playing in England, to say they were even the highlight of the Wigan side would be like suggesting that Hamilton Accies can win the SPL next season. Sure, they are in the same league as Rangers and Celtic and on one-off occasions they can cause an upset, but they are never going to outperform them consistently. Honduras will be hoping for at least three one-off occasions this summer.

Anchoring the midfield is veteran captain Amado Guevara. He is one of a number of players who now plays domestic football back in his home country, however, having been capped a record breaking 133 times by Honduras, expect him to play a fundamental role in organising and inspiring his fellow teammates.

Up front, Genoa’s striker David Suazo will be looked upon to bag the vital goal. The Honduran has been flaunting his trade in Serie A since 1999, and is officially on loan from Inter Milan. In 2006 Suazo won foreign player of the year in Serie A, so clearly he has the potential to perform at a high level.

Columbian coach Reinaldo Rueda has already succeeded well above expectations in advancing Honduras to South Africa. He has been granted Honduran citizenship due to his achievement but anything other than a group stage exit will be a miracle. He will organise his side well, relying on a defence that conceding the least amount of goals in the CONCACAF group. However, players are apparently prone to lapses of concentration and against better opponents expect this to be punished.

Honduras has done exceptional well to make it to the World Cup, however, if they expect anything from their campaign they are likely to go home embarrassed. Spain are one of the natural favourites for the competition and Chile are regarded by most as a possible surprise package. The Swiss are generally boring but always do alright, effectively leaving Honduras with an insurmountable task. Hopefully they will at least score a few goals and provide their fans with some reason to cheer come June.