Group H
Manager: Rueda
Star Player : Carlos Pavon
Number of Previous World Cup Appearances: 1
Best result: 1st round (1982)
All-time record: 3 games played, 0 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss
Goals for: 2, Goals against: 3
Biggest defeat: 1-0 vs. Yugoslavia in 1982
Top scorer: Hector Zelaya and Antonio Laing (1 goal)
Most appearances: Several players (3 matches)
Hosted the World Cup: Never
LIVE STREAM HONDURAS MATCHES :
June 16, 2010 @ 11:30GMT Group Stage Group H
Honduras vs Chile
at Mbombela Stadium
June 21, 2010 @ 18:30GMT Group Stage Group H
Spain vs Honduras
at Ellis Park
June 25, 2010 @ 18:30GMT Group Stage Group H
Switzerland vs Honduras
at Free State Stadium
Short Team Profile Honduras:
FIFA member since: 1946
Team nickname: Los Catrachos
All-time caps leader: Amado Guevara (130)
All-time leading scorer: Carlos Pavon (56)
Notable achievements: CONCACAF Championship (1981)
Legendary Player: Regarded as one his country's all-time great players, Gilberto Yearwood was a member of the Honduran team that played at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Yearwood was the only player who earned a living outside of Honduras - the defensive midfielder played for Spanish side Real Valladolid at the time of the World Cup.
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- Ricardo Canales Goalkeeper 1.89m 87 kg May 30, 1982
- Donis Escober Goalkeeper 1.80m 78 kg February 3, 1981
- Noel Valladares Goalkeeper 1.79m 80 kg May 3, 1977
- Victor Bernardez Defender 1.84m 82 kg May 24, 1982
- Osman Chavez Defender 1.88m 86 kg July 29, 1984
- Maynor Figueroa Defender 1.80m 85 kg May 2, 1983
- Oscar Boniek García Defender 1.75m 72 kg September 4, 1984
- Emilio Izaguirre Defender 1.77m 73 kg May 10, 1986
- Sergio Mendoza Defender 1.84m 80 kg May 23, 1981
- Johnny Palacios Defender 1.82m 77 kg December 20, 1986
- Mauricio Sabillon Defender 1.80m 82 kg November 11, 1978
- Edgar Alvarez Midfielder 1.73m 75 kg January 9, 1980
- Roger Espinoza Midfielder 1.78m 74 kg October 25, 1986
- Amado Guevara Midfielder 1.80m 75 kg May 2, 1976
- Julio Leon Midfielder 1.74m 70 kg September 13, 1979
- Ramon Nunez Midfielder 1.69m 63 kg November 14, 1985
- Wilson Palacios Midfielder 1.78m 71 kg July 29, 1984
- Hendry Thomas Midfielder 1.80m 75 kg February 23, 1985
- Danilo Turcios Midfielder 1.64m 59 kg May 8, 1978
- Walter Martinez Forward 1.65m 67 kg March 28, 1982
- Carlos Pavon Forward 1.78m 76 kg October 30, 1973
- David Suazo Forward 1.82m 75 kg November 5, 1979
- Georgie Welcome Forward 1.78m 76 kg March 9, 1985
Want to Know More About Honduras ? Read More !!
Appearances at finals:1982 - First round
Overall record at finals: Played 3, Won 0, Drew 2, Lost 1.
Best performance: The first round of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Most appearances at finals: Gilberto Yearwood (1982) - 3.
Most goals at finals: Hector Zelaya, Antonio Laing (1982) - 1.
World Cup legend: Hector Ramon, nicknamed 'Eagle Chest', left his mark by scoring the country's first goal in a World Cup in 1982.
World Cup high: Drawing 1-1 with hosts Spain in the first round of the 1982 World Cup.
World Cup low: Defeat and subsequent elimination against Yugoslavia in the first round in 1982.
The story so far: After only one appearance in the World Cup, Honduras, wrapped in political turmoil during the past few months, are dreaming of a brighter future. Their sole appearance came in 1982 and they put up a creditable showing. They drew with hosts Spain and Northern Ireland, but a defeat to Yugoslavia in the final game cost Honduras a place in the second group stage.
However, the country's World Cup history will always be associated with a conflict that broke out with El Salvador in 1969. Relations had been tense due to immigration between the two neighbouring nations before rioting broke out during and after a qualifying game for Mexico 70 in San Salvador. The Salvadoran Army launched an offensive in Honduras and fighting raged on until a ceasefire was called six days later. Despite the problems running far deeper than sport, this has been labelled the 'Football War'.
Qualification: Honduras fought it out with Costa Rica to the last breath. Honduras had lost their second-to-last game against USA in the Honduran capital, and thus needed to defeat El Salvador in the final match and then hope that Costa Rica failed to earn three points on American soil.
Costa Rica had looked poised for victory after Brian Ruiz scored two goals in the first half, but the Ticos crumbled in the second half, and the game played in Washington ended in a draw, which, coupled with a 1-0 win against El Salvador, allowed Honduras to return to the World Cup by virtue of their better goal difference.
Qualifying record: GP10, W5, D1, L4, F17, A11, Pts16.
Most appearances: Noel Valladares (18).
Top goalscorer: Carlos Pavon (7).
TEAM PROFILE HONDURAS:
Honduras reached the finals of the FIFA World Cup™ for only the second time in dramatic fashion, an equaliser in the dying seconds of the USA's clash with Costa Rica triggering frantic celebrations from Los Catrachos' fans thousands of miles further south. Yet despite having squeezed into the finals, coach Reinaldo Rueda's talented team will not be going to South Africa just to make up the numbers.
The road to South Africa
Rueda's men dug deep from the off to oust Puerto Rico 6-2 on aggregate to progress to the penultimate round of North, Central America and Caribbean Zone qualifying. Once there they successfully negotiated a tricky section to qualifying for the final six-team Hexagonal round ahead of Mexico, Jamaica and Canada.
The decisive final phase could barely have got off to a worse start, however, with La Bicolor sinking to a 2-0 reverse away to fierce rivals Costa Rica. A 1-1 draw in Trinidad and Tobago and a 3-1 home win over mighty Mexico got their bid back on track, only for Honduras to suffer a narrow 2-1 defeat in the United States. A run which included wins over El Salvador (1-0), Costa Rica (4-0) and Trinidad and Tobago (4-1) and a 1-0 reverse on Mexican soil then gave Los Catrachos the opportunity to clinch their passage to South Africa in the penultimate round of qualifying against the USA.
Wasteful finishing and a resilient Stars and Stripes display contributed to a 3-2 reverse in San Pedro Sula, which meant that Honduras now had to win their final match in El Salvador and hope for a favourable result between United States-Costa Rica. And despite having clinched a 1-0 win in San Salvador, the Hondurans would have missed out on direct qualification had it not been for that last-gasp American equaliser.
The star players
Over and above the country's big-name stars plying their trade in the European game, Los Catrachos' key man in qualifying was evergreen 36-year-old forward Carlos Pavon. In typically clinical fashion, it was the well-travelled goalgetter who fired his side's winner in El Salvador to ensure their place at the African showpiece. Aided and abetted by the hugely talented David Suazo, Wilson Palacios, Julio Leon and Amado Guevara, Pavon would love nothing more than to crown his glorious international career with a goal-laden showing on the biggest stage of all.
The coach
For Honduras, qualifying phases for the FIFA World Cup qualifying had become something of a recurring nightmare. Always among the pre-event favourites, La Bicolor invariably contrived to fall short at key moments - that is until the arrival of 42-year-old Colombian strategist Rueda.
After taking the job in early 2007, his professionalism struck a chord with the powers that be in Honduran football, who gave him the time to work denied many of his predecessors. Rueda repaid that faith by guiding his adopted country to South Africa 2010 on the back of sparkling attacking football and a solid backline.
Previous FIFA World Cups
• Honduras return to global football's top table after 28 years away. Their only previous appearance at the finals came at Spain 1982.
• Under the watchful eye of then coach Jose de la Paz, Los Catrachos surprised the world by drawing 1-1 with the hosts and then with Northern Ireland, before exiting the tournament after conceding a late goal in a 1-0 defeat by the former Yugoslavia.
• On the scoresheet for Honduras at that FIFA World Cup were Hector Zelaya and Antonio Laing, against Spain and Northern Ireland respectively.
Records
• Prior to the 3-2 defeat by the United States in San Pedro Sula, Honduras had racked up an eight-game unbeaten home run in South Africa 2010 qualifying.
• Honduras conceded just 11 goals in the final Hexagonal, the best defensive record in the section.
• Veteran sharpshooter Pavon was Los Catrachos' most prolific scorer in qualifying, helping himself to an impressive seven goals in nine appearances.
What they said
"Nobody could believe it. Our game ended and we were all dejected, then we saw the row the fans were making and we realised that the USA had equalised against Costa Rica. We're so happy to be going to South Africa and we're not going to let down all those people who believed in us." Honduras striker Carlos Pavon after his team booked their passage to the 2010 showpiece.
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