Honduras dreaming of South Africa 2010

April 3, 2008

When we think about potential qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa, Honduras rarely feature at the top of many people’s lists. However, after back to back victories over South American high flyers Paraguay and Colombia, people are starting to sit up and take notice of the Honduran National Football Team.

Coach Reinaldo Rueda has quietly put together a hard working and technically gifted side which is certainly the most exciting generation of Hondurans since the team that qualified for the 1982 World Cup Finals in Spain.

Last months 3-1 victory over Paraguay, who currently top the South American qualifying section ahead of Brazil and Argentina, was dismissed by many as a freak result, but last weeks victory over COlombia - who had gone nine games without defeat since the 2007 COPA America, suggests the Hondurans are genuine contenders to qualify from the CONCACAF qualifying phase for South Africa 2010.

“Reinaldo has an excellent team, they were good opponents. The game was just too tough for us,” said Colombia coach Jose Luis Pinto after seeing his team dominated by Honduras and in particular Inter Milan forward David Suazo.

However, despite the praise coming their way, Honduras are refusing to get carried away. They face a seemingly straight forward tie against Puerto Rico next on their road to South Africa, a nation who lie 125 places below them in the FIFA World Rankings.

Puerto Rico themselves are enjoying a revival of sorts - remaining unbeaten in 2008 and looking to emulate fellow minnows Guadeloupe, who shocked the Hondurans by knocking them out the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

“We’re on the right track,” says Honduran defender Sergio Mendoza. “But we mustn’t underestimate Puerto Rico. The gap between football teams has narrowed considerably. I don’t think they’re going to catch us off guard but we must always respect them.” Of the same opinion is captain and national legend Amado Guevara. “We’ll need to prepare properly before playing against them. It’s true that they’re an almost unknown quantity, but they deserve a lot of respect. We want to beat them in June to make it through the first phase.”

While the senior side focus on South Africa 2010 and the dream of the World Cup finals, the Honduran stars of the future concentrate on the 2008 Beijing Olympics - the third Olympic finals they have qualified for from the last four events.

Their place for this year’s Olympics in Beijing was sealed at March 2008’s qualifying competition in the United States. Not satisfied with taking one of the two available tickets for China by reaching the final, the Hondurans promptly overturned the host nation and heavy favourites 1-0 to take the regional U-23 crown.

With the country’s finest ever player Suazo in great form both for the national team and with Serie A champions Inter Milan, the future of Honduran football is brighter than ever. Perhaps a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa - potentially their first major tournament in 28 years - is not a pipedream after all.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.