Honduras 2010 World Cup Team

A thriller of a match between USA and Costa Rica which resulted in a draw, actually helped catapult Honduras to the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2010. This does not mean that the Hondurans will visit South Africa only to experience hospitality and visit popular locales. Reinaldo Rueda, the coach and his team mean business. They will fly down to South Africa looking to play some serious football and not to attain cheap tourist like thrills.

Rough and grueling days lie ahead for the Honduras national football team, now that’s a fact. In the qualifying stages, the team registered a scintillating 6-2 win against Puerto Rico, thus denying the Puerto Ricans the chance to proceed in the tournament. They also managed to reach the last but one round of the North, Central America and Caribbean Zone qualifying and from there on successfully ‘toured’ to the final six-team Hexagonal round. However, their start of the crucial final phase was dented with a loss to Costa Rica, but this was followed up with a draw against Trinidad and Tobago. The highlight of their campaign, arguably, was a heady 3-1 win against Mexico. The Honduran trek continued with steep wins over Costa Rico, El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago, but a loss to Mexico slowed down their efforts to reach South Africa. The winding path then led to a must win final match against El Salvador and a decisive game between Costa Rica and USA. The Hondurans managed to sailed to a win against El Salvador and rested their fate in the hands (legs) of the Americans. The Americans on their part didn’t disappoint, a thrilling equalizer in their game against Costa Rica helped see the Hondurans through to South Africa.

"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 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,” exclaimed delighted Honduras striker Carlos Pavon, post his team’s qualification to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Carlos Pavon, the 36-year-old forward is a star in his own right. If it wasn’t for his soaring kick to the nets in the fateful game against El Salvador, the Hondurans may not have even made it to South Africa as tourists! Carlos is backed by talented peers who go by the names David Suazo, Julio Leon, Amado Guevara and Wilson Palacios. South Africa awaits these stars, whether they can rocket their team to clain vistory over steely competitors remains to be seen.

The Pre-World Cup list of players for Hondura is given below.