THE PAST
Honduras doesn’t have to much to gloat about when it comes to past World Cup finals success, but the squad did make it to the 1982 World Cup final and they did play Spain to a draw that run and Spain was the host of the Cup too. Honduras didn’t make it to the second round though, but they did earn at least two points in the three matches. Twenty eight years later, Hoduras is back on the center stage and guess who is in their group? Spain. I think they will happily take a draw again.
THE PRESENT
Honduras earned their World Cup berth battling their way through an improved CONCACAF division and they finished the WCQ in third place behind the Yanks and Mexico and tied with Costa Rica. In fact Honduras made the Cup by such a narrow margin that they needed a US-Costa Rica draw to guarantee a spot in the tournament this summer. The Yanks granted them the late equalizer and Costa Rica was the odd man out of the event.
THE PREDICTION
Honduras is one of the stranger gambling lines this summer. Some casinos have them listed at 350 to 1 odds whereas most have the, around 500 to 1 or even 1,000 to 1. I think that the squad is highly underrated and is certainly not the worst club in the tournament as some sites project. Still I think that they play in an underrated group considering Chile’s great success in the WCQ and Spain’s pure dominance in international football the last few years. Honduras will not survive the first round once again.
photo credit: Jakob Montrasio