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Friday June 20th - 4:00PM | ||
| vs | ECUADOR | ||
| FIFA RANKING 30 | FIFA RANKING 28 | ||
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| HOW THEY QUALIFIED |
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| HONDURAS Following their group-phase exit at South Africa 2010 and the departure of coach Reinaldo Rueda, La H went through a rocky period. The appointment of Luis Fernando Suarez in March 2011 brought stability to the national set-up, however, with the new coach also working hard with Honduras’ youth sides, steering the U-23s to the quarter-finals of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament London 2012. Having gauged the quality of the country’s new generation, Suarez set about rejuvenating the full national team, giving it fresh impetus by drafting in a clutch of promising youngsters. The result was a convincing performance in Round 3 of the CONCACAF preliminaries, with Los Catrachos topping their group on goal difference from Panama to knock out Canada and Cuba. ECUADOR Ecuador were plagued by inconsistency during their qualifying campaign. While La Tricolorwent undefeated at home, beating every opponent in Quito except Argentina, with whom they drew, the side was unable to reproduce that form on the road, failing to win at all and drawing just three times. Nevertheless, one such stalemate – against Uruguay in Montevideo – proved decisive as Ecuador finished level on points with La Celeste but grabbed the last automatic qualifying spot thanks to their superior goal difference (four compared to Uruguay’s zero). With a team that was among the top four in the standings on 14 of the 16 matchdays and that had to overcome the tragic death of Cristian Benitez, coach Reinaldo Rueda became the third Colombian to guide Ecuador to FIFA World Cup qualification. |
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RECENT RESULTS |
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| HONDURAS | ECUADOR | ||
| 15/10/13 - JAMAICA 2-2 HONDURAS 11/10/13 - HONDURAS 1-0 COSTA RICA 10/09/13 - HONDURAS 2-2 PANAMA |
11/10/13 - ECUADOR 1-0 URUGUAY 10/09/13 - BOLIVIA 1-1 ECUADOR 06/09/13 - COLOMBIA 1-0 ECUADOR |
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| PLAYERS TO WATCH | |||
| HONDURAS Left-back Emilio Izaguirre was the find of the 2010/11 season for Celtic - named Scottish Premier League Player of the Year - and is a key force within Honduras's respectable backline. He is helped by captain and goalkeeper Noel Valladares who, despite a shy off-the-field personality, played an instrumental role in Honduras's qualification for South Africa 2010 and their deep run at the latest instalment of the Gold Cup. Wilson Palacios, one of the more recognisable faces of Honduran football playing for Stoke City, is also a crucial piece of the Honduran puzzle. The front line have been doing their bit too, where old hand Carlo Costly has impressed alongside rising star Jerry Bengtson, who burst on to the international scene at London 2012 and top-scored for La H in the qualifiers with nine goals. |
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| ECUADOR Wingers Antonio Valencia and Christian Noboa, as well as forwards Felipe Caicedo and Jefferson Montero, represent an exciting new wave for Ecuadorian football, but they are also ably assisted by a handful of evergreen stalwarts with European experience, such as Edison Mendez, Walter Ayovi and Segundo Castillo. |
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