Honduras

Nickname: Los Catrachos or La Bicolor (Term for Hondurans or The Two Colors)
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking: 38

Honduras is making their second appearance in the World Cup and have yet to win a match in the tournament. They will be looking to change that they face Spain (ranked 2nd), Chile (ranked 18th) and Switzerland (ranked 24th) in Group H. Honduras is not expected to progress from this difficult group but they shouldn’t be underestimated becaus6 they are a talented team.

Los Catrachos narrowly qualified on the last match day, beating El Salvador and needing Costa Rica to lose or tie with the USA. A crazy ending to the Costa Rica vs. USA game saw the USA tie the score in the last minute and send Honduras to the World Cup over Costa Rica. Hondurans are extremely excited about the World Cup and are likely looking forward to putting aside political problems to rally behind La Bicolor.

Coach

Honduras is coached by Colombian Reinaldo Rueda, who took over in 2007. Rueda has worked hard to instill discipline, which some have complained about, but after leading Honduras to a place in South Africa the fans love him. Rueda is a very intellectual coach, always studying and trying to learn more where he can. Honduran fans hope he can continue to make them proud and surprise some folks by qualifying for the second round.

Key Players

This team has some talent at its disposal, and it starts on the attack. At forward Honduras is led by the experienced Carlos Pavon. Pavon led the team with seven goals during qualification. Some other forwards to pay attention to on this team are Carlos Costly, David Suazo and Julio Leon. All of these forwards are experienced and are capable goal scorers.

Another key figure for Honduras is Wilson Palacios. Palacios is a midfielder who plays in England and is undoubtedly a key to any success Honduras is going to have in South Africa.