Honduras Football History :
Honduras’ national football team also known by the nickname Los Catrachos, La Bicolor, is governed by the National Autonomous Federation of Football of Honduras (Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras). It represents the country in all the international football competitions.
In the FIFA World Cup, they have played only twice, once in 1982 and once in 2010. In the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, it started participating in 1991 and emerged as a strong team with its brilliant understanding of the game but failed to grab any title. The team debuted in the Copa Centroamericana in the year 1991. In the Copa America tournament, the team was invited to play only once in 2001. The team has also been participating in the Pan American Games since 1991 and the Central American and Caribbean Games since 1930. Organized by UNCAF and ORDEGA, the Central American Games were first played by Honduras in the year 1973.
Other than the above mentioned tournaments, the national football team of Honduras also played and grabbed the title once in the Independence Cup in 2010 and once in the Carlsberg Cup in 2002. For the Olympics, there is a separate under-23 team which represents Honduras. The team qualified three times for the Olympics in 2000, 2008, and 2012. Built in 1997, Honduras plays most of their fixtures at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano stadium in the San Pedro Sula city that has a capacity to seat 53,000 spectators.
Honduras Success Story :
The FIFA and Copa America record of Honduras is way below average so far while in other competitions it has successfully garnered praises all over the country. In the CONCACAF Gold Cup, it entered the semi-finals four times, quarter-finals twice and finished at 2nd once in 1991. In the Copa Centroamericana, it has grabbed three titles in 1993, 1995 and 2011 and finished at 2nd place thrice in the tournament. In the Pan American games, the results are unimpressive so far, while in the Central American Games (UNCAF) it emerged the winner thrice and finished at 2nd place two times. Honduras has qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup through the CONCACAF qualification rounds.
Honduras squad |
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| Goalkeepers: | Noel Valladares Donis Escober (both Olimpia) Luis Lopez (Real Espana) |
Defenders: | Brayan Beckeles (Olimpia) Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic/Scotland) Juan Carlos Garcia (Wigan/England) Maynor Figueroa (Hull City/England) Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes/USA) Osman Chavez (Qingdao Janoon/China PR) Juan Pablo Montes (Motagua) |
| Midfielders: | Arnold Peralta (Rangers/Scotland) Luis Garrido (Olimpia) Roger Espinoza (Wigan/England) Jorge Claros (Motagua) Wilson Palacios (Stoke/England) Oscar Garcia (Houston Dynamo/USA) Andy Najar (Anderlecht/Belgium) Mario Martinez (Real Espana) Marvin Chavez (Colorado Rapids/USA) |
Forwards: | Jerry Bengtson (New England Revolution/USA) Jerry Palacios (Alajuelense/Costa Rica) Carlo Costly (Real Espana) Rony Martinez (Real Sociedad/Spain) |
Honduras performance in all FIFA World Cups :
| World Cup Year | World Cup Hosting Nation | FIFA Qualification | Quarter Final Birth | Semi Final Birth | Third Place Secured | Reached Final | Title Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | South Africa | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 | Germany | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | South Korea | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1998 | France | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1994 | United States | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1990 | Italy | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | Spain | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1978 | Argentina | Withdrew | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1966 | England | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1938 | France | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1934 | Italy | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 19 World Cups | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |