honduras qualifies for 2014 world cup!

It can be difficult for someone in the United States to fully comprehend what a World Cup appearance means to a nation like Honduras.

Our much larger nation is blessed with more Olympic gold medalists and globally recognized athletes than most of us can possibly keep track of.

It’s so much different in a place like Honduras, where the population of 8.2 million put its pretty close to Virginia. Size-wise, at 43,000 square [miles], it’s just a little bigger than Kentucky or Tennessee.

So making a World Cup is a massive historical achievement … and the fact that Honduras’ place in world soccer has grown substantially in the past four years makes Tuesday’s accomplishment less novel, perhaps, but no less cause for celebration.

The steadily rising Hondurans qualified for their second consecutive World Cup, surviving the unbelievable night with a 2-2 draw against Jamaica down in Kingston.

- NBC Sports

Felicidades Selección! Grande Honduras!

Photos: El Heraldo

world cup: honduras 0 - chile 1

Handicapped by the absence of three of its star offensive players (all out with injuries), a decimated  "La H" lost by one goal to the Chileans today in its debut in the 2010 World Cup.  Unexpectedly, "powerhouse" Spain lost to Switzerland 0-1 as well. Honduras plays Spain next (June 21), in what is a must win for both Group H teams.

one game changes everything

Actually, in this case, it was two games that changed everything.

Gracias Mariella! Gracias Seleccion! Gracias Gringos!

national team trains

The Honduran national soccer team has begun training for the South Africa World Cup.  They are looking pretty strong and formidable to me.

Photo: El Heraldo

funny

Hondurans are definitely grateful for Team USA's Jonathan Bornstein's last minute goal that tied their match with Costa Rica 2-2 and allowed Honduras to automatically qualify for South Africa 2010. President Micheletti has offered Mr. Bornstein an all expenses paid vacation in the Bay Islands as an expression of gratitude. The American said he will consider taking the president up on his offer when his schedule frees up.

In an infuriating move, the resistencia, the rag-tag group of Zelaya supporters, called for Hondurans to "boycott" and not support the national team because "it was sponsored by coup-supporting corporations." This call, like all their hateful so-called "calls," went completely unheeded.  Curiously, both Zelaya and some members of his resistencia have recently made anti-Semitic statements. It's karmically interesting, then, that an American of Jewish ancestry made the goal that indirectly permitted the Honduran team to qualify to the World Cup, and made the resistencia's pathetic boycott of the team backfire even more violently in their faces. Karma is a bitch.

Cartoon courtesy of El Tiempo

the star

Carlos "The Flying Shadow" Pavón. His goal against El Salvador was crucial to the Honduran effort to qualify for the World Cup.

A formidable athlete. He is Honduras' top scorer of all time.

Photos courtesy of El Heraldo and La Prensa

hero's welcome for the squad

Thousands of fans converged on Tegucigalpa's airport today to welcome home Honduras' freshly minted World Cup team.

Photo courtesy of El Heraldo

Carlos Pavon's and Johnathan Bornstein's goals: beautiful soccer!

This is the goal that won the match for Honduras against El Salvador. David Suazo made the pass to Carlos Pavón, who headed it into the goal.


Here's the 95th minute goal by Team USA's Jonathan Bornstein that tied the score with Costa Rica 2-2, and gave Honduras automatic qualification. Again, awesome header!


Kind of like... allies. Thanks for watching our backs, USA.

the planets aligned for Honduras!

Honduras has qualified for the South Africa World Cup! What a wonderful gift of joy for a noble people who have been going through a very rough time lately. What a good omen for our future!

Felicidades Selección! Viva la H! Viva Honduras!

another big soccer match tonight

UPDATE 8:32 PM

WE DID IT! We won the game in San Salvador and we qualified! (The USA, which had already qualified, tied with Costa Rica 2-2, which was in our favor. Gracias gringos!)

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If Honduras wins the match against El Salvador and Costa Rica loses or ties with the United States (this match is also tonight in San Jose, CR Washington, DC's RFK Stadium), Honduras will qualify for the World Cup.  The planets must align, but everything is possible.

Adelante Selección!

hugely important soccer match tonight

UPDATE 10:30 PM: The U.S. won the match and qualifies for the World Cup. Congratulations, friends! Honduras can still qualify, but things have gotten "more complicated" for the catracho team.

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The Honduran team needs a win tonight to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. The match is taking place at the Estadio Olímpico in San Pedro Sula. Honduras has home court advantage, but the American team is formidable.

¡Vamos Honduras! ¡A ganar! ¡Viva la H!

star-studded team

The national soccer team will have most of its biggest stars for the September 5 game against Trinidad and Tobago, including "Rambo" de Leon and David Suazo. For the last several games David Suazo had been recovering from an injury.

Cool that I can talk soccer now!

Photo courtesy of La Prensa.

Honduras 4 - Costa Rica 0

Last night the national soccer team beat Costa Rica 4-0 in San Pedro Sula. This was a qualifying match for the South Africa 2010 World Cup.


These young Hondurans deserve to inherit a country that is democratic and where freedom reigns, not some Hugo Chavez-created nightmare. The battle being won is for them.

Viva la H!

Photos: La Prensa