El Salvador flying, Honduras sagging entering World Cup qualifying clash

June 9, 2009

The last time Honduras was at Estadio Olimpico, Los Catrachos celebrated a 3-1 victory against Mexico in the final game of the Sven-Goran Eriksson era.

Honduras returns to San Pedro Sula Wednesday, but in a far less festive mood after falling to the United States 2-1 at Chicago’s Solider Field on Saturday night. That’s because El Salvador beat El Tri on Saturday night in San Salvador and has moved in front of Honduras in the final hexagonal stage of World Cup qualifying.

With El Salvador in fourth and Honduras one point behind, it makes Wednesday night’s clash pivotal in the standings.

“We will play very difficult rivals,” Honduran coach Reinaldo Rueda said. “They are upbeat after beating Mexico…We did not gain any points last Saturday, so we are under pressure.”

Rueda wasn’t happy with his team’s performance against a U.S. team that rebounded from a 3-1 thrashing in Costa Rica on Wednesday.

“We were beaten by a team that didn’t do a lot,” he said. “They were no better than us, but profited from our mistakes.”

After Carlos Costly put the visitors in front in the fifth minute, Landon Donovan struck just before the half from the penalty spot and Carlos Bocanegra won the game with a diving header in the 67th minute for the U.S.

“It was very difficult for us,” Honduran midfielder Ramon Nunez said. “They had two chances. They scored both. We have to pick up the team from this loss. We’ll go home and get a win on Wednesday.”

Meanwhile, El Salvador, which needed an 86th-minute penalty kick by Eliseo Quintanilla to beat Mexico 2-1 at home Saturday has new hope that a berth into next summer’s FIFA World Cup is a possibility.

El Salvador, which entered Saturday tied with Trinidad & Tobago in the basement of CONCACAF’s final hexagonal stage, moved into third place, in front of both Honduras and Mexico.

“The victory over Mexico made us feel full of joy and we can now set ourselves high targets,” El Salvadorian defender Alex Escobar said. “We are third in qualification and our chance is real again…We know we have to put in a big effort to make it to the World Cup. This is everybody’s dream and the Honduras match is the next step.”

Juan Martinez, who not only scored the game’s first goal in the 11th minute, also set up the decisive penalty, isn’t ready to celebrate just yet.

“We are very happy to have beaten the Mexicans, but we know this is in the past now and we must work as strongly as we did for that match,” he said. “We want to keep up our good form and clinch qualification to the World Cup.”

Not only has El Salvador’s victory over the perennial CONCACAF powerhouse brought a new sense of optimism to the country, but it has impressed Rueda, as well.

“They work very well,” said Rueda, whose squad has won its last five qualifiers in San Pedro Sula. “They have already proved they have the same chance of qualifying for the World Cup as we have.”

By Dylan Butler

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