Honduras has qualified for the World Cup three times, in 1982, 2010, and 2014, and never advanced beyond the group stage. Outside of the FIFA World Cup tournament, Honduras has competed in several other international competitions, like the CONCACAF Championship (which they won in 1981), and the Copa América (which their best result was third place in 2001). Apart from that, Honduras has also won the Central American Cup championship four times, having won the final edition in 2017. The national team plays in the Nations League
History
The Honduran Football Team in 1946
The national team made its debut in the Independence Centenary Games held in Guatemala City in September 1921, losing 9–0 to Guatemala.[4] The Honduras Men's National Team is the representative team in official men's football. They were created and played in a football tournament organized to celebrate Central American Independence the first international football match.
Prior to the qualification stages leading up to the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador found themselves in what was called the Football War. This nickname was given to the situation after a play-off game was played between the two countries to decide which would qualify for the Finals. This political crisis eventually turned into a war that lasted approximately 100 hours.
Honduras had begun qualifying by defeating Costa Rica and Jamaica. Against Jamaica, they easily won both games, 5–1 on aggregate. They beat Costa Rica 1–0 in Tegucigalpa and drew 1–1 away. This set up a final match between Honduras and El Salvador, who had eliminated Guyana and the Netherlands Antilles.
In the first game against El Salvador, Honduras won 1–0 in Tegucigalpa on 8 June 1969. Honduras were coached by Carlos Padilla Velásquez and the only goal of the game was scored by Leonard Welch. Honduras lost the second game 3–0 in San Salvador, and a play-off was required in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on 27 June. El Salvador won 3–2 to qualify and eliminate Honduras from the qualifications.
Since 1993, CONMEBOL has invited teams from other confederations to participate in their confederation championship, the Copa América. Honduras took part as one of the last-minute teams added for the 2001 tournament, as Argentina dropped out one day before the start. The team arrived only a few hours before the tournament's first game and with barely enough players. Despite the odds, Honduras progressed into the quarter-finals, where they defeated Brazil 2–0. In the semi-finals, Colombia knocked out Honduras 2–0.
Honduras advanced to the final round in the qualifying competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but again failed to qualify after losing at home to Trinidad & Tobago, and away against Mexico in their final two matches. The match against Trinidad, and Tobago saw Honduras hit the goal post eight times.[citation needed]
Honduras faced Chile, Spain, and Switzerland in their first-round group.[7] In their first match they lost to Chile 1–0, to a goal from Jean Beausejour. They then lost 2–0 to Spain, with both goals scored by David Villa. In their last match they drew 0–0 against Switzerland and were eliminated in last place in the group.
Players lining up during the national anthem prior to the qualifying match against Canada on June 12, 2012, at BMO Field
In the qualifying competition for the 2014 World Cup, Honduras were given a bye to the third round because of their third-place position among CONCACAF teams in the March 2011 FIFA World Rankings. They qualified for the final round by finishing first in their group, which included Panama, Canada and Cuba. After beginning with a home defeat against Panama, Honduras recovered and beat Canada 8–1 in their final match, allowing them to win the group ahead of Panama.
In the final round of qualifying, the Hexagonal, six teams faced each other in a home-and-away format. In their first two games, Honduras defeated the United States 2–1 and came back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2–2 with Mexico. They lost three of their next four matches before traveling to Mexico City to face Mexico in the Azteca. Honduras again trailed but scored twice in the second half for a stunning 2–1 win. They returned to Tegucigalpa, where they drew 2–2 against Panama, who escaped defeat with a last-minute goal by Roberto Chen. In the final two games, Honduras beat Costa Rica 1–0 at home and qualified with a 2–2 draw against Jamaica in Kingston.
The Honduran national team prior to their match against Ecuador at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
In the Finals in Brazil, Honduras again finished bottom of their first-round group, after 3–0 defeats against France and Switzerland, and a 2–1 defeat to Ecuador. The match against France featured the first use of goal-line technology to award a goal at the World Cup: an own-goal by Honduras's goalkeeper, Noel Valladares. Against Ecuador, Carlo Costly scored Honduras's first goal in the Finals for 31 years.
Honduras failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. In the Hexagonal stage they dropped into fourth place after Panama scored an 88th-minute winning goal in their last match against Costa Rica. Honduras had themselves dropped points by conceding late goals in their two previous games, against Costa Rica and the United States. They entered a play-off against Australia, and after a 0–0 draw at home, Honduras were eliminated when they lost the second leg in Sydney 3–1.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF third round, Honduras did considerably worse, with the Hondurans, for the first time ever in a World Cup qualification, failed to register a win, with just four draws. Immediate effect with the national team as they are going through a generational change of players for the team.
According to FIFA statutes, official major competition organized by CCCF for senior national teams. It was the predecessor confederation of CONCACAF and affiliated with FIFA as the governing football body in Central America and Caribbean from 1938 to 1961.
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