Honduras head to PNC Stadium in Houston, Texas, searching for their first victory against Guatemala in over a decade when the two Central American sides square off on Tuesday.
La H fell 3-0 in a friendly versus the reigning Copa America champions Argentina on Friday, while La Bicolor struggled to contain the Colombians, losing 4-1.
Match preview
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It is a transitional period for the Hondurans, who finished at the bottom of the Octagonal phase of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, without a single victory for the first time in a qualification cycle since their 1990 campaign.
After squandering a 1-0 lead and drawing Canada in their opening match of qualifying for Qatar, it was only downhill from there, as the Central Americans looked a step behind their opponents more often than not, while it appeared as though time finally caught up to this veteran generation that propelled them to back-to-back World Cup appearances in 2010 and 2014.
Their quest for Qatar may have fallen well short of expectations, but they had opportunities to gain momentum early on, squandering eight points from winning positions in the second half of matches.
Now the federation have entrusted Diego Vazquez to develop a new generation of footballers with Los Catrachos, and the 51-year-old former goalkeeper should have a good grasp on the calibre of players who feature in the Honduran Liga Nacional, a league where he captured five domestic titles as a player and another five as manager of Motagua.
In his four matches in charge of the national team, his players have been patient in their build-up and unafraid to sit back and sustain pressure, producing some mixed results with that approach, picking up victories against Curacao (1-0) and Canada (2-1), but also losing to La Familia Azul (2-1) and the Argentines.
For these international fixtures, it seems as though the objective for Vazquez will be to have his youngsters gain more experience on the international stage, as only four of the 23 players that he selected for this window have earned over 20 caps with the senior squad.
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They held the fort for 40 minutes this weekend, but in the end, all of that Colombian pressure eventually paid off as Los Mayas saw their three-match unbeaten run come to an end.
At times, Guatemala seemed to be a little too patient and rarely interested in putting together even a single counterattack, as they had only two efforts on target against Colombia and 28% possession.
Luis Fernando Tena may be conservative in his approach, but he has found early success as manager of the national team, winning 80% of his matches in charge thus far (six wins, three draws and one defeat).
When they can hold their opponents off the scoresheet for the opening 45 minutes, this team appear to grow in confidence, conceding in the second half in only one match so far under Tena.
If there is one thing that the Guatemalans have shown they are capable of doing effectively, it would be maintaining an advantage.
They have won every match in which they scored first, while also failing to concede after tallying the opener since drawing Trinidad and Tobago 2-2 in September 2016.
Guatemala have been able to get the better of La H in several meetings over the past 11-plus years, unbeaten in their previous five encounters versus the Hondurans, winning the last two matches against them, 3-1 in 2016 and 2-1 in 2020.
Team News
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Romell Quioto leads CF Montreal with 15 goals in MLS this season and has found the back of the net 13 times for the Honduran national team, while Luis Lopez started in goal versus Argentina, collecting his 52nd international cap.
Kervin Arriaga has a chance to make his 20th appearance, and his Minnesota United teammate Joseph Rosales featured for the senior squad for only the second time in their previous encounter, replacing Hector Castellanos with fewer than 15 minutes remaining.
Quioto and Arriaga are two of the four players who have tallied for them in their three matches played at the CONCACAF Nations League, with the others being Jose Pinto and Kevin Lopez.
On Friday, Andy Najar started for the first time since October 2021, Deiby Flores collected his 22nd international cap, Rigoberto Rivas is still searching for his first goal for Honduras and Clayvin Zuniga will be looking to make his first appearance with the senior squad.
Nicholas Hagen replaced Ricardo Jerez in the Guatemalan goal this weekend, Andres Lezcano made his eighth appearance, Stheven Robles picked up his 26th cap and Oscar Santis scored their only goal on Saturday.
Rodrigo Saravia is still searching for his first goal with Los Chapines, failing to do so in 35 previous encounters, Luis Martinez is one cap short of 30, while Aslinn Rodas replaced Oscar Castellanos this weekend for his first national team appearance of the year.
Rubio Rubin leads Guatemala with two goals at the CONCACAF Nations League, with the other strikes coming from Santis and Carlos Mejia, along with an own goal from Deshawon Nembhard of the Dominican Republic.
Honduras possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Elvir, Melendez, Maldonado, Nunez; Rosales, Flores, Arriaga; Rochez, Quioto, Najar
Guatemala possible starting lineup:
Jerez; Morales, Gordillo, Pinto, Robles; Saravia, Garcia; Ordonez, Galindo, Lezcano; Rubin
We say: Honduras 1-1 Guatemala
Regarding individual quality, the Hondurans seem to possess more than their opponents, but their backline is inexperienced and learning how to remain composed when under pressure, something they struggled with against Argentina last week.
There may not be a lot of difference makers on Guatemala, but there are few teams in CONCACAF as committed to defending as they are, and lucky for them, La H are far from the most potent side in the region.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
