Preview:Honduras vs Costa Rica - prediction, team news, lineups

Honduras can pad their lead atop the Group C standings in round three of World Cup 2026 qualifying when they host Costa Rica at Estadio Francisco Morazan on Thursday.

A 3-3 draw versus Haiti on matchday two has Los Ticos sitting in second place with two points, two fewer than La H, who defeated Nicaragua 2-0.

Match preview

Another solid defensive outing last month has vaulted the Hondurans into first place, as they seek their first World Cup appearance since 2014.

The national team have yet to concede a goal in this phase, posting four consecutive clean sheets, while going unbeaten at home in qualifying.

Reinaldo Rueda guided them to the 2010 finals and under the Colombian this team have suffered just one defeat in their previous six competitive fixtures.

Los Catrachos have lost just one match this year when netting the opening goal, with Guatemala coming back to beat them 2-1 in a March friendly.

Since that defeat they are unbeaten in three successive competitive matches versus Central American opposition, conceding just once over that stretch.

Of their 14 combined goals scored in the second and third qualifying stages, 11 have come in the opening half, while they have not conceded a single goal in the final 45 minutes of play.

One of the early underwhelming stories in this phase of CONCACAF qualifying has been the struggles of Costa Rica, a side that are seeking a fourth consecutive World Cup appearance.

Round three has not begun well for them, with the Central Americans netting first in both of their matches played in this round, only to be pegged back both times.

That is a common theme for this group of late, netting the opening goal in three successive competitive fixtures and failing to win each time, while their last triumph came when giving up the opener in last summer’s Gold Cup versus the Dominican Republic (2-1).

Miguel Herrera’s men are on a four-match winless run across all competitions, though the Costa Ricans have not lost in normal time since Catalonia beat them 2-0 in a friendly back in May.

Los Ticos have scored a goal or fewer in two of their previous three matches played away from home, losing just one road contest this year in normal time to a CONCACAF opponent (3-0 at the USA in January).

Costa Rica have won the previous two meetings against Honduras and have not lost to them on Honduran soil since October 2013 (1-0).

Honduras World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Honduras form (all competitions):

Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Costa Rica form (all competitions):

Team News

There are five Honduran players called up for this match seeking to make their first senior appearance, Nayrobi Vargas, Leonardo Posadas, Denis Meléndez, Deyron Martinez and Luis Ortiz.

On matchday two Romell Quioto and Alexy Vega scored second-half goals for them, while Edrick Menjivar collected his second clean sheet in the third round.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica made two changes to their starting 11 from matchday one to two as Julio Cascante and Kenneth Vargas came into the fold in place of Francisco Calvo and Brandon Aguilera.

Vargas and Alonso Martinez gave them a 2-0 half-time lead versus the Haitians, but it was a Juan Pablo Vargas strike in second-half stoppage time which rescued them a point.

Honduras possible starting lineup:

Menjivar; Najar, F. Flores, Santamaria, Rosales; D. Flores, Arriaga; Quioto, Benguche, Palma; Lozano

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:

Navas; C. Mora, Calvo, Gamboa, J. Vargas, J. Mora; K. Vargas, Galo, Borges; Ugalde, Martinez

We say: Honduras 1-2 Costa Rica

The Costa Ricans consistently find a way to fight back in these qualifying phases, and we believe that their resilience will serve them well against a side that they have had considerable success against in recent times.

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