Some people, likely those with far more Twitter followers than me, will tell you the Gold Cup means little. That it’s a second or third tier tournament, that it should only be played once every four years, and that you should not spend much time watching or caring about it.
They are largely correct. However, it’s worth reminding that this tournament does offer a half-ticket to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia (the winner of the 2013 Gold Cup will play the winner of the 2015 one in a playoff) Furthermore, the relative importance of this tournament remains in the eye of the beholder. For Spanish-language media in the U.S. (not to mention in Mexico and Central America) it’s a big deal.
ESPN Deportes is already devoting countless hours to the topic on its 24/7 sports radio networks. In the U.S., TV audience figures for the latter stages of the Gold Cup number in the low single-digit millions, roughly comparable to what the Stanley Cup Finals would draw in the U.S. on over-the-air broadcasts. Roughly 50 million Hispanic descended people call the U.S. home, many of them don’t give a shit about this tournament, but a great many of them do. The point is, if you’re committed to expending emotional and intellectual energy on the Gold Cup, you’re far from alone.
On to Los Catrachos...
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The biggest question surrounding Honduras on the eve of the Gold Cup is whether the coaching staff can assemble a roster of 23 players with the proper documents to legally enter the U.S.
Last week, three players were pulled from squad because they couldn't get U.S. visas. The trio - Efraín López, Walter Williams y Omar Elvir - all play club football in Honduras and bring a grand total of zero international caps to the table, so their loss is more of a numbers issue than anything else. More pressing is the woeful story around striker Jerry Palacios, who plays his club football for Alajuelense in Costa Rica. The 31-year-old has 16 caps and four goals for Honduras, one more than the next highest international total of anyone on this Gold Cup roster. This week, Jerry was running late for his flight out of San Jose when he realized he’d left his wallet at home. Rushing back in a taxi, he managed to misplace his passport. As of Friday morning, Palacios had finally made it back to Honduras, and is waiting for officials there to sort him out with a new passport and visa so he can link up with the squad early next week.
But even with Palacios, this is a team that will struggle to score. The Hondurans have scored zero goals away from home in the six road games they have played thus far in the last two rounds of World Cup qualifying. Granted, they scored 18 goals in six games at home, but eight of those came in one match. I don’t have many of the details but their opponent must have been truly, truly awful.
The Catrachos have opted to battle test players that aren't being used in the ongoing World Cup qualifying campaing. That means no Carlos Costly, no Emilio Izaguirre, no Víctor Bernárdez, no Maynor Figueroa, no Jerry Bengtson, no Wilson Palacios and no Roger Espinoza. The absence of Costly and Bengston will be felt most intensely, as they appear to be two of the only Honduran internationals scoring on a regular basis.
It's so dire that prior to naming the final 23-man list, rumours floated that 40-year-old Milton "Tyson" Núñez, who plays his club football in Guatemala, would be called into the side to shore up the striking options. He wasn't, which is regrettable given the comedic material his presence would offer. At striker, the Hondurans will go with Palacios (aforementioned situation pending) and domestic-based youngsters Rony Martínez (Real Sociedad) Roger Rojas (Olimpia), who have a combined 34 caps and seven national team goals between all three.
The best-known players to North American audiences might be Anderlecht midfielder Andy Najar (who had options to represent the U.S. internationally) and the Seattle Sounders’ Mario Martinez. Defenders Osman Chavez (who boasts 47 caps and a career with Wisla Krakow in Poland) and Juan Garcia are the only other players who have seen much time so far in World Cup qualifying. The two centrebacks will offer a sturdy defensive spine to a team that will desperately need one.
And ooh! On that front, remember goalkeeper Donis Escober? He achieved minor notoriety last year after leaving the pitch in the middle of a Honduran league match to take a crap. He brings 21 caps and a measure of World Cup qualifying experience to the team.
Honduras doesn't go in much for the creative midfielder type, but their regular first team does feature two guys -- Wilson Palacios and Roger Espinoza -- who ply the the defensive part of the game reasonable well in the English Premier League. In the absence of that duo, Martinez will be the most experienced midfielder. He was expected to get a boost from compatriot Luis Garrido, who as of this writing has gone down with a leg injury in training and will likely miss the tournament.
The usual chest-thumping comments about "representing the shirt" aside, Honduran manager Luis Suarez has been clear that this tournament will be used as a measuring stick for players who could move into the A-team for the remainder of World Cup qualifying. In that context, the player I’d watch is the young striker Rony ‘The Pony’ Martinez. The only Honduran national team action he’s seen are 60 minutes in a friendly against Israel earlier this year, but he finished the 2013 Honduran Clausura as league scoring leader with 13 goals. Honduras needs fresh meat to sizzle as Costly toughens and Martinez could be that steak.
Predictions? Honduras will niggle and dink their way to the top of Group B, setting up a likely quarterfinal match up with the second-place team in Group C, let's say Costa Rica. But given their longstanding inability to score away from home that’s where Honduras' Gold Cup participation is likely to come to an uninspiring end.