Switzerland v Honduras: match preview

Switzerland v Honduras
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: Fri June 25, 7.30pm BST
All four sides in Group H can still qualify for the second round but the Swiss go into their final group match with the likelier chance. Having produced the shock of the tournament to beat Spain in the opening match they faltered in defeat to Chile, but victory by a two-goal margin over Honduras would secure qualification.
Honduras’s hopes are slender and rest on beating Switzerland while Chile defeat Spain, and on over-turning a four-goal deficit on the European Champions in the process.

Key clash
Alexander Frei v Maynor Figueroa: Switzerland’s game is built on one of the meanest defences in world football but their prospects of progress rest on scoring at least twice.
For that they will turn to Frei, who has scored 40 international goals but missed from the victory over Spain through injury.
Hunduras coach Reinaldo Rueda may give the Wigan full-back the job of shackling the Swiss captain at centre-half as he shifts to a flat-back four from the three-man defence overcome by Spain in the last game.
Touchline duel
Ottmar Hitzfeld v Reinaldo Rueda: Hitzfeld has already been credited with the coaching performance of the tournament in marshalling the victory over Spain, and “Der General” is vastly more experienced than his counterpart in the Honduras dug-out being one of just three coaches to have won the European Cup at more than one club.
By contrast Rueda, a Colombian, is something of an international expert having never managed a club. He restored Honduran pride after narrowly missing out on qualification in 2006 and a national holiday was declared after they qualified for South Africa.
Talking tactics
Having set up a defensive master-class against Spain Hizveld must now conjure goals from a Swiss team missing one of its most creative talents in the suspended West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami. He will hope that Frei remains a reliable source of goals and rely Gelson Fernandes and Reto Ziegler to provide width and set-piece delivery to supply the Basel forward.
Honduras were humbled by Spain who could have scored six rather than the two they managed at Ellis Park, and are expected to revert to a flat-back four while recalling veteran record-goalscorer Carlos Pavon to partner David Suazo in attack.
What they say
Ottmar Hitzfeld: "We know that with a two-goal margin we will qualify. We do not want to depend on other results. The game against Honduras is like a Champions League semi-final. I relish such games. These 90 minutes will be very intensive.”
Reinaldo Rueda: "We must go out to win. We must take into account that we still mathematically have a faint hope of qualifying. I'm expecting another difficult game against Switzerland. We'll now have to see if the players can bounce back mentally and go out and give their all to end on a high for the good of Honduran football."
Switzerland (4-4-2): Diego Benaglio; Stephane Grichting, Steve von Bergen, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Reto Ziegler; Tranquillo Barnetta, Gokhan Inler, Benjamin Huggel, Gelson Fernandes; Alexander Frei, Blaise Nkufo
Honduras (4-4-2): Noel Valladares; Sergio Mendoza, Osman Chavez, Maynor Figueroa, Emilio Izaguirre; Edgard Alvarez, Wilson Palacios, Amado Guevara, Roger Espinoza, Carlos Pavon, David Suazo
Referee: TBC.
Previous meetings
None
Fact: Switzerland have played against Concacaf teams just twice in the finals and are unbeaten, winning 2-2 against Mexico in 1950 and drawing 1-1 with the USA in 1994.
Prediction: Difficult to call, perhaps a draw.

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Alexander Frei ready for Honduras

Alexander Frei has said he will continue playing for Switzerland after the World Cup. The Basle striker is irritated at speculation he may retire from international football following the tournament.

"I have not thought about resigning. This is the wrong moment," the 30‑year‑old Switzerland captain said before the vital Group H match against Honduras tomorrow at the Free State Stadium. "I am proud to have won 76 caps and I hope there are many more to come. We have the qualifiers for Euro 2012 ahead and I would like to be involved in them."

Frei, who has scored 40 goals for his country, said he is fully fit following an ankle injury and is having regular physio treatment at the team hotel. He is looking to start tomorrow after being replaced in the first half of the defeat by Chile.

However, Frei said: "It is down to the coach. I am here to serve the team in the best way I can. I am 100% fit now but can understand why I was taken off as I have not played a lot of football."

The coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld, is leaving nothing to chance in an attempt to secure his team's place in the last 16. The German manager will not only be focusing on his side's vital match but will also keep tabs on the clash between the group leaders, Chile, and the reigning European champions, Spain.

Hitzfeld said: "I will be well informed about what is happening in Pretoria. It could be that I will modify my tactics depending on the score. I feel that anything can happen in that game."

Honduras have lost both matches and Hitzfeld said: "They have moments of confusion in defence and we have to take advantage of that."

However, Honduras still have a theoretical chance of qualifying with a big win and their coach Reinaldo Rueda said his team will fight as long as there is a chance. "We must go out to win and dignity must emerge," Rueda said. "We must take into account that we still mathematically have a faint hope of qualifying."

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Spain v Honduras: match preview

Group H
Spain v Honduras
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: Mon June 21, 7.30pm BST
TV: ITV1 7pm, ITV HD 7pm

Spain, still reeling from the sensational defeat by Switzerland, expect to get the show rolling with an emphatic performance against a Honduran side which was given the runaround by Chile. Vicente Del Bosque is being urged by all and sundry to be a bit more ambitious this time around by dropping one of his midfield anchors, Sergio Busquets, and adopting a more attacking approach but he is not about to make sweeping changes to a system which saw the Switzerland defeat as only Spain’s second in 49 games.

Key clash

David Villa has an astonishing scoring record for Spain, having netted in his last internationals, but it will be down to Wigan’s left back Maynor Figueroa, who’s employed as a stalwart central defender for his country, to do the marshalling

Touchline duel

Del Bosque is fairly unflappable and will not be unduly fazed by the criticism aimed his way since the Switzerland defeat while Honduras’s Colombian boss Reinaldo Rueda, a former university lecturer already so popular that he has been granted Honduran citizenship, would be homing in on deification if he could orchestrate the toppling of the team which has looked the world’s best this past couple of years


Talking tactics

Critics of Del Bosque, including his predecessor as Spain boss Luis Aragones, felt he had been too cautious in the opening game, utilising his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation which put too much pressure on the lone striker David Villa. So, he could prefer to switch to 4-4-2, with Villa and Fernando Torres working in tandem

What they say

Del Bosque: “Losing to Switzerland wasn’t a good sign to send to our rivals, but in football you can always lose but I feel a sense that we will avenge this defeat."

Rueda: "Chile may have been our toughest opponents and we know we can give more still. We have the strength to withstand Spain and won’t rush to believe that we are out yet”

Teams

Spain (4-2-3-1): 1 Casillas, 15 Ramos, 3 Pique, 5 Puyol, 11 Capdevila, 14 Alonso, 16 Busquets, 21 Silva, 8 Xavi, 6 Iniesta, 7 Villa

Honduras (4-4-1-1): 18 Valles, 23 Mendoza, 2 Chavez, 3 Figueroa, 21 Izaguirre; 17 Alvares, 20 Guevara, 8 Palacios, 13 Espinoza, 7 Nunez, 9 Pavon

Previous meetings

Played 1: Spain 1, Draws 0, Honduras 0

1982: (Valencia, WC): Spain 1 Honduras 1

Fact: When these teams met in the finals in Spain, in 1982, the hosts were runners up in their groups and failed to qualify from the second group stage. Honduras went out after the initial group stage.

Prediction: The Spaniards will cruise through this one

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Honduras 0 Chile 1: match report

Jean Beausejour scored the only goal as Chile claimed their first win in the World Cup finals for 48 years with a 1-0 win over Honduras.
Beausejour knocked in a cross from Mauricio Isla in the 34th minute to give the Chileans three points in Group H.




Chile came close to doubling its lead on several occasions. In the 62nd, forward Alexis Sanchez dragged a clear-cut chance wide after he was put through by playmaker Jorge Valdivia. And in the 64th, defender Waldo Ponce saw his close-range header saved by Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares.
Chile was on the offensive almost from the start, with midfielder Matias Fernandez threatening in the second minute with a free kick that curled just over the bar.
Valdivia tapped one in the net in the 75th but was ruled offside.
Honduras found it difficult to break through a well-organized Chilean defense, which was led by Gary Medel, and was restricted to long-range efforts, primarily from lone striker Carlos Pavon.
Honduras' best chance came from midfielder Ramon Nunez, who threatened with a free kick in first-half injury time that was tipped over the bar by Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
Chile's last victory at the World Cup came on June 16, 1962, when it hosted the tournament and beat Yugoslavia 1-0 for third place.
This is Chile's first World Cup appearance since 1998, when the team managed to get past the group stage with three draws.
Chile plays Switzerland next on Monday in Port Elizabeth, while Honduras will face Spain at Ellis Park.

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Group H Betting Preview

Group H Outright Odds
Spain - 4.40
Switzerland - 151.0
Honduras - 501.0
Chile - 51.0

They who shall be last shall be first or words to that effect. Red hot favourites Spain will hope that the above comes through as they along with Switzerland are the final teams in the tournament to see some match action. Along with Chile and Honduras this is a group that has the potential to provide more goals than any other.

Chile qualified in second spot behind Brazil in the South American group. It was their best ever achievement as La Roja reached their first finals since 1998. Repeating their third-placed finish from 1962 may be a distant dream but getting out of the group is their initial target. If any side is going to have a crack at Spain then it's Marcelo Bielsa's entertaining outfit.

Honduras are making their first appearance at the finals in 28 years after qualifying in dramatic fashion. Results went their way on the final day as they sneaked past Costa Rica and with several of their team playing in Europe they are not the whipping boys many are portraying them as. Recent form hasn't been good and away from Honduras they are patchy but they will be hopeful of picking up at least a point.


Spain are the red hot favourites and go into the tournament on a wave of goodwill and patriotic support. Rampant in qualifying the Spanish have demolished any side which has encountered them since that shock defeat against the USA a year ago. Boasting an incredibly well balanced squad with multiple game changers it's understandable why the bookies favour them to land their first world crown. Only questions is, have they peaked too soon?

Switzerland showed they are a team for the future by scooping the Under-17 World Cup last year. Transferring that form to the senior team is a bigger task for the savvy Ottmar Hitzfeld as the Swiss struggled big time in friendly matches before a morale boosting draw with Italy. They will be organised but lack the star quality to progress beyond the group stage.

Betting Potential
Clearly backing Spain is the way to go so put your money on them to win all three games and consider the handicap market. Against Honduras for example the favourites at -2 is a tasty 2.04. A dual forecast of Spain/Chile to progress is 1.57 while you will get long odds of 9.0 of Vincent del Bosque's side being eliminated in the first round.

To Qualify
Chile 1.05
Honduras 5.50
Spain 1.05
Switzerland 2.50

Not To Qualify
Chile 2.10
Honduras 1.10
Spain 9.0
Switzerland 1.50

Best Bet
Obviously Spain to go through at 1.05 which won't make you rich unless you are placing major sums. A better bang for your buck is David Villa to score in every group game at 6.5. He will rip the best defences to shreds and the three sides in Group H are certainly not in that category.

Outside Bet
Over 2.5 goals at 2.17 in Chile Switzerland game. As we expect the Swiss to lose their first match against Spain they will need to adopt a more positive approach against a Chile team who generally play open attacking football. Goals look likely as we will be past the tentative opening phase.

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Honduras v Chile: match preview

Group H
Honduras v Chile
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick-off: Wed June 16, 12.30pm BST
TV: ITV1 12pm, ITV HD 12pm

Marcelo Bielsa begins his second World Cup – he took charge of the Argentina side which fell at the Group Stage in 2002 – with doubts over the fitness of his talismanic forward Humberto Suazo, though the Chilean camp are confident the Zaragoza striker will be fit in time to face Honduras in Nelspruit.

Should Suazo not make it, he will be replaced in the central attacking role by Colo Colo’s Esteban Paredes, with Jean Beausejour and Real Madrid target Alexis Sanchez in the wide berths.
Honduras have injury concerns over their own Suazo, Genoa striker David, as well as Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios and playmaker Julio Cesar de Leon, though it is thought both will start the country’s first World Cup finals match since 1982.
Key clash
Maynor Figueroa v Alexis Sanchez: Despite impressing this season for Roberto Martinez’s Wigan, Figueroa faces an arduous task in Honduras’s opening fixture, tasked with containing the electrifying Udinese winger. Sanchez is known as “Wonderkid” in his homeland and is seen as the closest equivalent Chile has to Lionel Messi, a fact borne out by his last Serie A campaign, in which his eight goals in 26 games left such an impression that Jose Mourinho is believed to be attempting to take him to Real Madrid.
Talking tactics
Just as his Argentine side in 2002 were, Marcelo Bielsa’s Chile are an open, attacking side drawn up in an unorthodox but effective 3-3-1-3 formation, with Sanchez playing wide on the right and either Jean Beausejour or the rehabilitated, South African-born Mark Gonzalez on the opposite flank.
Honduras, though, will prove difficult to break down and dangerous on the break, while David Suazo may find he enjoys rather more space than he may have be accustomed to.

TOUCHLINE DUEL
Reinaldo Rueda v Marcelo Bielsa: Though Bielsa’s career as Argentina manager ended rather abruptly in his resignation in 2004 – despite being a given second chance after the chaos of the 2002 World Cup – his side were praised for their approach, and this Chile team live up to his reputation for producing attractive teams.
His counterpart, meanwhile, is known as the Colombian Mourinho for the motivational powers which have made Honduras a force in a region growing gradually weaker.
What they say
Reinaldo Rueda: “We have been taking stock of the injury situation. Julio Cesar de Leon is depressed because of this situation and we will see how he copes with this pain. Doctors will say what will happen now. Of course this will make a difference, we have been working well with Julio. We will have to wait for the answer we get and then make any necessary adjustments over the coming hours."
Marcelo Bielsa: "We only think about attacking. We will try to attack as much as we can. [Humberto] Suazo has that got special quality of scoring goals. I never take a risk with a player who is not fit, but that is not the case with Suazo.”
Teams
Honduras (4-4-2): 18 Valladares, 16 Sabillon, 2 Chavez, 21 Izaguirre, 3 Figueroa; 19 Turcios, 8 W Palacios, 20 Guevara, 10 Julio de Leon; 9 Pavon, 11 Suazo
Substitutes: 1 Canales (G), 22 Escober (G), 4 J Palacios, 5 Bernardez, 14 Garcia, 23 Mendoza, 6 Thomas, 7 Nunez, 13 Espinoza, 17 Alvarez, 12 Welcome, 15 Martinez
Chile (3-3-1-3): 1 Bravo, 8 Vidal, 18 Jara, 3 Ponce; 20 Millar, 6 Carmona, 17 Medel; 14 Fernandez; 15 Beausejour, 9 Suazo, 7 Sanchez.
Substitutes: 12 Pinto (G), 23 Marin (G), 2 Fuentes, 4 Isla, 5 Contreras, 10 Valdivia, 13 Estrada, 19 Fierro, 21 Tello, 11 Gonzalez, 16 Orellana, 22 Paredes
Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)
Previous meetings
Played 5: Honduras 2, Draws 0, Chile 3
1997: (Santiago, friendly): Chile 3 Honduras 2
2000: (Santiago, friendly): Chile 5 Honduras 2
2001: (San Pedro Sula, friendly): Honduras 3 Chile 1
2003: (San Pedro Sula, friendly): Honduras 1 Chile 2
2009: (Fort Lauderdale, friendly): Honduras 2 Chile 0
Fact: Chile have failed to win in their last 13 matches in the World Cup finals. Their last success was in 1962 when, as hosts, they beat Yugoslavia to claim third place.
Prediction: Chile impressed in qualifying, finishing second to Brazil, and they face a Honduras side without a win in three previous final appearances. Chile to win.

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Video: World Cup 2010 - Honduras profile

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Team Profile Honduras

Confederation: CONCACAF

Star Players: Wilson Palacios, Carlos Pavon

Best World Cup Finish: First Round (1982)

Current FIFA Ranking: 38

Strengths: Confidence, defence

Weaknesses: Lack of big names

Fans: Few but proud


Coach: Reinaldo Rueda

Confederation: Concacaf
FIFA Ranking (April 10): 40
Previous Appearances: 1 (1982)

Background

Honduras will participate in its second World Cup. The first one was the 1982 edition in Spain. There are not many achievements for the Bicolor, most notably a third place finish in the 2001 Copa America and a runner up position in the CONACAF Gold Cup in 1991. Honduras have won the Central American Championships twice. This year has been one of the best in Honduras' football history. In addition to World Cup qualification, the Under-17 and Under-20 teams qualified for their respective youth tournaments. The Under-23 team was also present last year in the Beijing Olympics.

How They Qualified

Honduras finished in third place in CONCACAF zone, with 16 points, just bellow USA and Mexico. The Catrachos punched their ticket to the South African jamboree on October 14, 2009, after beating El Salvador 1-0 thanks to a goal from Carlos Pavon. Nevertheless, Honduras need Costa Rica to lose to the USA, and that happened in a dramatic fashion, with United States scoring the winning goal in the 94th minute. That goal allowed Honduras to celebrate their qualification, and sent Costa Rica to the play-off, which they eventually lost.

Strengths

Honduras has a strong defence and a powerful midfield. Its back line conceded less goals than any other in the qualification phase. The counterattack is its main weapon, thanks to the fast players at the front.

Weaknesses

During the whole qualification phase, goalkeeper Noel Valladares was criticised because of his constant mistakes. Honduras is a strong side playing at home but in away matches it lacks audacity. The team also has psychological limitations, due to the lack of international competition at the top level, something that is starting to change with the several Honduran players playing in Europe.

The Coach

Colombian Reinaldo Rueda showed two styles during the World Cup qualifiers. At home, the coach implemented a 4-4-2 tactical formation, with two fast paced forwards. However, when playing away matches, Rueda used a 4-5-1, adding one more defensive midfielder. That defensive tactics were widely criticised by the press.

Star Men

Carlos Pavon (Real Espana, Honduras)
The 37-year-old striker is considered a symbol in Honduras football. He is the all-time leading goalscorer for the national team with 55 goals, and also the all-time goalscorer of his team, Real Espana, with 64 goals. This will be his first World Cup.

David Suazo (Inter)
Fast and strong, a typical striker that doesn't need a great technique to be a threat to defenders. The Inter player will finally have the chance to play at the highest level. He is the hope of goals for every Honduran fan.

Amado Guevara (Toronto FC, Canada)
This skilled midfielder is the captain of the Honduran team. Guevara is a player that never misses a match and his presence inspires his team-mates. He is cool in the midfield and has great technique. He is a true born leader.

Best Footballing Moment

It was at the Copa America 2001 in Colombia. Honduras was invited after USA declined, and the team ended up in third place. But the very best moment was on July 27, when Honduras destroyed Brazil in quarter-finals, with a 2-0 victory thanks to two Saul Martinez goals.

Off The Pitch

Famous for: Honduras is known for its delicious foods. The baleada is the most famous one, which is kind of a flour omelet, with beans, cheese and butter. There are also several nice foods with shellfish.

Most likely to: Players will not miss their traditional food. The Federation will take several chefs to South Africa who will cook typical Honduran food for the team.

World Cup Objective

Despite being its second World Cup adventure, Honduras will not be happy only with participating in the tournament. The players have already said that they want to get at least to the round of 16.

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