Honduras never had high expectations at the World Cup and the fact that they participate in this edition is in itself a reason to celebrate. They are playing against more experienced opponents, but to some extent they can be happy that they caught a lucky break with the draw. Beating France or winning the group are two sci-fi scenarios, but under the right circumstances, the small nation could cause a big surprise by qualifying at the expense of Switzerland and Ecuador.
Group stage and event prospects
Surviving the group stage is an event priced at 7.50 by Bet365 which represents tremendous value, despite the fact that Honduras is the underdog. What they need to do is to win all three points against Ecuador, while earning at least one in the match with Switzerland. Regardless of what they do against France, they might get lucky and advance to the next stage courtesy to goal average.
Switzerland won most of the games by a narrow margin, while Ecuador is still trying to field a competitive formation, while gradually replacing the aging players. This might provide Honduras with a window of opportunity and the punters should also consider the generous odds. On the other hand, there is no point in even considering a bet on Honduras to win the tournament, even though Bet365 had no hesitations in giving them odds of 2001 to 1.
Key players for Honduras at the World Cup
If everything goes according to the plan, Honduras will fly under the radar and stay true to the strategy that secured a safe passage to the World Cup 2014 groups. They finished third ahead of better teams such as Mexico and this wasn't the result of remarkable offensive plays, but a solid defense. There will be opportunities to come out firing and even taking the initiative against the Switzerland could be an option, although the counterattack remains a better choice.
Coach Luis Fernando Suarez is going to use his standard 4-4-2 starting formation, featuring Wilson Palacios and Emilio Izaguirre in the midfield. He needs these two strikers to stay healthy, because they are the only ones capable of keeping opponents at bay. Palacios is the more experienced one, as he plays for Stoke City in the Premier League and he's expected to support both the defense and offense.
Speaking of which, Honduras doesn't have too many options upfront and they will probably rely on Bengston and Costy. The former is particularly dangerous at free kicks and corners, but together they pack quite a punch and with the support of Garcia, they can penetrate less effective defenses.
The odds for either of them to emerge as World Cup 2014 top scorers are quite big at 501 to 1, but nobody actually expects them to attempt something as ambitious as that.
The bottom line
What usually happens at the World Cup competitions is that small teams are frustrating better opponents with their defensive strategy and this is exactly what Luis Fernando Suarez will try to do. Honduras is an underdog and will act accordingly, but if bookmakers choose to overprice them, punters should take advantage of these high odds and use the Asian Handicap for leverage.
