Group H contenders
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

Route to the finals
After dispatching Puerto Rico in the Second Round play-off of CONCACAF zone qualifying, Honduras proceeded to top their group in the Third Round with four wins and two losses.

Going through to the Fourth Round, however, the Hondurans seemed to lose momentum and an opening tie defeat to Costa Rica, followed by a 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago got La Bicolor off to a terrible start.

They resurrected their campaign with victory over Mexico but mixed results left them needing victory in their last game against El Salvador and requiring a favour from the USA who faced a Costa Rica side that needed victory to snatch the third and final automatic qualifying spot.

Honduras achieved what was necessary from their end with a 1-0 victory but it wasn’t until the fourth minute of added-time in Washington that the USA ensured Honduras qualified, grabbing a last-gasp equaliser to make it 2-2 and break Costa Rican hearts.

Manager
Former Columbia Manager Reinaldo Rueda, took the helm for Honduras in 2007. His previous work with the Columbian youth and senior teams was well regarded, taking the U20s to third place at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and also leading the U17s to fourth at the U17 World Cup in the same year.

He was promoted to senior coach of Los Cafeteros after the qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup got off to a disastrous start and although he was unable to get them to Germany, he did his reputation no harm at all.

He was then taken on by Honduras, where he has since taken the La Bicolor to third in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2009 and secured World Cup qualification for the first time since 1982.

Player watch
Tottenham’s Wilson Palacios has proven himself as a formidable, tough tackling midfielder in the Premier League and has won many admirers. He played in all but two of Honduras’s 18 Qualifiers and even bagged two goals.

While Palacios is only 25, two of the side’s most influential players are well into their thirties. Captain Amado Guevara, 34, is the country’s record appearance holder with 133, while Carlos Pavon, 36, is the nation’s leading scorer with 57 goals from 89 caps.

Both of these experienced campaigners will hope that South Africa 2010 can provide a fitting climax to their impressive careers.

Competition History
First appearance: 1982
No. of appearances (inc 2010): 2
Best result: Group Stage (1982)
Matches against England: 0

Squad

Goalkeepers
1	Ricardo Canales	Motagua, HON
18	Noel Valladares	Olimpia, HON
22	Donis Escober	Olimpia, HON
Defenders
2	Osman Chávez	Platense, HON
3	Maynor Figueroa	Wigan Athletic, ENG
4	Johnny Palacios	Olimpia, HON
5	Víctor Bernárdez	Anderlecht, BEL
14	Oscar García	Olimpia, HON
16	Mauricio Sabillón	Hangzhou Lucheng, CHN
21	Emilio Izaguirre	Motagua, HON
23	Sergio Mendoza	Motagua, HON
Midfielders
6	Hendry Thomas	Wigan Athletic, ENG
7	Ramón Núñez	Olimpia, HON
8	Wilson Palacios	Tottenham Hotspur, ENG
10	Julio César León	Torino, ITA
17	Edgar Alvarez	Bari, ITA
19	Elvis Danilo Turcios	Olimpia, HON
20	Amado Guevara	Motagua, HON
Forwards
9	Carlos Alberto Pavón	Real España, HON
11	David Suazo	Genoa, ITA
12	George Welcome	Motagua, HON
13	Roger Espinoza	Kansas City Wizards, USA
15	Wálter Martínez	Marathón, HON