For the first time since June 2022, Honduras will host a competitive match in their home country when they welcome Grenada to Estadio Nacional Chelato on Tuesday.
La H began the new CONCACAF Nations League campaign with a 1-0 loss in Jamaica, putting them bottom of Group B, while the Spice Boys could not hang onto a late advantage versus Suriname as both sides played to a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
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The margins between winning and losing are often relatively thin, and that was the case for the Hondurans in their opening match of this competition as they only conceded one targeted effort to the Reggae Boyz but still walked away empty-handed.
It was the second match in charge for Reinaldo Rueda in what is his second stint with the national team, and La Bicolor have not scored a single goal since he returned.
This team have not scored first in six successive fixtures, though they have come back to collect a positive result two of the last three times that they were down 1-0, defeating Haiti in their final group outing at the Gold Cup last summer (2-1) and claiming a single point against Qatar (1-1) on matchday two of that competition.
Honduras will fancy their chances at home, you would think, given the fact that three of their four Nations League group fixtures played there have resulted in victories for Los Catrachos, with their only defeat coming versus Curacao (2-1) at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in June 2022.
Since their third-place finish at the inaugural Nations League campaign, Honduras have been eliminated at the group stage in two of the last three CONCACAF tournaments, losing out to Mexico in the 2021 Gold Cup quarter-finals.
Honduras have lost three of their last four encounters versus Caribbean opponents since the start of 2022, with their only triumph over that span coming against Curacao in their opening group fixture at the previous Nations League.
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They were mere minutes away from a first-ever victory in League A of this competition, but in the end, it was not meant to be for Grenada, who are now winless in their last seven matches in all competitions.
Their lead on matchday one lasted just two minutes, as this team have failed to hang onto their only two second-half advantages in League A, playing to a 2-2 draw with El Salvador in June 2022.
At the 2022-23 Nations League, this team looked overwhelmed and out of sorts defensively away from home, losing to El Salvador (3-1) and the USA (5-0), and they have failed to score in three of their last four away contests in this competition.
That first win as a national team manager continues to elude Terry Connor, though he has yet to lose in normal time since taking charge, as his side were eliminated from 2023 Gold Cup contention, 6-4 on penalties against Guyana in a game which ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Grenada have never won a League A encounter when netting in the opening half, though they are unbeaten in this competition when scoring in the final 45 minutes.
The Spice Boys have had a series of miserable outings against Honduras, losing their only three matches against them by a combined score of 15-1.
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Team News
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Edrick Menjivar, Luis Vega, Devron Garcia and Maylor Nunez were the only Hondurans who began the friendly versus Guatemala to keep their place in the starting 11 on matchday one of this competition.
Denil Maldonado reached the quarter-century mark for international caps on Friday, Andy Najar and Anthony Lozano are now just seven away from 50, while Luis Palma needs three more caps to hit double-digits.
Of the La H players chosen for this international window, Deiby Flores is the only one who featured the last time they faced Grenada on the international stage, in a match that saw Romell Quioto, Johnny Leveron, Edwin Solano and Jerry Bengston all find the back of the net in a 4-0 Honduran victory.
We saw Grenada make multiple changes to their starting 11 on Friday from the side that began their Gold Cup playoff fixture against Guyana, with Kayden Harrack, Trevon Williams and Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong being the only three to feature in the opening lineup on both occasions.
Jason Belfon replaced Reice Charles-Cook in goal against Suriname, as he is now just two appearances shy of 50 with the national team, Josh Gabriel featured for Grenada for the first time all year, while Jacob Bedeau, Jermaine Francis and Darius Johnson all picked up their first caps with the senior squad.
Captain Saydrel Lewis had the only goal for Grenada against Suriname, the eighth for his country, moving him above Jake Rennie and Keith Fletcher for fifth all-time.
Honduras possible starting lineup:
Menjivar; Nunez, Garcia, Maldonado, Vega; Najar, Lopez, Acosta, Ruiz; Palma, Benguche
Grenada possible starting lineup:
Belfon; Ettienne, Bedeau, Harrack, Gabriel; A. Charles, Williams, Berkeley-Agyepong; Abraham; Lewis, Belmar
We say: Honduras 3-0 Grenada
Grenada have not beaten a Central American team this century, and given their woeful performances against the Hondurans in the past, it is difficult to imagine a different outcome for the Spice Boys on Tuesday.
Los Catrachos may not be in the best form at the moment, but their experience and overall quality is superior to what Grenada have, and they should be able to find the back of the net eventually against a side who have conceded multiple goals in five of their seven matches played this year.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
