In search of their first points at the 2023 Gold Cup, Qatar will take on Honduras in the second group encounter for each on Thursday at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix.

On matchday one, the Maroons were stunned by a late goal, losing a 2-1 decision versus Haiti, while Honduras dropped a third successive fixture this year, 4-0 against Mexico.

Match preview

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Qatar exited the previous Gold Cup by conceding a late goal, and on Sunday there was a feeling of deja-vu, as they gave up an injury-time strike in each half, including the winner in the 97th minute.

Not counting their friendly versus New Zealand, which was abandoned, that was the fourth time this year that this team had lost a match by a single goal.

It was also the first time that Qatar had lost a group stage encounter at the Gold Cup, topping their group two years ago with seven points in their inaugural appearance.

They have conceded eight goals in all of their Gold Cup fixtures combined, seven of which have come in the second half.

That opening defeat puts Carlos Queiroz's men in a vulnerable position as another loss combined with a draw between Mexico and Haiti would officially eliminate them from this competition, marking the first time they had failed to reach the knockout stage of a continental tournament, since finishing bottom of its group with a single point at the 2019 Copa America.

The Maroons have only faced the Hondurans once in a competitive fixture, and it came in this competition two years ago when Qatar came away with a 2-0 triumph, enabling them to finish ahead of La H for first by a single point.

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Honduras began their Gold Cup campaign in less than ideal circumstances as they found themselves behind within the opening minute on Sunday, suffering their worst defeat at this tournament since falling 5-0 to Brazil in 1996.

Diego Vasquez has been brought in to try to restore this team as a formidable side in the region, but lately, Los Catrachos have looked more like minnows among Central American teams, having been outscored 9-1 in their previous three matches in all competitions.

Their backline have had difficulty keeping its composure in recent Gold Cup fixtures, conceding multiple times in four straight games at this tournament.

You have to go back to 2006 to find the last time they claimed a victory against an Asian opponent, when an early second-half strike gave them a 1-0 win over China.

La H have only missed out on the knockout round of this tournament in one of their previous three appearances, but just like the Qataris, a defeat in this match and a draw between the Mexicans and Haitians would spell the end for them.

The Hondurans have trailed heading into the interval in three straight matches in all competitions and have not come back to win in that scenario since scoring twice in the final 20 minutes of their friendly versus Guatemala in September 2022.

Team News

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Yousef Aymen has appeared in the last two matches for Qatar, earning his first two senior caps as a result, as he, Ahmed Suhail, Bassam Al-Rawi, Jassem Gaber and Mohammed Muntari were the new faces in the starting 11 who did not begin their abandoned match versus New Zealand.

Yusuf Abdurisag notched just his second international goal in the loss to Haiti, while Almoez Ali was on the bench for that encounter and needs one goal to overtake Mansour Muftah for the most all-time with the Maroons.

Goals for Homam Ahmed and Abdulaziz Hatem enabled the Qataris to defeat Honduras in the group stage of this tournament two years ago as Meshaal Barsham collected a clean sheet.

Alexy Vega and Luis Vega picked up just their second international caps for Honduras over the weekend, while Luis Lopez is two appearances away from 60, a mark that Bryan Acosta was able to reach, while Alberth Elis is one away from that same mark and Jerry Bengtson has now featured 67 times for this team.

Jorge Benguche was the last Honduran to find the back of the net in a 4-1 Nations League loss versus Canada, Rubilio Castillo has not scored an international goal in over three years, while Jose Pinto has only netted once in five appearances.

Francisco Martinez is the only La H player in this competition without an international appearance, while Joseph Rosales can reach the double-digit mark for caps if he features on Thursday.

Qatar possible starting lineup:
Barsham; Al-Rawi, Suhail, Salman, Ahmed; Waad, Fatehi, Marafee; Ali, Muntari, Muneer

Honduras possible starting lineup:
L. Lopez; Nunez, Garcia, L. Vega, Rosales; Flores, Alvarez, Altamirano, A. Lopez; Elis, Bengtson

We say: Qatar 2-0 Honduras

Both of these teams looked vulnerable defensively in their opening match, but Qatar have much more continuity and depth to call upon than Honduras, who are still going through a transitional period and figuring out their identity.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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