Honduras vs. French Guiana
2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Playoff 2nd Leg
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
The final spot in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup field will be determined on Sunday, as the second leg of a playoff between Honduras and French Guiana will be played in Honduras. Rather surprisingly, it's Honduras, a country that participated in the 2014 World Cup, that's on the back foot entering the match, as they lost 3-1 in the first leg on Wednesday. For French Guiana, a non-FIFA member that's never participated in a Gold Cup tournament, winning the playoff would be the best result in the country's international history.
FIRST LEG:
- Honduras opened the scoring on Wednesday in courtesy of Jerry Bengtson, the New England Revolution forward currently on loan in Argentina.
- But the visitors' 1-0 lead was canceled out less than 10 minutes later, as Marvin Torvic, who spent much of his youth in the United States and attended high school in South Carolina, levelled the score off a corner kick.
- Just two minutes later, French Guiana striker Sloan Privat scored the first of his two goals on the night to put the hosts ahead for good.
- The win by French Guiana is reportedly their first-ever victory over a Central American country.
THE STAKES:
- The winner of the playoff series, of course, books a ticket for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Participating in the confederation championship of puts the eyes of the region on the team and its players, including MLS scouts, who have been known to sign Gold Cup standouts in the past.
- Simply put, for Honduras failure to qualify for the Gold Cup would be shocking. The country has not played well since qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. They finished 31 out of 32 teams in Brazil, and then changed managers and finished fifth out of seven teams in the 2014 Copa Centroamericana, a disappointing result. After changing coaches again, this time to Jorge Luis Pinto, who guided local rivals Costa Rica to the quarterfinal round of the World Cup, it seemed Los Catrachos would be on their way to rebounding in 2015. But if they can't get past French Guiana in this playoff, Honduras will miss the Gold Cup, miss out on a chance to qualify for the 2016 Copa America Centenario and won't have any competitive games until qualifying for the 2018 World Cup begins for them in November. Needless to say, there's going to be a lot of soul-searching if they can't get the result on Sunday at home.
- For French Guiana, on the other hand, even getting to this point is an accomplishment. Ineligible for the World Cup because they aren't a member of FIFA (they are technically a department of France), they have only participated in three Caribbean Cups in their history (including the last two), and have never taken part in the Gold Cup. They qualify for the Gold Cup playoff by virtue of finishing in third place in their 2014 Caribbean Cup group, and just beat out the other third-place team, Martinique, on goal difference. Not only would winning the playoff be historic, but playing in the Gold Cup for the first time would put French Guiana's program into uncharted territory.
KEY PLAYERS:
- Roger Espinoza, midfielder, Honduras: With the attack generally faltering in Wednesday's match, Pinto may choose to make a number of changes to his lineup. But it seems likely that Espinoza will get the nod again to patrol the middle of the park in a two-way role, and the Sporting Kansas City man may be called upon to provide a bit more offense than normal.
- Ludovic Baal, defender, French Guiana: Most of French Guiana's players ply their trade either in their home country or in the French lower divisions, but Privat and Baal play in France's Ligue 1, for Caen and Lens, respectively. Privat, a striker, did his part in the first leg, and given the second leg will be on the road and Honduras will surely be looking to bombard French Guiana's goal, now it's the defender Baal's turn to play the starring role.
