The Honduras under-20 national team claimed the second spot in Group B of the U-20 final round CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament with a 2-0 victory over Mexico on Sunday in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. FC Dallas midfielder Ramón Nuñez played the entire match against Mexico and had an outstanding performance throughout the tournament.
With the victory, Honduras finished second in the group with six points, behind only Canada. The second place finish qualified Honduras for the FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland this summer. This marks the fourth time that Honduras has qualified for World Cup in this category.
The two Honduran players that made the biggest impression among fans and media were César Babá "Giuty" and Ramón Nuñez. The FC Dallas player had outstanding performances against Jamaica and Mexico; of the six goals scored by Honduras in the tournament, Nuñez scored two and registered one assist.
"It seems as though things have gone very well for Ramón during the qualifying as he had a big hand in getting them to the next stage," said FC Dallas head coach Colin Clarke. "I'm looking forward to getting him back in and seeing him make a big push for starting time. It's up to him and we're excited to see him."
"I can't describe how happy I am," said Nuñez. "We played this tournament with a lot of confidence and heart, and now we are going to Holland. Everybody treated me really well over there. Although they didn't know a lot about me, I think I did a good job and was able to fit in with the group very fast. It is amazing how passionate our soccer fans over there. It was like a national party when we qualified."
Honduran newspapers on Nuñez:
La Prensa
: "An inspired Ramón Nuñez helps the national team on its quest to Holland."
El Heraldo
: "Ramón is Rambo de León's clone, at least in his playing style."
Ramón is back in Dallas and will report with FC Dallas today to start preseason workouts. He will train in Dallas all of this week before traveling with FC Dallas to Florida from Feb 5th to the 12th and later to Spain from February 26 to March 11.
Group B Final Standings
PTS G W T L GF GA +/-
Canada 9 3 3 0 0 4 1 +3
Honduras 6 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3
Mexico 3 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2
Jamaica 0 3 0 0 3 2 6 -4
