User:Kenneth321/sandbox

The Honduras National Football Team from the year 2000-2002 period was arguably the best national team that Honduras had in its history. The team represented a combination of many players who were in their prime (mostly from C.D. Motagua). This team was coached by Ramon Maradiaga and he imposed a very offensive style of play in which Honduras scored a lot of goals but conceded a lot as well. 2001 was a special year because it was the first and only time Honduras was invited for the 2001 Copa America hosted by Colombia in which Honduras was a late invitee when Argentina dropped out a day before kickoff. Honduras possessed a fast paced style of play which included simple, yet effective plays seen today such as a 1-2 play.

Rising rival After failing to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France, Honduras started to become a tougher team to face and was proven throughout the matches they played in the 1998 qualifiers. Preparing for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Honduras possessed a very quick and offensive style of play in which they could face just about anyone. Honduras also started to have a collection of players who all performed well and were in their primes. Many players such as Noel Valladares and Milton Reyes played for Motagua while others like Pavon played in Italy for Udinese. After many surprising and convincing results, Honduras proved to be a force to be reckoned with.

2001 Copa America Up to today Honduras has only been invited to the 2001 Copa America due to a late withdraw from Argentina and Honduras was called up a day before kickoff. Honduras were in group C along with Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Bolivia. Honduras played their first match against Costa Rica in which they would lose 0-1. After the 1-0 deficit, Honduras would conceive a victory against Bolivia 2-0. In order to qualify, Honduras gathered a late win against Uruguay 1-0. In the knockout stages, Honduras played against World Champion Brazil. In one of the biggest upsets in soccer history, Honduras would defeat the brazilians 0-2 with two second half goals from Saul Martinez. In the semi-finals, Honduras played the hosts, Colombia, where they lost 2-0 and where headed for a 3rd place match against Uruguay. After a 2-2 draw, Honduras would get a historic 3rd place after winning 4-5 in penalty kicks.

2002 World