A great night for American soccer fans got even better when Honduras blasted Mexico, 3-1, in a World Cup qualifier at Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula on Wednesday night. Carlos Costly had a brace and Carlos Pavon scored for Los Catrachos, playing its first game of the final hexagonal stage on home soil.
Meanwhile, the noose surely is tighter around Sven-Goran Eriksson's neck as El Tri is now winless in five straight qualifying matches away from Estadio Azteca. The Swede was under heavy fire after a 2-0 loss to the U.S., but received a stay of execution after wins against Bolivia in a friendly and Costa Rica in a qualifier on Saturday night in Mexico City.
After some fine goalkeeping by Noel Valladres early, Honduras went into halftime with a two-goal advantage. First it was Costly who pulled past Leabardo Lopez and slotted the ball through Memo Ochoa's legs on 17 minutes.
Pavon doubled the advantage four mintues after having a goal called back for offside. Mauricio Sabillon capped a darting run down the right by cutting inside of two Mexican players and lofting a perfect ball to Pavon. The 35-year-old, who scored three in a 3-1 win at home against Mexico eight years ago, took the ball off his chest and volleyed it inside the near post two minutes from halftime.
Ochoa, who made his second start in place of usual starter Oswaldo Sanchez, allowed Costly's shot to roll underneath him in the 78th minute as Honduras took a commanding 3-0 lead. Nery Castillo, a big fan of the Mexican press, scored from the penalty spot two minutes later. Mexico was reduced to 10 men two minutes from full time when last defender Carlos Salcido was sent off for tripping Pavon from behind.
What do you make of Honduras' comprehensive win against Mexico? Is this the final blow for Eriksson? Perhaps you think it's no big deal because Mexico will qualify anyway based on its home form. Is Honduras back on track? Share your thoughts below.
Mexico has lost its last three games in Honduras, Costa Rica beat them in El Azteca a few years ago and the Mexican press (as everybody) knows that they cannot beat USA anywhere, that´s what you get when call yourself the Big Boss in the region and sleep in your glory, I dont beliabe Mexico is in a soccer crisis, the rest of us are just getting better.
Regarding be happy when your rival lost, is part of La pasion del Futbol what soccer will be with out it.
So see ya at Africa and make no mistake Mexico will be there but as in the Matrix Movie we will give then hell before they go, hahaha
Hondureño de Corazon
Pavon’s goal was awesome. With seven more games to play, Mexico will make it in the top three. It is hard to play away in Central America, and in the Azteca. USA struggled against a Guanaco (El Salvador) team that gave everything it had for 75 minutes. Who is going to beat Mexico in the Azteca? They will be in South Africa.
Re seeds it seems like if the US were to do very well in the Confed Cup it would be hard to ignore….but it also looks like FIFA could use discretion to keep us out anyways…
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/rawrank/ip-590_10e_wrpointcalculation_8771.pdf
Finally Sven was fired today at noon !!!!
Methinks good confederations cup performance would boost US ranking enough to get a seed. Confed cup games are worth more than WC qualifying games.
hahahahahahahahahahahaha i put that picture as my background. poor poor mexicans, look who rules CONCACAF now. 3 points at Azteca or bust!
Does anyone know where there are highlights of Mexico/Honduras? I don’t see any on youtube yet.
Woah everyone got there panites wet over my comment. Just because the Mexican players don’t have class means all of you here have to sink to that level?
I can’t tell the different between the two, both are just as arrogant.
All I was asking was for my class from this site, but of course a lame excuse is thrown out there”We are American, we are suppose to hate everyone cause everyone hates us”.
the picture of Pardo up there is priceless…..i guess he’ll be doing that a lot when Mexico loses (and they have been losing much these days)….i predict, we’ll go to the Aztec and pull a draw there…not with the current Mexican squad that they have
Highlight video with highlights also from the matches against Mexico, El Salvador, and T&T too. Usually I put these one here for you guys just in case, but this time I really recommend you watch it. I think its really cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3yuR_JLGf4
I suspect Mexico will make it to the round of 16, and USA won’t. They *always* get seeded, we don’t. It makes a big difference.
Doesn’t mean they’re the better team.
Vela’s dive after miss kicking the ball in the box to draw the penalty kick was ridiculous. He should be ashamed.
Winning in Honduras is tough. The US will have a tough time there as well. Mexico has seven matches left, four at home, four against El Salvador and T & T, and the only real tough road game left is at Costa Rica. Mexico should be fine.
Valentine sucks. This is our rival you idiot. You dont like the site then dont come here anymore
Last night was a wonderful night. US took care of business at home and Mexico lost on the road. That’s what was expected. However, the way Mexico lost wasn’t expected. They got smacked around through-out the match.
To everyone who is complaining the CONCACAF doesn’t look competive when Mexico loses, think again. With the US vs El Salvador Match and Mexico losing last night, is showing that the CONCACAF is becoming more competitive.
This is harsh reality check for everyone, it is no longer a walk through the park. Not on the road in the CONCACAF.
Mexico is a great footballing nation in our region, and still has the best league. But they are getting precisely what they deserve, a stiff slap in the face and (one hopes) a wake up call that they cannot take their region for granted any more. This is only GOOD for CONCACAF. I for one would love to see long under-performing Honduras qualify for South Africa.
I like Mexico. When they’re on they can really play some nice attacking soccer. Some of their club teams, notably Pachuca and Chivas play some fantastic ball which reveals a talent and determination level that any MLS side can only dream about.
What I can’t tolerate is their absolute lack of class and sporstmanship when they fall behind.
Last night Pardo and Vela were savages and how those two and the always-dirty Castillo all managed to not get redded will forever be a mystery to me.
I think there is a well-earned sense of entitlement given Mexico’s historic domination of CONCACAF. Now that the domination has ended, emphatically, there is a profound sense of anger with Mexican soccer circles. We see this every single time Mexico loses to anyone in CONCACAF.
I also liked Vela’s Charlie BRown impersonation on the penalty.
Count me among those who hate the Mexican team but still want to see them qualify for the World Cup because it’s good for CONCACAF.
The compications in the Mexican Football reach to a larger socio-economic level well beyond the national or even professional league. How can a country of over 100 million inhabitants only produce a team with a history incompetence? The fact that children are not given the opportunity to play in organized leagues or have parents unwilling to support them either emotionally or economically leads to a very thin strata of players to pull from in the national pool. Unfortunately, many central and South american countries are in the same boat. I urge all to consider the amazing possibilities that can come forth by supporting organizations like “Vidafut” and “Right to Play.”
How was Amado Guevara’s performance? Did he play?
You want the public execution of Sven and the Mexico Team by Mexicans, just head on over to Yahoo Answers the FMF section. They are declaring they are going to start supporting the USMNT. Well at least the Mexican-Americans are.
HAHAHAHAHA!
I eagerly await the public execution of Sven-Goran Eriksson..
While they’re at it…string up Dirty Sanchez, Rafa and Pardo!
Someone hinted at this, but Mexico is still in it to qualify first. They have had–by far–the hardest 3 game stretch, playing the top 3 other teams and 2 on the road. We have played one big team and two minnows.
Parity makes it harder for the US to qualify, for sure, though it makes it easier for us to qualify first. But I don’t think Mexico not dominating is bad for us. If Honduras, CR, even Canada or whomever start doing well that is great for us. At least we don’t get to play San Marino, right?
@sdm and Neumannator
Very interesting article / updates on WC seedings here:
http://www.football-rankings.info/2009/03/2010-wc-seeding-looking-ahead-march.html
unfortunately as you both indicated it seems likely that the U.S. will not be seeded; at least being in the third pool would be better than the fourth.
I can’t wait to read what Luis Bueno has to write about Mexico’s form. I will say it once again on this board:
1. The unfair advantage Mexico has at Azteca because of the altitude and pollution cloaks their weaknesses.
2. The Mexican GK situation is abysmal. At least by U.S. and European standards.
3. Mexico lacks diversity within its squad.
They are in trouble. The U.S. is going to go to Azteca looking for a win. The other teams are going to expect to win at home when they host Mexico. The Swede could care less about Mexican football! He has one eye on the door and one hand on his severance check.
Honduras was very aggressive, hard fouls, muggings. Pardo had to calm down Nery.
Mexico needed a tough veteran squad out there. Sven can’t play Nery, and Vela on the road, both are too emotional.
Sven may be gone before the next game.
While I agree there is a rivalry, and I do laugh when Mexico stumbles, what alot of American fans need to realize is that Mexico giving away points hurts the US.
Looking at the “favored teams” (no offense intended to Honduras), the US would actually prefer that Mexico and Costa Rico win every match not against the US. By creating a point gulf between the top three and the bottom three, US qualifies faster.
That being noted, clearly the other three teams didn’t get the memo . . .
Between the US tie and Honduras win, the US remains in a potential dogfight to stay in the automatic qualifying zone. And yes, one of the harder stretches of qualification is coming up for us.
Paging the dude who always shows up to defend Mexican goalkeepers and say that Tim Howard couldn’t start in their league. Where are you?!?!?!
I do have some advice for him though even if he doesn’t show his face. I’d start defending your creative players because that is supposed to be Mexico’s strength but I’m not seeing it.
At least the league has one decent creative player….JOSE TORRES!!!!!
As most of us know by know road games in the CONCACAF is not easy at this stage
They need a hard man! They need Bob Bradley!
But we got him and I don’t care what anyone says the man gets results and football is a results driven business.
Honduras is a good squad when they play to their potential. I wouldn’t really hold it against Sven or the MNT for this loss.
The only concern should be is they goals they gave up were all on bad mistakes or breakdowns in defense.
I was thrilled to see Mexico get killed last night. I watched the last 20-30 minutes after finishing with my DVRd USA-TnT match.
The announcers on Telemundo were just killing Mexico for the last twenty minutes of the game. They destroyed Pardo for his yellow and for his imaginary penalty, they killed Salcido for his red, and they killed the entire Mexican team for their complete lack of class and composure.
To be sure, this team has talented players coming up like Guardado, Vela, and Gio who are just as talented, if not more, that Jozy and any other two attackers on our team, but they will NEVER amount to anything if they act they way veteran Mexican players act (Marquez, Pardo, goalie who Ochoa replaced, Blanco). Mexico needs to learn that it isn’t entitled to anything except for a 2-0 defeat in Columbus every four years.
It’s clear that the one thing Mexico needs is a coach who can get them to play and act disciplined. Sven’s laissez-faire approach just doesn’t work with such an undisciplined band of whiners and head cases. He’s gotta go.
OLE OLE OLE OLE !!!!
What Sandro???
how dare you criticize Nery? He is great that is why he is in Europe….albeit the Ukraine and you will always be stuck here instead of a borderline third world Eastern European country!!!!!!!!
Nery is making the Unibrow fashionable again!
Does this mean that naturalizing and capping old Brazilians and Argentineans doesnt work?
Tri color= Green for mex, Yellow for Brazil and Blue for Argentina and Uruguay
Nery castillo was awful last night and honestly should have been sent off with a card for bad fouls. The ref let him off easily.
HHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
when is Memo going to Real Madrid Barca or Chelsea? Has there ever been a more overrated goalie? The guy chokes in big games.
Mr unibrow ” I play in Europe” is a cancer.
hopefully Mexico wont qualify.
hey Nery, can the media criticize you now?
I guess rallying behind his rant outside of the Cuna Azteca didnt work.
My Spanish is really bad.. watching the match last night I would catch lil things I could understand.. my favorite though..
aaja;feijajfafja Adios Salcido dlfajkdlfaj
I did catch that!!
Ha ha…just read Drago’s comments. What drivel.
How can you bring up Copa America. Bradley didn’t go there to win. He went there to cap young players. How many times have you seen Justin Mapp since?
How can you fail to mention World Cup ’02?
Crawl back under your rock. El Tri sucks and you know it.