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Najar included on Honduras’ Olympic qualifying preliminary roster

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Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

Andy Najar is a step closer to representing his country in its quest for the Olympics.

Najar has been included on Honduras' 28-man preliminary roster for Olympic qualifying, which will be narrowed down to the final cut on Friday, according to reports out of Honduras.

The speedy, 18-year-old D.C. United winger trained with Tottenham in the offseason and has been in fine form during the preseason. Representatives from Honduras' coaching staff had met with D.C. United front office personnel earlier during the preseason to talk about Najar's potential international inclusion. He has two caps with the senior national team, playing in September friendlies against Colombia and Paraguay.

Honduras is slated to play its group games in qualifying at the Home Depot Center against Mexico, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.

What do you think of this development? Hope to see Najar make the final cut?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. no worries. It was a broad sweeping, generalized statement. I check in here pretty infrequently and mean no offense…. most of the time…;)

    And yes I was commenting on the gringo’s comment.

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  2. If he were a US citizen, he’d make it.

    First, he could play outside defense. Porter would love to have him there, racing forward into space and joining the attack yet being willing to work and defend and challenge. He’d be Zarkodie but with defensive skills.

    Second, he’s far more athletic and versatile than Adu. He’s got far more experience than Duka and Gyau. And the man has basically been a starter in MLS the past two years–who else on that list besides Shea can we say that about?

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  3. I understand the argument you’re making about better competition for the USA but you’re way off on Najar wouldn’t have been a factor for the US. You know he started in MLS as an outside defender? The guy is a ball winner, can defend, will work hard and is willing to get “stuck in.” And he’s really very fast. He’d be one of the 10 fastest field players on the USNT (if he was American). And we’re not even talking yet about his technical skill and ability to create chances for others or himself.

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  4. Good for Najar… would have loved to see him with the US team eventually but US citizenship was too many years away so his decision is totally understandable.

    Question:
    Would Najar make the US U-23 Olympic qualifying roster? 20 players, and here are the other options among winger-types:
    Shea
    Gyau
    Gatt
    Adu
    Corona
    Duka?
    possibly even Agudelo considering Boyd is more of a center forward
    Rowe?

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  5. I think you’re right about their obligations. In any case, it certainly doesn’t hurt DCU’s marketing efforts to have a young Olympian to tout … especially (and obviously) among the local Honduran-Americans in the area.

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  6. He would be starting on the right flank for the US in 2014 if he had citizenship and wanted to play for the US. He fits in well to the posession oriented play that JK likes and he is very creative on and off the ball with his runs and to top it all off he serves a great cross into the box. He is a complete player. But don’t take my word for it, see how he performs for club and country this season…

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  7. Well I think Jonathan De Guzman along with I forget who the other guy they lost Hoilett I think it’s his name that they lost to another European nation, if they get those players back and have enough time to gel, they could make it out of their WC Qualifying group this year and make some noise in the Hexagonal….

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  8. Oops forgot about Hamid. Calm down there guy. It happens. And I didn’t say anything about Honduras not making any WC’s I think you neeed to respond to elgrin about that one.

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  9. Costa Ricas is pretty stacked with young talent but they aren’t head and shoulders above Honduras and with Concacaf’s 4th team from the Hexagonal going against a weaker opponent from Oceania which most likely will be New Zealand who our smaller Concacaf members are more than capable of defreating, the chances of Honduras making the World Cup aren’t as slim as you make them out to be. They can easily win their group this year and qualify along with say Panama or Canada…..
    They can end up 4th behind the US, Mexico & Costa Rica and ahead of say Jamaica/Guatemala and Panama…..

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  10. Does anyone on SBI know what they are talking about? DC will likely be missing 3 players in Najar, Kitchen, and Bill Hamid… And yes Honduras have played in a couple of World Cups… just sayin’.

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  11. It might not be apparent yet, but Andy is already on par with the likes of Brek Shea or Sasha Kleistjan. He could have done nothing but help the competition for one of the wing spots.

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  12. D.C. will have two players gone for the end of March. Kitchen and Najar. It’s good to see so many young players in MLS playing for their respective national teams. I am telling you right now. Honduras is going to be good. Actually it would not surprise me at all if Mexico does not make it out of their group. Both Honduras and Panama’s U-23 teams are very good.
    As always LETS GO USA!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait for Porter to announce his squad.

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  13. I’m glad he’s going to play for Honduras. Even if he got citizenship, I doubt he would have played much for the US and we need some quality opponents. Honduras’s golden generation is fading and so they could use some good new players. I kind of wish Teal Bunbury had played for Canada, for similar reasons (although we could use more help at striker).

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  14. I don’t believe DCU is obligated to release fix for the Olympic fixtures – this is a non-FIFA competition. But DCU probably agreed to let him play during the meeting with Honduran officials that the the article referenced.

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  15. He will definitely play on the senior squad at some point but the chances of Honduras making the World cup are pretty slim. I suppose crazier things have happened though!

    Reply

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