The Central American nation of Honduras is known for many things. These include its natural resources, its textile industry, and the Mayan ruins that exist within its borders. However, despite this, it is also important to mention that the Honduras soccer national team has a long and interesting history. It has existed for some time and its history deserves examination.
One might not associate Honduras with soccer, but like in other Central American countries like El Salvador and Guatemala, the sport is extremely popular. Without further ado, let’s dive into the interesting history of the Honduran national soccer team.
The Honduras Soccer National Team: Its Origins
Similar to the national teams of other countries in the region, the Honduran national soccer team was created in the early 20th century. The team played their first matches in the 1921 Independence Centenary Games in Guatemala City, Guatemala. This tournament celebrated 100 years of Central American independence. However, as one might expect from a newly-created national team, their first match didn’t go well.
Guatemala demolished them 9-0. This marked the end of their run in the tournament, since it was in a knockout format. Their first tournament hadn’t gone well, but things would improve for the team in the following years.
The Honduran national soccer team participated in the Central American and Caribbean Games for the first time in 1930. Honduras performed far better at this tournament. They defeated El Salvador 4-1 and Jamaica 5-1. However, they suffered two defeats to Cuba and a third defeat to Costa Rica. Still, this marked a step in the right direction for the national team, which had only existed for about a decade at this point.
Honduras created the National Autonomous Federation of Football of Honduras in 1935. Honduras became a member of FIFA in 1946 and was a co-founder of CONCACAF in 1961. The following decades would herald mixed fortunes for Honduras soccer.
Honduras Narrowly Misses Out on 1970 World Cup Qualification
The several decades between Honduras’ participation in the 1930 Central American and Caribbean Games and its efforts to secure 1970 World Cup qualification were fairly quiet. However, 1970 World Cup qualification would bring a new focus to soccer in the nation. Honduras started off their qualification campaign well. They defeated Jamaica 5-1 on aggregate and beat Costa Rica 2-1 on aggregate.
This meant that Honduras and El Salvador were the two teams competing for 1970 World Cup qualification in that qualifying group. Honduras beat El Salvador 1-0 in the first match but lost the second match 3-0. As a result, a play-off match was required to determine which team would go to the 1970 World Cup.
As one would imagine, the atmosphere in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City was tense. The match took place on June 27th. In that match, El Salvador narrowly defeated Honduras 3-2 and booked their place in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. The defeat was painful but it showed the national team’s progress in recent decades.
Honduras Qualifies for the 1982 World Cup
The 1980s were an excellent decade for the Honduran national team. Honduras had played in the CONCACAF Championship since 1963, but never had a significant run in the tournament. This changed in the 1981 CONCACAF Championship which Honduras hosted at its Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino. This stadium was located in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The tournament started well for Honduras, as they routed Haiti 4-0 for their first win of the tournament.
Honduras followed that up by beating Cuba 2-0. After that, they narrowly beat Canada 2-1 thanks to goals from Carlos Orlando Caballero Sanchez and Jose Roberto Figueroa Padilla. Then they drew 0-0 with their fellow Central American nation, El Salvador. A 0-0 draw with Mexico was enough to ensure that Honduras narrowly finished ahead of El Salvador in the final round.
This meant they had won the CONCACAF Championship for the very first time. This was the first international trophy won by Honduras. It also meant that Honduras qualified for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. This marked Honduras’ first appearance at the FIFA World Cup.
Given that this was their first World Cup appearance, Honduras performed fairly well. They drew 1-1 with Spain and Northern Ireland. However, a 1-0 loss to Yugoslavia meant they failed to advance past the group stage. Honduras soccer saw another positive result at the 1985 CONCACAF Championship as they finished as runners-up to Canada.
Mixed Fortunes for Honduras Soccer in the 1990s
The 1990s brought mixed fortunes for the Honduran national soccer team. They had a great run in the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup, making it all the way to the final match against the United States. Honduras managed to draw 0-0 with the hosts but lost the match on penalties. However, Honduras failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup, being eliminated at the third round stage.
More Disappointment in the 2000s
Honduras’s fortunes didn’t improve too much in the 2000s. Honduras made a good run in the 2001 Copa America, reaching the semi-finals before losing to Colombia 2-0. This was the first and last time Honduras competed in the Copa America.
The nation’s fortunes weren’t so good in World Cup qualification. They made it to the final qualifying round, but losses to Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago meant they failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. However, their fortunes would change in the 2010s.
Back-to-Back World Cup Qualification
Honduras soccer had arguably its best decade in the 2010s. Honduras defeated El Salvador 1-0 in World Cup qualification on October 14th, 2009. This meant Honduras qualified for the 2010 World Cup. Honduras lost 1-0 to Chile and 2-0 to Spain, in addition to a 0-0 draw with Switzerland. They finished bottom of their group with only one point.
Despite this, Honduras bounced back in 2014 World Cup qualification. In the final round, they beat the United States 2-1 and drew 2-2 with Mexico prior to upsetting Mexico 2-1. A 2-2 draw with Panama, a 1-0 win against Costa Rica, and a 2-2 draw with Jamaica secured 2014 World Cup qualification for Honduras.
Unfortunately, they performed even worse than they did at the 2010 World Cup. Honduras lost 3-0 to both Switzerland and France and suffered another defeat in their final group stage game, losing 2-1 to Ecuador. They finished without a single point.
The 2010s ended poorly for Honduras as they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after losing 3-1 on aggregate to Australia in their final qualifying round.
The Recent Decline of Honduras Soccer
Sadly, recent years have not been kind to the Honduran national soccer team. They made it to the third round of 2022 World Cup qualifying. However, they failed to win a single match with four draws. Honduras has continued to compete in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, including in 2023, but failed to advance past the group stage of the 2023 Gold Cup.
Honduras has played well in 2026 World Cup qualification so far. They defeated Cuba 3-1 and thrashed Bermuda 6-1. Time will tell if Honduras can continue playing well and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.