As Honudras' top team stumbled after the 2014 World Cup, the youth development rolled on. The young Central Americans continued to do so Wednesday, holding Argentina to a 1-1 draw and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Olympics for the second consecutive tournament.
The top team achieved new heights for Honduran soccer in the previous two cycles, where despite disappointing showings in both World Cup finals, getting to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments were notable enough for a nation that had previously been only once, in 1982.
But after the 2014 tournament, Honduras nearly failed to qualify for the 2015 Gold Cup, following up a disastrous showing the Copa Centroamericana with a loss to tiny French Guiana in the first leg of a two-legged qualification playoff. While Los Catrachos eventually made it to CONCACAF's top tournament, they exited in the group stage. In World Cup qualification, Honduras currently sits in position to advance to the Hex, CONCACAF's six-team final round of qualification, but only on goal difference. And with a match against Mexico in the Azteca looming, there's reason for concern that the team may not make it.
In attack, there have been no logical successors to the parade of forwards who put Honduras on the board: Carlo Costly, David Suazo, Carlos Pavon and Wilmer Velasquez all retired. The once-staunch back line was so shaky after the World Cup that center back Victor Bernardez had to be coaxed out of international retirement. Even in goalkeeper, where Donis Escober and Noel Valladares have shared the job for years but are too old to be reliable international starters.
Perhaps that's why Jorge Luis Pinto, brought in to manage both the senior team and lead the Olympic squad, elected to bring just two overage players to Brazil instead of the three allowed and has used only one. One of those players, defender Johnny Palacios, wasn't even eligible for the contest with Argentina after earning bookings in both of the team's first two Olympic matches. Defense has long been a hallmark of both Honduras and teams directed by Pinto, and while the senior team has struggled to uphold that reputation, this squad's core of Marcelo Pereira and Jonathan Paz helped Honduras do enough to allow its exciting attackers to get forward and excel.
Alberth Elis and Anthony Lozano hint that there are more scorers in Honduras' future and that the mantle of Costly, Suazo, Pavon and Velasquez may be picked up soon. Both have received opportunities with the senior team, and Elis even scored against the United States in his debut friendly, but still seem to be a bit away from imposing themselves on international competition. The upward trajectory is encouraging, though, and Pinto may be able to turn to the U-23 duo or overage forward Rommel Quito, who is just 24, for his top side. Elis, who plays for appropriately named Honduran giant Olimpia, drew two penalties in Wednesday's draw and has been active both creating and finishing.
And one of the most critical parts of the squad is its captain, central midfielder Bryan Acosta, who stepped into the senior team and excelled. The Real Espana man fits the traditional mold of a hard stopper in front of the back line but his passing puts him a touch ahead of others that could play at the middle of his system. A club move could be on the horizon for Acosta, and he could grow into a player similar to Celso Borges, who was integral for Pinto's Costa Rica side when it went to the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup.
As plenty of countries can attest (Nigeria, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Serbia), success at the youth level doesn't necessarily lead to the same at the senior level. But Honduras is in a different place than it was four years ago, and the standards of success are different. This is a country now accustomed to being at the World Cup, but one that may not make it to the final round of CONCACAF qualification. The players coming up the ranks from this Olympic team can give fans hope that if they miss out on Russia, it will be a bump on the path to international relevancy, rather than a return to relative anonymity.
For now, though, the quarterfinals are coming. Honduras' young core won't be focused on September's qualification matches against Canada and Mexico, but several players may be part of the effort to get to Russia when it continues next month.
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