Socceroos vs Honduras: World Cup qualifier set for cauldron

Honduras’ best asset against the Socceroos is an intimidating stadium famed for ending the careers of rival coaches.

Tim Cahill and Ange Postecoglou face a daunting encounter against Honduras in the first leg of their World Cup qualifier.

Australia will aim to turn Honduras’ biggest strength - their fiery home support - on its head in the opening match of their intercontinental World Cup play-off.

The Socceroos face the world No.69 Hondurans on Saturday morning (AEDT) in San Pedro Sula, beginning a two-match series that will send one of the teams to Russia.

It’s a challenging road the Socceroos have walked several times before, and one coach Ange Postecoglou insists his team is up for.

“We’re going as hard as we can in both games and they’ll have to keep up,” he said.

On paper, Australia match up well with their opponents, with more overseas-based stars, more wins in qualifying and a better qualifying pedigree. But the Socceroos face challenges - both in their own ranks and from the opposition.

The absence of Mark Milligan, Mat Leckie (suspension), Robbie Kruse (knee) and an injury to superstar forward Tim Cahill means Postecoglou must rejig his team for the away leg.

Australia also have a poor record in World Cup play-offs. The Socceroos are yet to win an away leg and have qualified just once from six appearances. Then there’s ‘La Tumba’.

The Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, nicknamed the tomb for its reputation of ending the careers of opposition coaches, is Honduras’ best asset. Los Catrachos have lost just four times in 25 home qualifiers over the past decade, a solid foundation they have used to reach the last two World Cups. The 40,000-capacity stadium will be rocking for Australia’s visit, but Postecoglou isn’t skiving away from the occasion.

His message is to bring it on.

“The atmosphere, it will be passionate as it should be,” he said. “We know there’s a big prize at stake and we’re not expecting to come here and have an easy ride.

“Players will be looking forward to that.” Convention in home and away play-offs is that avoiding defeat in the away tie is key to succeeding over two legs.

A view of the Metropolitan Olympic Stadium in San Pedro Sula, where Honduras will face Australia. Picture: AFP

The Socceroos believe an unbeaten record in hot-weather away days - in Thailand, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia - so far on the road to Russia holds them in good stead.

Tom Juric, who will lead the line in San Pedro Sula, said he would relish the occasion.

“These hostile environments, I like playing in these sort of games,” he said. “That will bring the best out of a lot of us.

“It will be a key to stay focused on what we do and keep those emotions to a minimum.” Of course, Honduras will face the same gauntlet in Australia. The Central Americans’ home record is impressive - but Australia’s run of just one home qualifying loss since 1981 - some 58 matches - is untouchable. Keeping one eye on the home leg, Postecoglou said he will make Honduras work for a result ahead of the return to ANZ Stadium on November 15.

“This is their chance in a two-legged tie to really use every advantage that they have in terms of the crowd, in terms of their conditions. We expect everything to be in their favour,” he said.

“Then we come home and we expect to get 80,000 in our stadium. “For all the talk of the environment and the conditions, our home form is pretty formidable so they’ll need to get something out of this game.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Honduras v Australia: World Cup Intercontinental Play-off - Leg One - November 10, 4pm, (November 11, 9am AEDT).

Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Australia

World ranking: 43.

Coach: Ange Postecoglou.

Captain: Mile Jedinak.

Qualifying route: Finished third in Asian qualifying Group B (5 wins, 4 draws, 1 losses) and defeated Syria in the Asian play-off.

World Cup record: Four appearances (1974, 2006, 2010, 2014). Key man: Aaron Mooy. Whether deployed in defensive or attacking midfield, Mooy is the beating heart of the Socceroos. His dead-ball execution could be crucial. Goal threat: Tomi Juric. Juric will lead the line for the Socceroos and, with Tim Cahill under a fitness cloud, will be relied upon to stretch the Honduran defence.

Australian players from left: Tim Cahill, Aaron Mooy, Milos Degenek and Dylan McGowan exercise during a training session for the game. Picture: AFP

Honduras

World ranking: 69.

Coach: Jorge Luis Pinto.

Captain: Maynor Figueroa.

Qualifying route: Finished fourth in the final North/Central American group of six teams (3 wins, 4 draws, 3 losses), missing direct qualification behind Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama.

World Cup record: Three appearances (1982, 2010, 2014).

Key man: Emilio Izaguirre. The national team stalwart played for seven seasons at Scottish powerhouses Celtic and is a reliable figure in defence. Goal threat: Romell Quioto. A six-time scorer in qualifying, the 25-year-old winger will run at Australia’s defence all match.

Head-to-head history

Australia and Honduras have never met, and the Socceroos have never played in Central America.

In 21 visits to North and South America, Australia has won just one match - a 1-0 friendly win over USA in Orlando in 1992.

Road to Russia

Honduras is the last stop on a marathon 22-game path to Russia for Postecoglou’s side. After this, the two teams head to Sydney for the return leg. The second match is being played at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday November 15 at 8pm AEDT.

If the scores are tied, after two matches, away goals count double. If they are still tied, extra time is played before a dreaded penalty shootout to end a final deadlock.

AAP