Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
Indonesia
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nigeria
North Macedonia

Preview: Honduras vs. Haiti - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 30 June 2023, 23:32
Honduras and Haiti will enter their final group stage encounter at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte this Sunday, knowing that a win could be the only thing which assures them a place in the knockout stage at the Gold Cup.

Following its 1-1 draw versus Qatar, La H must win this match and have Mexico draw or defeat Qatar to move on, while the formula is much simpler for the Haitians as a victory would see them through to the quarter-finals.

Match preview

With precious seconds ticking away, Los Catrachos managed to stay alive at the Gold Cup thanks to a 96th-minute equaliser on Thursday.

That goal allowed Diego Vasquez's side the opportunity to make it into the last eight of this competition for a second successive campaign, but even a win this weekend may not be enough, as a Qatar triumph against the Mexicans would mean the Gold Cup fate of La H would come down to goal difference with the Hondurans currently at -4 and the Maroons at -1.

In 2021 Honduras lost their final group stage fixture in this competition, 2-0 versus Qatar, the first time they had conceded or tasted a defeat on matchday three at the Gold Cup since 2015.

The Hondurans have given up the opening goal in three successive encounters this year and have not won when doing so since defeating Costa Rica on penalties in the third-place match at the CONCACAF Nations League in 2021.

A lack of quality in front of goal was among the principal reasons this team finished at the bottom of the Octagon in 2022 World Cup qualifying, scoring the fewest goals (seven) in the final round, and that has continued to hold them back as Honduras have not scored more than once on the international stage since a 2-1 triumph over Guatemala in September of last year.

While La H have had numerous matches over the past few years with the majority of the ball, this team have rarely been able to do much with it, going winless when claiming over 50% of the possession in every match played since a 4-0 triumph over Grenada at the 2021 Gold Cup.

Some early missed opportunities on matchday two against the Mexicans proved costly as Haiti suffered its first defeat of 2023, dropping them down into second place in their group, two points above Qatar and Honduras.

Their three goals conceded on Thursday were as many as they had allowed all year before that encounter, while they had not given up that many in a single game since being crushed 6-1 by Bahrain in September 2021.

Despite that setback, Gabriel Calderon Pellegrino still has his team in the pole position to reach the last eight, as a win would get them there, while a draw might also do the job, though should that happen, and Qatar win its match, Les Grenadiers' place in the quarter-finals would boil down to goal difference with both sides currently sitting at -1.

In past appearances at this competition, the Haitians have often saved their best for last, as in their final group stage encounter, winning its third match at the Gold Cup in each of its previous three appearances.

Nearly eight years ago, at this same stage of the Gold Cup, they ended a three-match losing run against Honduras, defeating them 1-0, the first time they had shut them out since 1973 and their only triumph versus Los Catrachos since this tournament changed its name in 1991.

Les Grenadiers are unbeaten in their previous three encounters versus Central American sides at this tournament with its last defeat coming against El Salvador in 2013.

Honduras CONCACAF Gold Cup form:

L

D

Honduras form (all competitions):

D

W

L

L

L

D

Haiti CONCACAF Gold Cup form:

W

L

Haiti form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

L

Team News

Rubilio Castillo, who came on for Alexander Lopez at the start of the second half against Qatar, will not be available for Honduras in this upcoming match after being red-carded in the latter stages.

Five changes were made to the Honduran starting 11 from matchday one to two as Edrick Menjivar replaced Luis Lopez in goal, while Omar Elvir, Maylor Nunez, Bryan Acosta and Jerry Bengtson drew into the lineup, with Devron Garcia, Jorge Alvarez, Jose Pinto and Jorge Benguche coming out.

Alberth Elis rescued Los Catrachos on the last kick of the match Thursday with his 13th strike in his 60th international appearance, moving him three back of Saul Martinez for a top-10 spot in all-time goals for Honduras.

Following its victory against Qatar on matchday one, Pellegrino made two changes to the Haiti starting 11 earlier this week as Danley Jean Jacques and Wilde-Donald Guerrier came in for Bryan Alceus and Derrick Etienne.

Jacques had the only goal for Haiti in the loss to Mexico, his first with the national team, while Duckens Nazon, who netted in their previous match against Qatar, notched the winner the last time they defeated Honduras in 2018 (1-0).

Every Haitian player selected to compete in this competition have at least one international cap, with Fafa Picault and Jayro Jean each picking up their first two at the Gold Cup.

Honduras possible starting lineup:

Menjivar; Nunez, Santos, Vega, Elvir; Acosta, Flores, Alvarez, Rosales; Bengtson, Elis

Haiti possible starting lineup:

Pierre; Simonsen, Ade, Séance, Christian; Sainte, Jacques; Picault, Nazon, Etienne; Pierrot

We say: Honduras 1-2 Haiti

The Haitians have started brightly in both of their encounters at this tournament and while the Hondurans were able to rescue themselves on matchday two, they give up too many quality scoring chances, something we believe Les Grenadiers will be able to take advantage of on Sunday.

Previews by email

Top News

13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Championship title hopefuls Leeds United will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the table when they travel to Loftus Road to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday lunchtime. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League courtesy of a 4-1 victory over 10-man Real Sociedad in the second leg of their last-16 contest in the competition on Thursday night. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and made Europa League history as Manchester United came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 4-1. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea maintained their flawless record in the Conference League as they defeated Copenhagen 1-0 on Thursday, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory and booking their place in the quarter-finals. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of ending a 17-year trophy drought remain alive thanks to a 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, which sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides looking to move further clear of the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone go head-to-head on Saturday as Kasimpasa welcome Alanyaspor to the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams looking to bounce back from defeats meet on Saturday as Istanbul Basaksehir host Trabzonspor at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Off the back of a narrow loss to Inter Miami in their last league outing, Charlotte FC will host FC Cincinnati in their latest MLS fixture at the Bank of America Stadium on Saturday evening. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table will go head-to-head as Konyaspor welcome Besiktas to the Torku Arena. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Gaziantep will be looking to secure three successive victories for the first time this season when they welcome relegation-threatened Kayserispor to Gaziantep Stadium on Saturday. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Sporting Kansas City will be looking to snap their run of five defeats from their opening five games when they play host to Minnesota United at Children's Mercy Park on Sunday morning. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton welcome West Ham United to Goodison Park for a bottom-half Premier League contest on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brentford boss Thomas Frank has revealed that Fabio Carvalho faces an uphill battle to play again this season. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has named Ayden Heaven in his starting side for Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg with Real Sociedad. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Mauricio Pochettino has told talkSPORT he dreams of returning to Tottenham one day. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea and Copenhagen have confirmed their starting lineups for Thursday's Conference League fixture at Stamford Bridge. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes Pep Guardiola's side will need to score at least two goals if they wish to beat Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santos president Marcelo Teixeira is hopeful that the club will be able to sign Neymar to a fresh contract. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Erling Haaland will attempt to set a fresh Premier League record when Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Former Premier League striker Jermain Defoe has exclusively told Sports Mole he does not believe that Darwin Nunez can rescue his career at Liverpool. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Real Sociedad midfielder Arsen Zakharyan is reportedly unavailable for their second leg clash Manchester United due to visa issues. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly reignited their interest in Lille forward Jonathan David. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have confirmed that Ferland Mendy is facing a spell on the sidelines with the muscular problem that he picked up during Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United could be without up to four players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton are set to be without five players for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham United at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk UEFA have revealed that they will "enter discussions" with FIFA and IFAB over a potential rule change following Julian Alvarez's controversial spot-kick in Wednesday's Champions League clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton manager David Moyes will renew acquaintances with one of his former clubs West Ham United when they do battle at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brighton & Hove Albion could be without up to seven players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be without at least four players for Saturday's Premier League clash Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia's battle to stay out of the La Liga relegation zone will continue on Saturday night, when they head to Estadi Montilivi to tackle a Girona outfit that are without a victory since the start of February.