It is impossible to recognize the significance of the Honduras men’s soccer team’s elimination of Spain from medal contention at the Olympics without thinking of the U.S. team that failed to qualify for the tournament earlier this year.
Instead of D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid leading the U.S. under-23 team, it was United midfielder Andy Najar who combined with fellow MLS players Roger Espinoza (Sporting Kansas City) and Jerry Bengtson (New England) for the lone goal in Sunday’s 1-0 victory in Newcastle.
Honduras might not have been in England at all had the U.S. not suffered a surprising 2-0 loss to Canada and surrendered a 3-3 tie with El Salvador back in March.
How dominant have the Spaniards been recently on the world stage? Not only are they the reigning World Cup and two-time European champions, they also own the under-21 and under-19 European titles. The last time they were eliminated in the group stage of any world tournament was the 2001 under-17 World Cup.
– Craig Stouffer
