World Cup 2010 Game Previews – 6/16/2010

Written by Aaron on June 16, 2010 – 12:06 am -

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates from PlayaHatin.com

Honduras Chile Group H – Game 1

Honduras vs. Chile

ESPN – 7:30 AM ET

Honduras:

Honduras squeaked into the tournament in the eleventh hour with USA’s Jonathan Bornstein header against Costa Rica to put the Hondurans up into third place! Honduras has a fantastic side that shouldn’t be messed with. This team knows how to attack on the wings, bring the ball through the middle and finish. It seems like they’ve got it right for quite some time. True, though, from time to time they falter with too many men forward on the counter, and on set pieces. Honduras looks to make their second appearance in the World Cup since 1982. Much like some of the other smaller, under-achieving teams, Honduras has true, raw talent that look to get out of a mighty Group H.

More after the jump…

Honduras’ key players:

Carlos Pavon: Talk about a guy who takes his chances, Carlos has been known to make some fantastic goals, and miss some gift wrapped sitters. Pavon is a proper veteran for his side and is a true leader for his team. Carlos has experience from all over the world, playing for over 14 different clubs throughout his life; he now turns his focus on the World Cup. His team hopes he shows up this time, sometimes in bigger games, he doesn’t seem to turn up. Carlos has a nose for the goal though, with a good sense of where to be at the right time.

Amado Guevara: The former star from Major League Soccer will be shine this world cup. Much like his other counterparts, he is a leader on the field, and has many years of experience. Known by his country as El Lobo, or, The Wolf, he makes his presence known in the midfield with an incredible work rate. Amado likes to go forward and take shots if he has the space. But his true talent is distribution and diving (no, really).

Chile:

Chile is making its ninth appearance in the tournament, and this time, they want to do better than just making it to the tournament and playing in the first round! Chile have an unbridled passion for the game of soccer, and each and every game they play, they look good, win or lose. They have had some drama in the World Cup, being banned in 1994 for their goal keeper faking a phantom fire cracker hitting him in the head, and halting the game, but it seems like the country is past that and is ready to rock and roll. How will Chile fair against the likes of Honduras, Spain and Switzerland? We think they will do quite well and keep their composure.

Chile’s key players:

Humberto Suazo: A powerful striker for Real Zaragoza in Spain’s La Liga. He is known in club and country for having a powerful shot and running in on the defense in tight areas with the ball at his feet! Go youtube his videos the goals he has scored and you can clearly see that Suazo is certainly a skilled striker! He somehow gets in front of his defenders and can easily slot the ball behind the keeper. Suazo will be extremely fun to watch this World Cup, and we hope he has a good stand.

Jorge Valdivia: Jorge leads the Chileans in this World Cup with the Captains arm band. Known as “the Magician”, this guy is creative with the ball at his feet and his quick turns and faints will take anyone to school. He’s got one heck of a shot too, usually creating some serious shots for himself and his teammates in the box. If he scores, watch for his patented celebration of making a crying baby, mocking his defenders. Sometimes he’s too creative, and he’s not what he used to be as he is getting older. If you give him space, he’ll have some fun and put on a show for the crowd.

Predictions:

Aaron York: (Honduras 2 – Chile 1) A win for a team that no one is expecting to do anything is in the books. Wilson Palacios of Tottenham Hot Spurs in England is a super special player and Suazo is hurt for Chile. Surprise Surprise..

Taylor Fugate: (Chile 3 – Honduras 1) Two desperate teams fighting to make it past group stages. Goal fest anyone?

Playa Hatin’