Argentina and Honduras will face each other in an international friendly at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, the USA, on Friday evening, with kickoff at 3 am.
After finishing second behind Brazil in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, Argentina will be hopeful of competing in the latter stages of football’s biggest tournament.
The Albiceleste have not lifted the Jules Rimet trophy since triumphing in Mexico in 1986. However, they have twice lost in the final to Germany since then, most recently after extra-time in Brazil in 2014.
Lionel Messi turned 35 earlier this year, so people will be watching to see if he can help his country go one better than Diego Maradona and become world champions on home soil.
Honduras, on the other hand, won just four of their 14 qualifiers for this year’s tournament. They finished bottom of their group and will miss out on the World Cup for the first time in three tournaments.
Manager Hernan Gomez was sacked in late March and replaced by Diego Vasquez after an initial interim period.
The 51-year-old has repaid the faith shown in him with two wins from three matches so far, including an impressive 2-1 win over Canada in March, who have qualified for their first World Cup in 36 years.
Argentina vs Honduras Head to Head
Both sides have one game against each other, with the hosts taking one win while the visitors winless. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Argentina 5-0 Estonia
- Italy 0-3 Argentina
- Ecuador 1-1 Argentina
- Argentina 3-0 Venezuela
Away
- Honduras 2-1 Canada
- Honduras 1-2 Curacao
- Curacao 0-1 Honduras
- Jamaica 2-1 Honduras
Argentina Team News
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the US embassy in England remained closed, preventing Argentina’s Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez from travelling from England to the United States. The defensive duo face a race against time to be included in their country’s squad for their match against Honduras.
Honduras Team News
Meanwhile, Honduras manager Luis Fernando Suarez has named five uncapped players in his squad for the upcoming friendly match against the United States on July 29. The Honduran team that defeated Canada 2-1 in their first match at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June has only been bolstered by two new additions—Justin Braun and Matt Besler.
Prediction and Odds
We expect Argentina to win easily over Honduras, who had a terrible World Cup qualifying campaign.
- Home Win
- Goals Over 2.5
- No Score: Away
