The Hexagonal
Honduras Announces Starting XI for Hex Match
Jurgen Klinsmann waited until Monday to announce his U.S. roster. Honduras coach Luis Fernando Suarez posted his Starting XI more than a day before he had to. Has either coach gained an advantage?
BY
John Godfrey
Posted
February 05, 2013
6:05 AM
If a coach knows his Starting XI, does it make sense to guard that information closely and prevent the other team from making adjustments ahead of time?
Or should he just announce the lineup to the world?
Honduras national team coach Luis Fernando Suarez clearly falls into the second camp, as he released his Starting XI today. Here it is:
GOALKEEPER Noel Valladares
DEFENDERS Arnold Peralta, Victor Bernardez, Maynor Figueroa, Juan Carlos García
MIDFIELDERS Oscar Boniek Garcia, Roger Espinoza, Luis Garrido, Mario Martínez
FORWARDS Jerry Bengtson, Carlo Costly
We were just about to post a tactical preview of tomorrow's match, but given this new piece of information I bounced it back to the author, Liviu Bird, for a revise.
Which begs a few questions: Will Klinsmann be doing the exact same thing right now? Will he be adjusting his projected roster based on the XI Honduras is slated to start?
Or how about this: Might the Colombian-born Suarez be playing mind games? Maybe he wants Klinsmann to think that this is his starting lineup when in fact it could change right before the match.
Gotta love the Hex!
Regardless, we've assembled an in-depth look at the Honduran team, including player profiles (with videos) of nine of the 11 starters listed above. We strongly encourage you to take a look so you will know what the Yanks will—or will they?—be up against tomorrow.
And be sure to watch this space for an updated Tactical Analysis of the big Hex opener.
February 05, 2013
6:05 AM