Honduras will begin their quest for the Gold Cup on Tuesday when they face Grenada at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas.
La H are coming into this competition without a win in normal time in their previous five matches, while the Spice Boys lost 1-0 to Montserrat in their last outing back on June 8.
Match preview
The Hondurans come into this competition struggling to find their form and in a bit of a transition period that they hope can see them turn their fortunes around on the international stage.
After qualifying for back-back World Cups in 2010 and 2014, they lost out to Australia for a spot at the 2018 tournament, and it has been downhill for them pretty much since then.
They carried that disappointment of missing the last World Cup with them into the 2019 Gold Cup, where they finished bottom of their group with only three points from three games, failing to make the knockout stage for the second time in their last three appearances at this tournament.
This year we are likely to see many new faces in the Honduran team, with three players who have yet to earn an international cap and another eight who have yet to hit the double-digit mark when it comes to international appearances.
Even though they have not won a competitive game in 90 minutes since 2019, manager Fabian Coito will be pleased with the fight and passion his team showed against Mexico in a 0-0 draw in their final match before this competition.
Having failed to qualify for this tournament on successive attempts, the Spice Boys will hope that youth will be served when they hit the field for the Gold Cup on Tuesday.
Former Canadian national team coach Michael Findlay has named a relatively inexperienced side, with seven forwards under the age of 25, and for many members of this team, it will be their first appearance for the senior side.
The hope is that the youthfulness of this team can create a surprise in a group that will feature three solid and experienced sides who have played together for a long time.
In all likelihood, though, this tournament will serve as a measuring stick for Findlay and his team to get some valuable international experience and assess where to move forward with the program.
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Team News
Honduras may have a lot of youngsters at this tournament, but they can still count on their experienced captain Maynor Figueroa, who is the most capped player in their history (168), while his Houston Dynamo teammate Boniek Garcia is fourth all-time in that category with 128 appearances.
Veteran striker Jerry Bengtson will return to this competition for Honduras, having not featured at the Gold Cup since the 2011 tournament.
The Honduras back four of Figueroa, Diego Rodriguez, Marcelo Pareira and Kevin Alvarez did a fantastic job shutting down the Mexican attack in their last match, holding the reigning Gold Cup champions to zero shots on goal.
The hopes of Grenada could be squarely on the shoulder of Paradise striker Jamal Charles, with the 25-year-old notching 14 goals in only 25 international appearances for his country.
His teammate at Paradise, goalkeeper Jason Belfon, is seventh all-time in appearances for his country with 43, while 23-year-old striker Saydrel Lewis is tied for sixth all-time in goals with seven.
Midfielder Shavon John-Brown needs just three more appearances to reach 30 for his country, and defender Aaron Pierre will be counted on to slow down the Honduras attack.
Honduras possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Rodriguez, Figueroa, Pereira, Alvarez; Flores, Acosta, Garcia, Martinez; Bengtson, Elis
Grenada possible starting lineup:
Belfon; Pierre, Paul, Paterson, Sterling; John-Brown, Theodore, McQueen; German, Lewis, Charles
We say: Honduras 2-0 Grenada
Honduras may not be as strong in this region as they were a few years ago, but they are still good enough to make it through this stage of the competition, and they have more than enough depth and experience to get past Grenada.
Grenada have never won a group game at the Gold Cup, scoring only one goal in six matches, and they will be hard-pressed to find a way through a well-organized Honduras back four.
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