Although their play has been steadily improving in recent years, Honduras is not considered one of the powers in Concacaf. The have made the tournament only once previously, in 1982. In that tournament, they did achieve a draw with the host nation of Spain, but they were unable to advance beyond the first round.

Unfortunately, what is probably the most famous moment in the country's soccer history had tragic consequences. Rising tensions between Honduras and El Salvador spilled over around the days of a 1969 qualifier between the two nations, leading to a short skirmish forever known as the Soccer War. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/elsalvador.htm

Two other past triumphs for the Honduras national team, known as the Catrachos, stand out: in 2001, after receiving a last-minute invite to the Copa América (they arrived two hours before their first game after Argentina's withdrawal prompted their invitation), Honduras eventually shocked Brazil 2-0 in the quarterfinals, in what was probably the country's biggest upset in history. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/1452385.stm And in 1981, Honduras was crowned the Concacaf champion after going undefeated in the tournament.

Honduras was something of a surprise to make the World Cup in 2010, as it is not among the traditional Concacaf powers of the US, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Indeed, they needed a late goal from the US against Costa Rica to vault them directly into the World Cup, and avoid a play-in game with Uruguay. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/world-cup/2009/10/14/1561927/pavon-puts-honduras-into-world-cup Honduras finished third among the Concacaf nations with 16 points, behind the US (20 points) and Mexico (19).

Led by the duo of Carlos Costly and David Suazo, both of whom labor in Europe, the Hondurans face off in the first round against Chile, Switzerland, and Spain. They are widely considered the underdog of the group. However, while beating Spain will take something akin to a miracle, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Honduras should score a win and a draw in the other two matches, thus vaulting them into the round of 16.