Attacking midfielder Amado Guevara was honoured as the best player of the 2001 tournament, the only Copa América that Honduras has competed in. It was the only time this award was given to a player from an invited nation.

The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's soccer and determines the continental champion. Until 1967, the tournament was known as South American Championship. It is the oldest continental championship in the world.

Honduras are not members of the South American football confederation CONMEBOL. But because CONMEBOL only has ten member associations, guest nations have regularly been invited since 1993.

In 2001, there were several problems with the planned Copa América and was even officially cancelled at one point.[1] When plans of postponement to 2002 did not work out either, the tournament was held as scheduled. However, two teams withdrew: Invitees Canada had already disbanded the squad after the initial cancellation, and Argentina withdrew on the grounds that they were receiving death threats.

Costa Rica was quickly found as a substitute for Canada - and eventually Honduras agreed to substitute for Argentina. The announcement came on July 10, one day before the inaugural match, and three days before the first match of Hunduras. In spite of star players missing, they did well in that tournament, placing Third, and with Amado Guevara awarded as the tournament's MVP.

Honduras had won a continental title in the past: The CONCACAF Championship in 1981, a home tournament for them.

In 2016, the Copa América Centenario was a tournament co-hosted by CONCACAF and CONMEBOL and would have been Honduras' chance to play in a second Copa América, but they failed to qualify.

Record at the Copa América

Copa América
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1916 – 1999Not invited
Colombia 2001 Third place3rd631275
2004 – 2015Not invited
United States 2016Did not qualify
2019 – 2021Not invited
United States 2024To be determined
Total1 participation14/18631275

* Draws include matches decided on penalties.

Squad

Notable absences

At the beginning of the 2001 Copa América, the final stage of the Honduran league system was still ongoing, and the involved clubs, Real España, Marathón, Olimpia and Platense, did not put their Honduran players up for national selection on such short notice and during the decisive phase of the season.[1]

For that or similar reasons, several players were missing in the Honduran squad who held important roles at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup one year prior. Carlos Pavón, Milton Núñez, José Pineda and Julio César de León were among those left out.

Match overview

Tournament Round Opponent Score Venue
Colombia 2001Group stage Costa Rica0–1Medellín
 Bolivia2–0
 Uruguay1–0
Quarter-final Brazil2–0Manizales
Semi-final Colombia0–2
Third place match Uruguay2–2
(5–4 p)		Bogotá

Record players

Danilo Turcios played in all six matches of Honduras' third place run.

Of the five players who were active in all six matches, Amado Guevara has played the most minutes. He was only substituted in the 90th minute of the last match.

Rank Player Matches
1Amado Guevara6
Saúl Martínez6
Ninrrol Medina6
Mario Rodríguez6
Danilo Turcios6
6Robel Bernárdez5
Samuel Caballero5
Ricky García5
Limber Pérez5
Noel Valladares5

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals
1 Amado Guevara3
Saúl Martínez3
3Júnior Izaguirre1

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Steven Scragg (16 February 2015). "Honduras' Legendary Copa América Odyssey". These Football Times. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
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