That’s Honduras. The Catrachos, whose last and only other time at the tournament was in 1982, wept tears of joy at the news that a late USA goal versus Costa Rica tied that qualifying match and sent Honduras to the World Cup.

That’s why the Hondurans adore Jonathan Bornstein, who scored that goal. That creates one of the few times a national team player is more popular in another country than in his own, since USA fans often gripe about Bornstein’s defensive mistakes.

The Hondurans are also forgiving of their own, because although veteran striker Carlos Pavon missed a penalty kick and a free header versus the USA in an earlier qualification match, there were no widespread calls to replace him, like there have been for England’s goalkeeper Robert Green after his gaffe versus the USA. That’s partly because the Honduran squad doesn’t have a huge amount of options in their player pool, but also because the fans are loyal to the exploits of their players in the past, even when they fall short.

Pavon repaid that faith in him with a goal in the final qualifying game, and when Bornstein finished off the USA’s comeback effort, all that was left for Pavon to do was weep with relief with his teammates.

Getting to the World Cup is almost the same as winning one for Honduras – and their team has already fulfilled that hope and expectation. No Honduran will gripe about how much it cost to travel to South Africa to see their team play, no matter the outcome. That’s the joy unlimited of the World Cup, because there are no conditions set to it.

From: Goal.com