Honduras’ only other appearance at the tournament was in 1982.

The squad landed in Nelspruit on Monday morning and trained at a nearby stadium, two days before the Group H match against Chile on Wednesday.

“We’re very close now,” Figueroa said. “We’re about to make our dream come true.”

Defender Sergio Mendoza said the nation would be focused on proving pundits wrong about how far Honduras can go.

“You can’t say one team is favorite … we all deserve respect,” he said.

Honduras has fitness concerns over striker David Suazo and midfielder Wilson Palacios. Both players have right thigh muscle injuries.

Palacios looks set to be fit for Wednesday’s match, but Suazo’s problem is said to be more serious.

Both players stretched and jogged with the rest of the squad and did ball work between themselves during the 20 minutes of the session open to the media…continue USA Today news article here.