Big ask for Honduras to make it to World Cup second round, UAE fans feel

Honduras is set against Ecuador, France and Switzerland in Group E. If the Hondurans can at least manage a draw with France, they will be set up for the next two matches, its fans feel.

(From left) Tania Hernandez-ElDabbagh, Margarita Salinas, Alfredo Argueta and children Yafi Eldabag, Jineen Eldabag and Sereen Eldabag get ready to cheer on Honduras. Satish Kumar / The National

DUBAI // For Honduras to make it into the second round of the World Cup would be a huge achievement, says Alfredo Argueta.

“We’ve never made it past the first round,” said Mr Argueta, 32, a Honduran route market manager from Tegucigalpa. “Just making it that far would be huge.”

It would be a bit of good news out of a country that is normally singled out by the world’s media for negative news, such as its high crime rates, which Mr Argueta blames on the country’s large disparity in wealth. In 2010, the country had one of the world’s highest rates of intentional homicides.

“When basically all you hear in the newspapers and on TV is bad news and crimes, this and that, you really enjoy [hearing good news],” said Mr Argueta. “At least for the short term, from the emotional side of the country, it puts it in a positive atmosphere.”

In 1969, amid riots after qualifying games between Honduras and El Salvador for the following year’s World Cup, a four-day war broke out over a border and immigration dispute. El Salvador cut off military ties the night of the final match, and its military attacked the neighbouring country the following month, thus the conflict’s nickname of the Football War.

Honduras is set against Ecuador, France and Switzerland in Group E. If the Hondurans can at least manage a draw with France, they will be set up for the next two matches, said Mr Argueta.

Tania Hernandez-ElDabbagh, also from Tegucigalpa, agreed.

“In the group where we are, we have some very tough teams – we have France and Switzerland,” she said. “But I think we shouldn’t be underestimated, either.”

Ms Hernandez-ElDabbagh, 40, said Ecuador was also a tough team.

She said she knows of about 30 Hondurans in the UAE.

“We’ll definitely be watching the games with as many Hondurans as we can gather,” she said. “We definitely have World Cup fever already – the excitement is there.”

Mr Argueta plans to be watching defensive midfielder and wing back Roger Espinoza, Stoke City midfielder Wilson Palacios, Hull City player Maynor Figueroa and 21-year-old Andy Najar. Mr Argueta thinks the World Cup will be a breakout performance for Najar, who plays as a winger in the Belgian Pro League club Anderlecht.

Mr Argueta travelled to Germany in 2006 and to South Africa in 2010 to watch the games, but this year, he will be staying in Dubai, where he lives. It will be different watching here compared with his native country.

“The country comes to a huge standstill. You might get that from a lot of places, but I’m telling you, in Honduras, it’s really, really the case,” he said. “There’s not even a sport that’s a close second. Here, it’s football, and that’s it.”

Mr Argueta said he feels nostalgic for home when watching the matches from abroad.

“I guess it’s when you’re seeing the guys play or hearing the anthem – I can’t help but think, ‘Oh, the last time I saw them play, it was with my dad or my cousins.’ It definitely makes you think of home,” he said.

But there’s also something special about watching it as one of few Hondurans who live in the UAE.

“When there’s so few of you, you’re kind of representing the country. It’s a bit of a responsibility, the way I see it,” he said.

Ms Hernandez-ElDabbagh said football is a positive force and good for the country.

“The past eight years have been really a challenge. There’s a lot of bad news every day in the newspapers,” she said.

“[Football] is amazing. It brings out the best in us. It’s like some kind of unity.”

This article was amended on June 16 for clarity