Honduras coach dismisses over-physical critics

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Honduras coach Luis Suarez said his side's aggresive streak is nothing to be ashamed of as they head into a match against France in their opening FIFA World Cup game on Sunday. The Central Americans' physical approach in their warm-up friendly against England last weekend was heavily criticised. They were reduced to 10-men in the second-half of the 0-0 draw when Brayan Beckeles was shown a second yellow card.

Suarez insisted the reaction to one match was excessive, prefering instead to concentrate on their disciplinary record in qualifying. "We played 16 games of qualifiers and had no red cards so that shows that we play within the rules," he said. "We play with a lot of determination and we are intense, but that is allowed and important in football.

"Our attitude is to face the games with character, with hunger, because we are looking as a team to achieve our goals. That is our attitude and I think that is a good thing."

In their third appearance in the competition, Honduras are joined by Switzerland and Suarez's former side Ecuador in Group E. They can take encouragement from CONCACAF neighbours Costa Rica as they produced an upset by beating Uruguay 3-1 on Saturday and Suarez is hoping for a similar outcome against France.

We played 16 games of qualifiers and had no red cards so that shows that we play within the rules

Luis Suarez, Honduras coach

"I congratulate Costa Rica and (their coach) Jorge (Luis Pinto). I am not surprised because I know how good a team Costa Rica are, but it doesn't change my thoughts for tomorrow at all. We are aware of what our strengths are and we want to show them."

Suarez is aware, though, that his side will have to be on their game defensively if they are to register their first ever win at the World Cup. "France have a lot of strengths," he continued. "In attack they are very quick, not just transition but how they move the ball in the final third. They have players that can strike the ball very well from outside the area, their full backs get forward as well. They are a very strong team and have many things in attack we have to be very careful of."

Deschamps: Honduras not just physical

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

France coach Didier Deschamps has warned his side that they will face a tough test against a well-organised Honduras side when they open their FIFA World Cup™ campaign in Porto Alegre on Sunday.

On paper, the French appear to have been handed a soft draw with Switzerland and Ecuador making up Group E, but Deschamps believes world champions Spain's 5-1 humiliation at the hands of the Netherlands is a warning that anything can happen.

"We are not playing qualifiers any more, all 32 teams are of a high level," said the 45-year-old, who captained France to World Cup glory in 1998. "I don't have to remind you that before yesterday a great team like Spain also lost to Switzerland four years ago, Brazil also had a tough match against Croatia and it is obvious we won't have an easy match tomorrow."

The Hondurans have earned a reputation as a physical side before the tournament has even got underway, after a bad-tempered friendly with England last weekend that saw the Central Americans have Brayan Beckeles sent-off.

They are aggressive and know how to defend.

Didier Deschamps, France coach

However, Deschamps insisted France's first opponents have more to their armour than merely brute strength: "They are aggressive and know how to defend, I saw that in the friendly against England. They played very well as a team even with 10 players and they have good technical skills. But they don't just defend, otherwise they wouldn't be ranked 31st in the world."

Despite missing star playmaker Franck Ribery due to a back injury, France's build-up to the tournament has been tranquil compared to the outrage caused by a player revolt and disastrous performances at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa four years ago. Deschamps believes his young side are beginning to win over the French public once more.

"We shouldn't mention South Africa because we are now in another World Cup, we are not going to be judged by what we did four years ago. It is good to have a pleasant atmosphere in the squad and we have people at home supporting the team which is very important, but we will be judged on what happens starting from tomorrow."

Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris is one of the few survivors from the team that were humbled in South Africa and he admitted a better atmosphere inside the dressing room should produce better results on the pitch this time round.

"I am not here to compare different World Cups or different generations, but it is obvious that we are getting on very well in our training sessions. We have been working very hard for four weeks, we are getting ready and everything is going very well inside the dressing room. That is key and we hope to show some good performances.If we get those performances and victories I am sure everything will remain as it is. We start with a clean slate tomorrow and hopefully we will win the match."