Missed the World Cup! Honduras coach sheds tears: Only one goal is missing, all efforts are in vain

In the sixth round of the CONCACAF World Cup preliminaries on November 20, Suriname lost to Guatemala 1-3, and Honduras drew 0-0 with Costa Rica. Suriname and Honduras shared 9 points and 3 goal differences. Suriname scored more goals (9) than Honduras (5) and qualified for the intercontinental play-offs. With an own goal scored by Guatemala in the 93rd minute, Suriname finally defeated Honduras. Honduras ended up missing out on the World Cup by just one goal. At the post-match press conference, Honduras coach Reynaldo Rueda couldn't control himself and burst into tears when talking about the game.

■About Honduras' failure to qualify for the World Cup

Reynaldo Rueda sobbed and said: "I'm sorry, but this is such a difficult moment. Football taught us a lesson today, to stay humble. You can't celebrate in advance before the game is over. Maybe we do A lot of good work was done, but it was still not enough. The irony is that we were eliminated and lost to a strong team that we had scored 4 points in two rounds. "

■Reinaldo Rueda admitted that the team lacked stability and the dream was shattered by details.

Reinaldo Rueda said regretfully: "We wanted to celebrate before the game."

This elimination not only caused Honduras to miss the World Cup for the third consecutive time, but also plunged the future of one of the most experienced national team coaches in the region into uncertainty. Rueda, who led Honduras to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and coached Ecuador to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, originally hoped to end his coaching career by qualifying for the World Cup again.

Reinaldo Rueda said: “I said: ‘If we make it to the World Cup, that would be the perfect way to say goodbye.’ Of course you want to continue because this is your passion. But it’s too hard, too hard to accept. 27 months of work. , and it was all in vain because of a goal."

Just hours after this thrilling exit, the Honduras Football Federation (FFH) issued an official statement announcing the official departure of the Rueda coaching staff and launching an immediate reorganization of national football.

The scene of Rueda crying was completely captured by international media cameras and became a symbol of the most bitter World Cup qualifying moment in Honduras’ modern history. It once again proved that the ultimate charm of football is both passion and pain.