There is no World Cup without a friendly face, without a team that for one reason or another wins the affection and sympathy of the fans. And the 82 in Spain was no exception. Aside from the usual ones, like Italy either Germanythere were several unusual combinations that left a characteristic stamp, such as the North Ireland of Gerry Armstrongthe Cameroon of N’Kono and Milla wave Poland of boniek. These assumed the role of revelations, but there was a team that conquered the hearts of the Spanish fans during the first phase and it was precisely as a result of drawing with the host in the first match.
was the first world of the story in which it appeared Honduras (Currently it has already been disputed three times with those of South Africa 2010 Y Brazil 2014, in which he did not add a single point) and his cover letter was tremendous. With all Spain dumped at the premiere of his team at the stadium Louis Casanova of Valencia On June 16, 1982, the ‘Cinderella’ of the group took the lead in the 7th minute of the match with a goal from Hector ‘Eagle Chest’ Zelaya Y started showing the team Jose Emilio Santamaria what was going to be their path in a championship in which they had placed a lot of enthusiasm but that ended up being a disaster for the Spanish. La Roja was barely able to rescue a draw with a penalty draw by means of Lopez Ufarte midway through the second half. The tie was held in Tegucigalpa as if it were a title (even today it is remembered as one of the great feats of its history) and the Hondurans were ‘adopted’ by the Spanish supporters, who encouraged them in the other two games that they contested despite the fact that without being aware until almost the end that they were able to leave out of the second phase those of Santa Maria after the unexpected defeat of the Spanish against North Ireland.
Image of the Honduras-Northern Ireland disputed in the 82 World Cup.
was able too Honduras to equalize in the next clash with the Northern Irish in The Romareda. Although armstrong put his team ahead in the 9th minute, the Central American team equalized through Edward Laing in 61 and stood on the last day of the first phase with qualifying options. After putting up with Yugoslavia during almost the entire meeting in that last appointment, also in The Romaredaa penalty converted by Vladimir Petrović in 1988 it ended the dream but not with the recognition of a team that started out as the scapegoat and ended up earning the eternal respect of the whole world.
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