news: Did Honduras get paid to lose World Cup spot?

[peteo]

Before their last 2 WCQs, the Hondurans needed 1 point to go through to WC2002.
They lost their last qualifier at Mexico.
They lost their next to last qualifier at home to last place T&T.

http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/g3369.html

As I recall, the US finished qualifying with 17 points and Honduras with 14 points. So, how could Honduras have overtaken the US?

[superdave]

And they hit woodwork like 7 times against T&T.

This ridiculous story has come up before. If the Hondos threw the T&T game, they are the greatest collection of shooters in the history of the world.

Of course, if they were accurate enough to hit woodwork that many times without actually putting it in, then they would have had 24 points at the time, anyway.

Please get your bulls*** detector tuned up. It's badly needed.

[UncleSam527]

Nobody hits the post on purpose.

[Bajoro]

With two games remaining, the US had its destiny in its own hands. Two wins and we were in, regardless.

As it worked out, our last two games were the easiest two teams in the hex .

So a better question to ask would be: If we had played T&T and Jamaica in games 7 & 8, instead of Hondo and Costa Rica, would we have qualified first in the Hex?

Abso-freakin-lutely.

[tame1999]

it was fate...they nailed the wood 7 times, that ish just doesn't happen for no reason.

[mikelley037]

no, they didnt

[lablumpkin]

Originally posted by peteo
Before their last 2 WCQs, the Hondurans needed 1 point to go through to WC2002.
They lost their last qualifier at Mexico.
They lost their next to last qualifier at home to last place T&T.

http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/g3369.html

As I recall, the US finished qualifying with 17 points and Honduras with 14 points. So, how could Honduras have overtaken the US?

Honduras needed more than 1 point out of their last 2 games to qualify. With 2 games left, Costa Rica was in, Honduras had 14, US and Mexico each had 13. Based on the other results from game 9 of the hex, Honduras only needed 1 point from EACH of its last 2 games to qualify, because they played Mexico in the final game, and Mexico had only managed a tie with CR. But once we beat Jamaica, we weren't in any danger. Even if Honduras had gotten a late equalizer against T&T, it would have been USA 16, Honduras 15, and Mexico 14. And with those two playing each other, they couldn't both get the points to overtake us. Mexico would have been the team failing to qualify, not us.

[superdave]

Originally posted by lablumpkin
Mexico would have been the team failing to qualify, not us.
Which is why the accusation is that Mexican interests paid off the Hondos.

[Kobranzilla]

Maybe we should ask a conspiracy theorist...

http://www.theonion.com/onion3531/ask_conspiracy_theorist.html

[diablodelsol]

Originally posted by peteo
Before their last 2 WCQs, the Hondurans needed 1 point to go through to WC2002.
They lost their last qualifier at Mexico.
They lost their next to last qualifier at home to last place T&T.

http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/g3369.html

As I recall, the US finished qualifying with 17 points and Honduras with 14 points. So, how could Honduras have overtaken the US?

No, 'cause they would have taken three points or two points from Mexico...so Mexico wouldn't have gone.

The US was through either way.

[usagoal]

Originally posted by peteo
Before their last 2 WCQs, the Hondurans needed 1 point to go through to WC2002.
They lost their last qualifier at Mexico.
They lost their next to last qualifier at home to last place T&T.

http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/g3369.html

As I recall, the US finished qualifying with 17 points and Honduras with 14 points. So, how could Honduras have overtaken the US?


If you had seen the game agains T&T you would feel pretty silly asking this question.

[lablumpkin]

Originally posted by superdave

Which is why the accusation is that Mexican interests paid off the Hondos.

I understand that. I didn't see either of those last 2 Honduras games, so I can't answer whether the accusations seem valid or not. I was simply answering one of the original questions, about how Honduras could have possibly overtaken us. I wasn't saying that US officials paid them off.

[Jerlon]

If you are trying to throw a soccer game, so will shoot and shoot it ten or fifteen yards wide. They hit the post so many times in this game if i remember right. There is no way they were trying to lose it.