Honduras vs. Chile World Cup 2010: First Group H Match Could Have Tons of Goals

After four full days so far in the 2010 World Cup, we will get to see the first match in Group H on June 16 at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

This match will contain the first World Cup match for either side since the 20th Century, as Honduras face Chile in what could be a high-scoring match.

Right now, Honduras were extremely lucky to get into this World Cup after a Jonathan Bornstein goal got Honduras into the World Cup with less than 20 seconds remaining in a USA-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier back in October, while Chile are expected to be a surprise side in this World Cup.

With this match soon getting underway, here is my official preview of Honduras v Chile from the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

Team News:

Honduras:

For Honduras, the health of striker David Suazo is unknown going in after suffering a knock against Romania in a recent friendly.

Also, midfielder Wilson Palacios is set to start after suffering an injury in the exact same match as Suazo.

Chile:

For Chile, Humberto Suazo (the leading goalscorer in COMMEBOL qualifying with nine) is set to be on the bench due to the recent hamstring injury he got in a friendly against Israel.

What is on the line:

Honduras:

For Honduras, it is national pride. After the political problems in Honduras during qualification, tensions have started to swell down as the country moves forward.

With this being their first World Cup since 1982, pride is primarily on the line for Los Catrachos as one of the lowest ranked sides in this World Cup.

Chile:

For Chile, it is their chance to advance onto the knockout stage for the first time since 1998.

Overall, this Chile squad has had expectations grow on them over the last several weeks, and la Roja will need to start proving those predictions here.

Key Players:

Honduras:

For Honduras, their key player will be Wilson Palacios .

Palacios' impact will be to help Honduras jump-start their counterattack while Chile are on the attack.

Chile:

For Chile, their key player will be Alexis Sanchez.

With Suarzo probably out all together, Sanchez will be Chile's attacking star, and the young star must produce well for Chile here.

What each side must do to win:

Honduras:

For Honduras, it all comes down to not only how well their keeper Noel Valladares plays against a strong Chilean attack.

If Valladares is great, Honduras could sneak out a win or a draw, but if he is average or below, there will be no way how Honduras can avoid a loss.

Chile:

For Chile, they obviously will be on the attack for most of the match, but also they will need to have strong play from their midfielders.

Honduras will rely on their counterattack for most of the match, which means that Chile must have their midfielders ready for anything.

Biggest key to victory:

Honduras:

Honduras must be able to have a great counterattack and a strong defensive effort.

Chile:

Chile must be able to prevent any counterattacks and play strong defensively.

Projected Lineups:

Honduras (4-4-2)

                                                     Valladares

              Sabillon                   Chavez              Figueroa                  Izaguirre

              Turcios                   Palacios              Guevara                 Julio Leon

                                            Pavon                Suazo

Chile (3-3-1-3)

                           Beausejour            Paredes                Sanchez

                                                Mati Fernandez

                             Millar                 Carmona                  Medel

                             Vidal                    Jara                     Ponce

                                                      Bravo

X-Factor:

The x-factor in this match will be the pitch at the Mbombela Stadium, which is made out of a synthetic surface.

Even though South Africa played here several weeks ago against Thailand without any problems, the artificial surface at the Peter Mokaba Stadium had much criticism from the players back when Algeria and Slovenia played each other on Sunday.

Will that same problem happen at the Mbombela Stadium in this match or will everything go according to plan?

Prediction:

At this World Cup, Chile have one of the best attacks and without question they can score against anyone.

With that in mind, I am predicting a 3-1 Chile win despite the fact that there have only been 23 goals through 14 World Cup matches to date.