Roger Espinoza Named To Honduras Squad For 2010 FIFA World Cup
May 11, 2010 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Kansas City Wizards defender/midfielder Roger Espinoza will be suiting up in South Africa this summer, as Honduras National Team manager Reinaldo Rueda named him in his final 23-man roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
With the selection, Espinoza becomes the 20th member of the Kansas City Wizards to be named to a World Cup squad, and the seventh player to go to the competition as a member of the club.
"I've dreamed about this since I was little," Espinoza said. "My top goal was to go to the World Cup, and I'm glad I got called up. It's where every player in the world wants to be."
"We're extremely happy for Roger," said Wizards Manager Peter Vermes, who represented the United States at the 1990 World Cup. "Representing your country in the World Cup is one of the highlights of your career as a soccer player, and we're excited that he's able to represent not only Honduras, but also the Kansas City Wizards, as he goes into the World Cup."
Espinoza's call-up comes just over a year after his first appearance with the national team in the UNCAF Nations Cup at the start of 2009. Espinoza scored his first international goal in that tournament, netting the winner in Honduras' 1-0 win in the third place game against El Salvador. Espinoza has gone on to score three goals in 10 appearances for Honduras, the most recent coming against the United States in a 3-1 Honduras victory on January 23, 2010.
Nicknamed "Los Catrachos," the Honduran National Team surprised many with a solid World Cup qualifying campaign, finishing third in CONCACAF behind the United States and Mexico. The team will play three friendly matches during a pre-World Cup camp in Austria, with their first test coming against Belarus on May 27th. The team will then play Azerbaijan on June 2nd, before concluding their pre-World Cup slate with a match against Romania on June 5th.
The Hondurans will face sterner tests in the World Cup group stage, as defending European champions Spain await them along with Chile and Switzerland. Should Honduras advance out of their group, they would face the winner or runner-up in Group G, widely considered to be the "Group of Death" with five-time World Champions Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea.
WIZARDS IN THE WORLD CUP:
The following Wizards players have appeared in a FIFA World Cup. Those with asterisks (*) next to their names played in the World Cup while a member of the Kansas City Wizards.
Name National Team World Cup Year(s) Years With Wizards
Brian Bliss USA 1990 1998
Mike Burns USA 1994, 1998 2001-2002
Jimmy Conrad* USA 2006 2003-Present
Samuel Ekeme Cameroon 1994 1996
Richard Gough Scotland 1986, 1990 1997
Bob Gansler (coach) USA 1990 1999-2006
Chris Henderson USA 1990 1999-2000
Eddie Johnson* USA 2006 2006-2008
Mo Johnston Scotland 1990 1996-2001
Frank Klopas USA 1994 1996-1997
Alexi Lalas USA 1994, 1998 1999
Claudio Lopez Argentina 1998, 2002 2008-2009
Tony Meola* USA 1990, 1994, 2002 1999-2004
Miklos Molnar Denmark 1998 2000
Uche Okafor* Nigeria 1994, 1998 1996-2000
Preki* USA 1998 1996-2000, 2002-2005
Refik Sabanadzovic Yugoslavia 1990 1998-1999
Mike Sorber USA 1994 1996
Peter Vermes USA 1990 2000-2002
Josh Wolff* USA 2002, 2006 2003-2006, 2008-Present
The Wizards continue the 2010 MLS Season with a return to CommunityAmerica Ballpark, when they take on the Chicago Fire this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. Order tickets by calling 888-4KC-GOAL or by visiting kcwizards.com.
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- Chivas USA's Bornstein And Kljestan Named To Preliminary U.S. Roster For FIFA World Cup - Club Deportivo Chivas USA
- Roger Espinoza Named To Honduras Squad For 2010 FIFA World Cup - Sporting Kansas City
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