China vs. Honduras: International Friendly Schedule & Predictions - Los Catrachos Look to Rebound Against Team Dragon

By Edwin Molina First Posted: Nov 17, 2014 07:00 PM EST

The Honduran National Team returns to action on Tuesday in international soccer friendly action, facing against China as they look to rebound from the 6-0 drubbing they took at the hands of Japan on Friday.

Takashi Inui and Yohei Toyoda both had a pair of goals while Maya Yoshida, Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo contributed goals for Javier Aguirre's Japanese squad, who are preparing to defend their Asian Cup championship in January.

Aguirre was most impressed with Honda's effort and hopes the Serie A AC Milan forward continues his solid playing going into the Asian Cup tournament.

"He's very motivated," said the former Mexican national team coach who took over for Alberto Zaccheroni, who resigned and retired after helping Japan qualify into the 2014 Brazil World Cup. "I think he's started to realize that of all our players who play abroad, he is the most important. (Shinji) Kagawa is also very important, but Honda is the bar of our team. I've been working with him for three months now, and I know what he's thinking just by making eye contact."

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Honduras head coach Hernán Medford was on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum regarding his squad, who is now 3-4-2 since taking the Catracho national team job after winning the 2013 Honduran soccer league championship with Real España. Medford replaced Luis Fernando Suárez, who guided the squad into the 2014 Brazil World Cup, but was the only team in the tournament from the CONCACAF who failed to impress after Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States all got out of the Group Stage.

"Japan was just much better and we made many mistakes with our opportunities against them that surpassed us in all facets of the game. They were just strong," said Medford after the game in Toyota, Japan. "We lacked attitude. I saw a Honduran national team that I did not even recognize. I was not expecting this. The attitude of a lot of the players was just pretty bad."

Much like Japan, Honduras will face a Chinese national team that is preparing for next January's Asian Cup. China is led by Alain Perrin, who was hired in February after stints with Ligue 1 teams such as Olympique de Marseille, FC Sochaux and AS Saint-étienne.

China is coming off a 1-1 draw against New Zealand, with team captain Zheng Zhi of the Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League giving his team the lead before a header by Chris Wood, striker for the English Premier League (EPL) team Leicester City, tied the game in the 87th minute with a header he managed to put past the keeper.

Perrin liked what he saw from his team, who is unbeaten in their last five matches, and will look to keep building his team at the expense of the visiting Honduran squad.

"We played with a very young and physical side," said Perrin after the game against the Kiwis. "I think to play with this kind of style is a good thing for our team. We may meet teams with similar style in the Asian Cup, so it's helpful for the team. In the first half we created a lot of chances, but we need to improve our efficiency."

While his team acclimate to the time zone differences, Medford guarantees a better effort from his team after the embarrassing loss at Toyota Stadium.

"One has to apologize to the entire country because that was a score that nobody likes. but we must learn from these things," said Medford after getting beat down by Japan. "Against China, we must move on. Their style of soccer is similar to Japan's, we have had more time [in this time zone], had more to time to adapt. We expect to play a better match. We are obligated to turn the page, show some pride against China. It won't be easy, they have players who compete in Europe and their soccer has grown much."

Predictions

With the team more adjusted to the time zone differences, the Honduran national team should improve their performance. While China is playing to prepare for the Asian Cup, Honduras is looking to regain some semblance of respect after their embarrassment suffered at Toyota Stadium. While China can expect a tougher Catracho team to show up at Shaanxi Province Jiaodaruisen Stadium in Xi'an than the one that played in Japan, expect Team Dragon to continue their unbeaten streak at the expense of Honduras.