Mexico Vs. Honduras Olympic Qualifying: Watch Live Stream Online, Preview, Prediction
When and Where: The final of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying tournament kicks-off from LiveStrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, at 8 p.m. ET. A live stream will be available by registering free with CONCACAFTV.com.
Preview: With Mexico and Honduras both having secured their participation in this summer's Olympics with semi-final wins on Saturday, the final between the two nations' under 23 teams acts as both a celebration and preparation for London.
Mexico go into the game as favorites having been the class of the field in qualifying. They won their place in the Olympics with a 3-1 over Canada, having won all three matches in the group phase.
That one of those victories in their group was a 3-0 triumph over their opponents in the final, Honduras, only adds to the belief that Mexico will come out on top.
Yet Mexico under-23 coach Luis Fernando Tena is not taking the Hondurans lightly.
They showed us the first game, even though we beat them, he said, according to CONCACAF.com. We struggled in the first 15 minutes. They're a tough team to play. We won't take them softly.
After we scored the first goal, we got more control. It was a tough game. We have to play like we played, not to take them lightly.
Despite the hard work being done in claiming their place in London, both Mexico and Honduras know the importance of creating a winning habit and refining their team ahead of the summer spectacle, which gets underway in July.
And Honduras coach Luis Fernando Suarez confirmed they would be fully-focused on the final, despite having to play for 120 minutes to beat out El Salvador 3-2 just 48 hours previous.
We are very satisfied and happy that we won, but I also want to continue, for our team to take the next game seriously even though were in and qualified, Suarez said, according to CONCACAF.com. It is something that we will go in and take the game seriously.
Prediction: Having outscored their opponents 14-2 in their four games in the tournament so far, led by strikers Alan Pulido and Marco Fabian, Mexico should once again be too strong for Honduras.
Honduras' task is made even tougher by the fact that their first choice team will surely still be incredibly fatigued after playing extra time on Saturday. As a result, Suarez will likely have to make wholesale changes to his team. While Mexico may also make changes, they showed by winning with a virtual second-string against Panama in the last game of their group that they have strength in depth.
Mexico U23 3-1 Honduras
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