Overview
After the match against Spain was cancelled due to the unstable situation in the Middle East, Argentina won two consecutive victories against Mauritania and Zambia at home.
Although opponents are not highly rated, consecutive victories still help coach Lionel Scaloni's team maintain excitement before entering the journey to defend the world championship title.
Argentina's form in recent times has been particularly impressive. Albiceleste is on a 5-match friendly win streak and has only conceded one goal. The South American team continues to show remarkable stability since winning the 2022 World Cup.
In the South American World Cup qualifiers, Argentina also showed superior strength. Despite receiving 4 defeats after 18 matches, the defending champion still finished the campaign with a 9-point gap over second-placed Ecuador.
Once again, Lionel Messi is still the most prominent factor in Scaloni's squad. The superstar born in 1987 leads Argentina in both important statistics of scoring and assisting in the qualifiers with 8 goals and 3 assists.
The match against Honduras will be Argentina's penultimate general rehearsal before they face Iceland in the final friendly match on June 10. After that, Messi and his teammates will enter the 2026 World Cup campaign with a confrontation with Algeria in Group J.
Meanwhile, Honduras came to this match with much regret after missing the 2026 World Cup.
The Central American team was very close to a ticket to participate in the biggest football festival on the planet. However, the 0-0 draw against Costa Rica in November last year caused them to lose the opportunity to qualify for the intercontinental play-off round because they were inferior to Haiti in goal difference.
That disappointing result led to the departure of coach Reinaldo Rueda after two years of attachment. The person chosen to replace him was Spanish strategist Jose Francisco Molina.
The most notable bright spot of Honduras currently is Luis Palma. The 26-year-old winger contributed 6 assists in the CONCACAF qualifiers and has just completed the transfer from Celtic to Lech Poznan.
However, the gap in class between the two teams is still very large. In the last three encounters from 2003 to 2022, Argentina has always won against Honduras.
Personnel situation
Argentina will not have Messi's service in the friendly match with Honduras as the 38-year-old superstar is still in the recovery process. El Pulga has not fully participated in training sessions with the whole team during the training camp to prepare for the 2026 World Cup and has been decided by the coaching staff to rest to ensure fitness.
In the goalkeeper position, Scaloni also faces a personnel problem when Emiliano Martinez is being treated for a finger injury after a long season with Aston Villa.
On the Honduras side, defender Joseph Rosales is a noteworthy name. The player belonging to Austin has 35 caps for the national team and will play in Texas, where he is too familiar thanks to many years playing football in the MLS.
Expected lineup:
Rulli, Molina, Martinez, Otamendi, Tagliafico, De Paul, Mac Allister, Fernandez, Alvarez, Martinez, Simeone.
Menjivar, Maldonado, Rosales, Vega, Melendez, Rodriguez, Arriaga, Alvarez, Ruiz, Palma, Rivas.
The match between Argentina and Honduras takes place at 7:00 am on July 7 (Vietnam time).
