Both teams suffered defeats on matchday one, with the Maroons losing 2-1 to Haiti, while Honduras were thrashed 4-0 by Mexico.
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Two side looking to get their first points on board at the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup will up against each other as Qatar take on Honduras at University of Phoenix Stadium on Thursday night. Both teams suffered defeats on matchday one, with the Maroons losing 2-1 to Haiti, while Honduras were thrashed 4-0 by Mexico. Two years ago, these two nations qualified for the knockout stages of the continental competition from the same group, with the Asian outfit winning Group D, while Los Catrachos finishing at the second position. Qatar reached the semi-finals in 2021 before losing 1-0 to eventual champions USA, while Honduras were defeated 3-0 by El Tri in the last eight stage.
Second match of our national team 🇶🇦
in the group stage of the #GoldCup 🏆.⚽️ Qatar 🆚 Honduras
🗓️ Friday, June 30, 2023
⏰ 02:45 AM (Doha time)
🏟️ State Farm Stadium | Glendale – Arizona#AlAnnabi 💪 pic.twitter.com/kxQsPRNA7J— Qatar Football Association (@QFA_EN) June 29, 2023
AFC outfit Qatar, who are competing in the Gold Cup as a guest nation for the third time in a row, suffered their first defeat in the group stage of this competition on Sunday. The Maroons took an early lead through Yousuf Abdurisag’s 20th-minute effort before former Kerala Blasters FC player Dunckens Nazon converted a spot kick on the stroke of half-time to level the score for Haiti. Meanwhile, just when it looked like the game was heading into a draw, Frantzdy Pierrot scored a dramatic 97th-minute winner for the Grenadiers. Not counting their friendly versus New Zealand, which was abandoned, that was the fourth time this year that the 2022 World Cup hosts has lost a match by a single goal. The opening defeat puts Carlos Queiroz’s men in a vulnerable position as another loss combined with a draw between Mexico and Haiti would officially eliminate them from this tournament.
Honduras, on the other hand, began their Gold Cup campaign in a less than ideal circumstances as they conceded four times without reply against Mexico on Sunday. El Tri raced to a 2-0 lead through Luis Remo’s brace inside the opening 23 minutes before Orbelin Pineda and Luis Chavez scored one goal each in the second half and handed Los Catrachos their worst defeat at this competition since the 5-0 loss to Brazil in 1996. It was their third consecutive defeat across all competitions, conceding nine goals and scoring just one in the process. La H have only missed out on the knockout round of this tournament in one of their previous three appearances, but just like the Qataris, a defeat on Thursday and a draw between Haiti and Mexico would spell the end of them.
Qatar probable starting lineup: Barsham, Al-Rawi, Suhail, Salman, Ahmed, Waad, Fatehi, Marafee, Ali, Muntari, Muneer
Honduras probable starting lineup: L. Lopez, Nunez, Garcia, L. Vega, Rosales, Flores, Alvarez, Altamirano, A. Lopez, Elis, Bengtson
Qatar
| Opponents | Score |
| Haiti | 2-1 (L) |
| New Zealand | 0-1 (L) |
| Jamaica | 1-2 (L) |
| Croatia B | 0-1 (W) |
| Iraq | 2-1 (D) |
Honduras
| Opponents | Score |
| Mexico | 4-0 (L) |
| Venezuela | 1-0 (L) |
| Canada | 4-1 (L) |
| El Salvador | 1-0 (W) |
| Saudi Arabia | 0-0 (D) |
| Last 2 match-results | Score |
| Qatar beat Honduras | 1-0 |
| Qatar beat Honduras | 0-2 |
The CONCACAF Gold Cup fixture between Qatar and Honduras will take place at University of Phoenix Stadium on Friday at 5:15 am IST.
| Qatar vs Honduras | Key Details |
| Date | June 29 (USA) |
| Venue | University of Phoenix Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Qatar | 2:45 pm (Friday) |
| Kickoff time in Honduras | 5:45 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in USA | 7:45 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 5:15 am (Friday) |
Football fans in USA can catch the live action via Fox Sports, Univision and TUDN network. Meanwhile, those in Honduras can watch the match on ESPN Norte, Star + and ViX.
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