Spurs hunt Honduran ace

Wigan have rejected a £3 million bid from Tottenham for Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios but left the door open to a deal at a higher price.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan said the bid had been rejected because the offer did not meet the club's valuation of the 24-year-old. "It is entirely up to them (Tottenham)," Whelan said. "They can either come back or forget it. Ten million, for that lad, is not enough. We are definitely looking for more than that, that's for sure."

Palacios, who followed Wigan boss Steve Bruce from Birmingham to Lancashire in January of last year, signed an extended contract in August although the details were not revealed by the club at the time. He has since enhanced his reputation with Wigan establishing themselves firmly in the top half of the table and put in another impressive performance in Wednesday night's 1-0 defeat at champions Manchester United.

Afterwards, Bruce appeared resigned to losing the player given the scale of the offer from Spurs. "For a club of our size, we are talking telephone numbers and I don't even know what Spurs are prepared to go to," Bruce said.

"I haven't spoken to the boy yet, but I have been there myself and how can you deny somebody a life-changing opportunity? We will see what the money men come up with in the next 24-48 hours.

"Whatever happens, though, it will take top dollar to get him. He showed against United what he can do, but in two years time, he can be the best around." Honduras World Cup Tickets are now available online. Other than World cup tickets you can also get World cup football tickets, Champions League final tickets, FA Cup final tickets, FA Cup tickets and World cup 2010 tickets from the same spot online without any headache and with guaranteed delivery of tickets at home.

Trophy arrives in Panama and Honduras

For approximately one week, two central American nations have had the privilege of hosting the most recognised trophy in world sport.

In Panama and in Honduras, Presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Porfírio Lobo Sosa, respectively, were the only citizens of each country allowed to hold the trophy that has already been hoisted aloft by football’s most talented stars such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Diego Maradona, and most recently, Fabio Cannavaro.

Panama has never been to the finals, but the President of the Panamanian Football Federation, Ariel Alvarado, said that he is hopeful the country will qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil.

Meanwhile, in San Pedro Sula, the trophy was received with the same joy Hondurans have shared since the country was guaranteed one of the spots at South Africa 2010. In another event in Tegucigalpa, Ramon Maradiaga, Hector Zelaya and Fernando Bulnez, stars of the 1982 squad were received as champions.

In the farewell from Honduras, 10,000 people arrived from all parts of the country to see the trophy up close. Those were moments of pure emotion for entire families, which had never imagined they’d have this opportunity.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy tour presented by Coca-Cola now heads to Mexico. It’ll be the 64th stop for the Trophy as it makes its way to the host nation of South Africa on 4 May 2010.

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Honduras coach omits trio

Honduras head coach Reinaldo Rueda has left Noel Valladares, Ramon Nunez and Osman Chavez out of his squad for the friendly international against Turkey.

Colombia-born Rueda decided to rest Olimpia goalkeeper Valladares, a squad regular during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualification campaign, and midfielder Nunez. Chavez was not named because "he has not played for four months", according to Rueda.

Honduras will travel to Istanbul with a strong squad containing nine foreign-based players, but one surprise name is Mauricio Sabillon, who has recently been transferred to Hangzhou Luchen, a team recently relegated from the Chinese Super League.

Wigan Athletic's Maynor Figueroa and Hendry Thomas, Tottenham Hotspur's Wilson Palacios and Genoa striker David Suazo are also part of the squad for the match on 3 March.

Honduras have been drawn in Group H for South Africa 2010, alongside Spain, Chile and Switzerland.

Honduras squad:
Goalkeepers: Ricardo Canales (Motagua), Donis Escober (Olimpia)

Defenders: Maynor Figueroa (Wigan Athletic), Erick Norales (Marathon), Edgar Alvarez (Bari), Johny Palacios (Olimpia), Emilio Izaguirre (Motagua), Victor Bernardez (Anderlecht), Mauricio Sabillon (Hangzhou Luchen), Mariano Acevedo (Marathon)

Midfielders: Amado Guevara (Motagua), Danilo Turcios (Olimpia), Julio Cesar de Leon (Torino), Wilson Palacios (Tottenham Hotspur), Hendry Thomas (Wigan Athletic)

Forwards: David Suazo (Genoa), Carlos Pavon (Real Espana), Walter Martinez (Marathon), Carlo Costly (Vaslui), Georgie Welcome (Motagua).

Honduras National Football team now got a chance by qualifying to the FIFA World cup 2010. Keeping their terrific history in mind they are supposed to perform their best in this tournament. Ticket4football is providing fans with the full joy of watching the world cup matches live at cheaper rates by offering Honduras World Cup Tickets online. Other than World cup tickets you can also get Champions League tickets, Champions League final tickets, World cup 2010 tickets and World cup football tickets from the same spot online without any headache and with guaranteed delivery of tickets at home.

Honduras beat USA in tuneup

Honduras defeated the USA 3-1 last night in a friendly football match between two teams bound for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ in June.

Honduras had goals from Jerry Palacios, Roger Espinoza and Carlos Pavon, who converted a penalty in the 19th minute. Clarence Goodson scored the lone goal for the USA in the 70th minute.

The crowd of 18,626 at the Home Depot Center in California was largely pro-Honduras, and they were delighted by Palacios's header off a cross from Pavon, as well as Espinoza's crisp strike.

The hosts were a man down for much of the match, after defender Jimmy Conrad was ejected by Mexican referee Benito Archundia in the 17th minute for his second yellow card.

"It's tough to fight back, especially a man down," said Jonathan Bornstein, the closest to a regular in the US lineup. "The match just didn't go our way this time."

For the USA, the match was the conclusion of a 19-day training camp that featured a largely US-based talent pool trying to play their way on to the South Africa 2010 squad. Ten players from a similar camp in 2006 made the final FIFA World Cup squad for the US.

The Americans, preparing for a sixth consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance, will face England on 12 June in their opener in South Africa and also face Slovenia and Algeria in first-round matches. Honduras, which qualified for the first time since 1982, will open 16 June against Chile and shall also face Spain and Switzerland.

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