Still seeking their first victory in the top tier of the CONCACAF Nations League, French Guiana host Honduras on Thursday at Stade Municipal Dr Edmard Lama.
Last month, Les Yana Dokos came away with a 0-0 draw against Trinidad and Tobago, while La H were beaten 2-1 by Jamaica on matchday two.
Match preview
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For an inexperienced side at this level, French Guiana have proven to be a formidable defensive unit to break down so far, conceding just once in the Nations League this season (1-0 defeat versus Nicaragua).
On matchday two, they collected their first-ever point in League A, holding one of the quarter-finalists from a season ago to just two efforts on target.
While they have been sharp defensively, conceding just once in their last three competitive fixtures, Jean-Claude Darcheville's men have not found the back of the net in three of their previous four matches played across all competitions.
French Guiana have not suffered consecutive defeats in the same Nations League campaign since following up a 1-0 loss versus Grenada in 2019 with a 2-0 loss at Belize that same year.
A defeat on Thursday, combined with a draw between Jamaica and Nicaragua, would officially end their chances of making the knockout phase of this tournament.
The first and only previous time they hosted the Hondurans, French Guiana came away with a stunning 3-1 triumph during a March 2015 Gold Cup playoff fixture but lost the second leg of that tie in Honduras 3-0 and failed to qualify for that competition.
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After a strong opening fixture, defeating Trinidad and Tobago 4-0, the Hondurans paid for their sloppy defensive display in the second half against Jamaica.
That defeat ended a four-match home winning run for them in the group portion of this tournament, as they lost their first Nations League game in Honduras since June 2022 (2-1 loss versus Curacao).
Counting their 2-0 Nations League quarter-final defeat at Estadio Azteca against Mexico last season, Los Catrachos are winless in their previous four away matches in this competition, scoring only once over that stretch.
Reinaldo Rueda's side are just a point back of a top-two place in Group B and will move into one of those automatic knockout stage spots with a victory on Thursday.
Since scoring five unanswered goals to crush Bermuda 6-1 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier in June, this team have lost their last two encounters across all competitions when tied at the half.
Honduras have won their last two matches played against French Guiana by a combined margin of 6-0 but have not won on Caribbean soil since defeating Curacao 1-0 in a June 2022 Nations League fixture.
Team News
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Five players who began French Guiana's game versus Nicaragua remained in the starting 11 on matchday two, Mickael Colino, Gregory Lescot, Loic Baal, Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Ludovic Baal.
Fei-Hong Faham replaced Donovan Leon between the sticks against Trinidad and Tobago, making two stops to collect a clean sheet in only his second appearance with the national team.
For Honduras, there were three newcomers in their starting 11 between matchdays one to two, with Luis Lopez replacing Edrick Menjivar between the sticks, while Cristopher Melendez came in for Maylor Nunez.
David Ruiz was the other newcomer who replaced Alexander Lopez in the starting 11, and the Inter Miami midfielder netted their only goal against Jamaica.
French Guiana possible starting lineup:
Leon; Colino, Lescot, Letard, Marmot; Nemouthe, Lo. Baal, Vancaeyezeele, Lu. Baal, Galas; Sarrucco
Honduras possible starting lineup:
Menjivar; Najar, Maldonado, Vega, Rosales; Rodriguez, Arriaga, D. Flores, Palma; Ruiz; Lozano
We say: French Guiana 0-3 Honduras
Besides Jamaica, the Hondurans have had their way with Caribbean opposition in this competition, and we have difficulty believing that the home side can do anything more than hold La H off the scoresheet for a period of time.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
