Sporting Kansas City midfielders Roger Espinoza and Soni Mustivar both featured for their respective national teams on Tuesday in the fourth round of CONCACAF's World Cup qualifying tournament. Espinoza played 90 minutes as Honduras kept pace in Group A of qualifying with a 2-0 win over El Salvador.
Espinoza recorded his 49th cap for Honduras on Tuesday, starting a match Los Catrachos desperately needed to win to stay alive in World Cup qualifying. El Salvador was able to hold the home side at bay for the first half, but Houston Dynamo midfielder Boniek Garcia put Honduras ahead in the 52nd minute with a fantastic volley from just outside the penalty box. Romell Quioto sealed the match in stoppage time when his shot attempt deflected off a defender before squirting past Salvador goalkeeper Derby Carrillo.
With the win - and Canada's 2-0 loss to Mexico - Honduras are now in second place in Group A of qualifying with four points through four games. Canada also have four points, but Honduras have the edge with a -1 goal differential compared to Canada's -4. Honduras resumes qualifying in September with a home match against Canada followed by a road match at Mexico to conclude the group.
While Espinoza and Honduras moved to the brink of the Hex on Tuesday, Mustivar and Haiti moved to the brink of elimination. Haiti fell 1-0 to Panama in a must-win game for Les Grenadiers. Mustivar played 45 minutes on Tuesday in his 11th international appearance and left the match at halftime with the scored tied 0-0. Panama captain Felipe Baloy broke the deadlock in the 81st minute when he headed home a corner kick to give Panama three points in front of their home crowd.
With the loss, Haiti remain in last place in Group B with one point through four games. They will need to win their remaining matches - home vs. Costa Rica and at Jamaica - and get help from other teams in the group to advance to the final stage of qualifying.
Espinoza and Mustivar will return to Kansas City today ahead of Sporting KC's weekend match against Real Salt Lake. Mustivar will be available for selection, however, Espinoza will miss the match after picking up a red card in the club's previous match against Toronto FC. Limited tickets are available for Saturday's Western Conference tilt and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
