Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza started and played 65 minutes for Honduras on Wednesday in the opening leg of a two-game Gold Cup play-in series against French Guiana at Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama in Remire-Montjoly. Honduras took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute through Jerry Bengtson but the home side responded with three unanswered goals to claim a 3-1 upset victory.
Torvic equalized for French Guiana off a corner kick in the 25th minute before the game-winning goal came two minutes later from Sloan Privat. The striker, currently playing for Ligue 1's Caen in France, added his second of the night in the 62nd minute.
Both sides finished fifth in their respective regional qualifying competitions -- Honduras at the Central American Cup, French Guiana at the Caribbean Cup -- and will now meet again on Sunday in the decisive return leg at San Pedro Sula’s Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano.
Honduras must overturn the two-goal aggregate deficit to secure their 12th all-time berth at this summer's Gold Cup. Los Catrachos -- ranked No. 81 by FIFA -- represented CONCACAF at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, and have reached the semifinal round in four of the past five Gold Cup tournaments.
French Guiana is looking to qualify for the competition for the first time after taking a major step forward on Wednesday. The series winner will play in Group A alongside the United States, Panama and Haiti, including a doubleheader at Sporting Park on July 13 (tickets here).
Espinoza now has 46 career international appearances and has appeared at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2012 Summer Olympics and 2014 FIFA World Cup. The 28-year-old has made 132 appearances for Sporting KC across all competition with three goals and 12 assists.
