New England Revolution striker Jerry Bengtson has not featured for the Honduras national team in recent times after falling out with manager Fernando Suarez after his recent comments. Bengtson criticised the manager for not including him in the starting line-up in a recent match against Jamaica.
The player was on the bench for the entire 90 min, which frustrated him. Due to these comments, Bengtson has not played for the national team for more than a month. The manager, though, has said that he does not rule out the prospect of Bengtson returning to the national team.
However, he wants an apology from the player for his comments. Honduras will be taking on Haiti in the Gold Cup opener. For his part, Suarez was right to drop the striker, who has been a poor run of form recently. Aside from the goals against the United States and Mexico in recent months, he has not scored in any of the matches.
Honduras managed to win the match 2-0 without the presence of Bengtson on the pitch. The team will be having an important match against the United States in the World Cup qualifying.
Despite being a minnow, Honduras are still within a shout of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
“I’m not capable of closing the door on anyone, even a bad person, and Jerry is not a bad person. He is an excellent person, a tremendously spectacular human. A person who I appreciate and like a great deal,” said the Honduras manager. Aside from the match against Haiti, the team will also be having matches against Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador. As a result, Honduras are the favourites to finish top of the group. They, however, are not expected to win this tournament, but they could spring a surprise.