No team had higher expectations coming into the Men's Olympic Soccer tournament then the Spanish side. They were arguably the most potent, the deepest, and had the highest level of talent throughout. However, after Wednesday, this team will no longer continue to play in the tournament. The reason is a 1-0 loss to Honduras on Sunday that officially eliminated them from contention and portrayed them as the biggest bust of the tournament.
Spain came out jittery in the opening moments of the match. After a 1-0 loss to Japan, they had all the pressure in the world to win the match. But seven minutes in, their fate would be sealed when an innocent cross from Roger Espinoza found the head of Jerry Bengston who beat Jordi Alba to the ball and scored the first and only match of the game. The goal gave Bengston his third of the tournament.
After that goal, Spain turned it up a notch and dominated possession for the remainder of the match. They played an efficient passing game and created a plethora of opportunities with their aggression but their play often came to nothing. Unlike the World Cup and Euro Cup champions, this younger squad looked impatient and often gave the ball away with their overzealous quick passes. Their lack of desire to retain the ball and tire out Honduras made it easy for the Central Americans to tighten up in the middle and disrupt a rather predictable pass down the center of the field.
With Japan's win and Honduras' victories, those two stand with six points and four points respectively. Spain can only get a maximum of three points, essentially leaving them out of contention. Honduras needs a tie against Japan or a Spanish win over Morocco to qualify for the quarter-finals.
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