Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda was forced to accept that his side were second best in a 2-0 defeat to Spain.
Honduras accept they were never at the races
Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda was forced to accept that his side were second best in a 2-0 defeat to Spain.
The reigning European champions may have stumbled out of the blocks when they slipped to a shock 1-0 reversal against Switzerland, but they were back to their best in Johannesburg on Monday.
They never looked like making the same mistakes as they made against the Swiss and will have been left disappointed at not emerging with a more convincing success.
In the end two goals from David Villa saw them to all three points, while the Barcelona new-boy could also afford to miss a second half penalty.
Honduras, to their credit, gave their all throughout but were unable to live with a well-oiled Spanish machine.
Respect
Rueda admitted as much afterwards, with his side now needing a minor miracle to reach the last 16.
"We had too much respect for them especially at the start of the game," said the Colombian.
"The early goal tipped the balance of the game. There's not much to explain, we were playing a much superior team.
"They surprised us with that goal, that individual move by David Villa very early on and I think we lacked conviction in our play to try to offset and overcome this rival."
