By Dylan Butler

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts - Some of the biggest names in Honduran football - Amado Guevara, David Suazo, Carlos Pavon and Wilson Palacios - are not with the national team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

But those who are here, including some younger players like Roger Espinoza of the Kansas City Wizards, are looking to prove the strength and depth of Honduran football, looking to catch their manager's eye and perhaps earn a more permanent role with the squad.

A result against winless Grenada on Saturday will put Los Catrachos through to the knockout stage, achieving a goal set before the tournament by this young team.

"Even though right now there's not that many famous players on the national team, there's players who are hungry to win," defender Osman Chavez said through a translator. "And that's what we're going to try and show people, that we can reach great goals. We hope the next game we can play even better and qualify (for the quarterfinals)."

Honduras suffered a difficult 2-0 loss to the United States in front of a pro-Honduran crowd at RFK Stadium in Washington on Wednesday night, giving up both goals in a four-minute span in the final quarter hour.

That puts added emphasis on a result against the Spice Boyz, but that's nothing new for Honduran coach Reinaldo Rueda.

"All of the games have pressure," he said. "This was a good test against the home team that did good in the Confederations Cup. What we need to work on is the mentality, not only the physical aspect of wanting to win to qualify. Now we need to fight to qualify. We need to keep going strong. "

Grenada, meanwhile, will be looking to play the role of spoiler on Saturday. Although mathematically alive, a minus-six goal difference leaves it little chance and hoping simply to come away from its first-ever Gold Cup appearance with something after losses to the United States and Haiti.

"Unfortunately we haven't had a point as yet," Grenada captain Anthony Modeste said. "We just have to try and put the two games behind us and look forward to the game in Boston. We are very much hopeful."

Still, according to Grenada manager Tommy Taylor, it's been a positive experience for the Spice Boyz, who are 88th in the FIFA world rankings, its highest ever.

"The best thing for the country is that they've gotten through to this tournament, which is their first time ever to make it," Taylor said. "So that's a massive plus for them. The next plus is winning a game or getting points from a game, and not giving silly goals away, and making the right decisions when they're passing the ball."

That won't be any easier for the Spice Boyz against Honduras, though.

"No, it doesn't," said forward Delroy Facey, who earned his first cap in a 2-0 loss to Haiti on Wednesday. "We've just got to approach it with the same desire and commitment that we know we've got. We've got to go out there and see there's a game to be won: 11 of them against 11 of us. Whatever team the manager decides to pick, we've got to go out and do the job."