Pavón, the qualifying region’s top scorer, served as a fulcrum for the nation’s renewed sense of unity. Pavón is of Garifuna descent, an ethnic mix of Carib, Arawak, and West African peoples that has been marginalized and discriminated against in Honduran society.

Pastor says Pavón’s ascension as a nationally iconic figure has highlighted soccer’s unique ability to transcend societal barriers in Honduras. He says he believes Pavón’s achievements show that “anyone from any social class, with minimal conditions and the right kind of effort, can achieve excellence in any field.”

“To see [Pavón] lead the team to victory and [for the country] to identify him as Honduran has served the positive function of getting the rest of Honduras to recognize the valuable aspect that is our Garifuna community,” Pastor says.

The national team itself also represents a diverse mix of players from cities around Honduras. The current pool of talent, Pastor says, is “a symbol of how the country has come together.”

Villegas, the 1982 team captain, said he believes this current generation of players rivals his own era in terms of talent.

“There are now new heroes in Honduras,” Villegas says. “In ’82 it was us, and now kids are looking to players like Pavón, [Wilson] Palacios, and [Amado] Guevara as role models.”

Guevara, captain of the current Honduran team, is one of the highest-paid players in United States Major League Soccer. Villegas said that he believes the Honduran team will continue to perform well internationally and that many players from the team will be selected to play in European soccer clubs after the World Cup.

Yet Pastor also warns that sporting success should not be the only measure of Honduran progress, and he notes that the international community will only respect the nation when it is able to surmount its broader difficulties.

—Staff writer Mauricio A. Cruz can be reached at cruz2@fas.harvard.edu.