FRISCO - When the Honduran National Team takes to the Toyota Stadium pitch against Canada on Friday night, veteran defender and team captain Maynor Figueroa will feel right at home.
The 34-year-old is the most-capped player in Honduran history, and looks set to make his 140th appearance for his country as the group stage of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup comes to a close for the teams in Group A.
However, unlike any of the other players for Canada, Costa Rica, French Guiana or Honduras, Figueroa will have the added advantage of playing within the familiar confines of his home club stadium.
Figueroa won't be the first FC Dallas player to represent a national team at Toyota Stadium, though, as a few others have done the same in recent years.
Toyota Stadium last hosted the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2015, with Haiti, Honduras, Panama and the United States the four teams opening the tournament in Frisco. On that day, Blas Perez of Panama played all 90 minutes of a 1-1 draw with Haiti, which came during the final year of his four-year spell with Dallas. Figueroa also started for Honduras against the U.S. that day, but it was before he joined Dallas.
More recently in 2016, Kellyn Acosta and Walker Zimmerman were part of the U.S. Under-23 team playing against Colombia for a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The second leg of the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL playoff was held at Toyota Stadium with Acosta picking up the start and going the distance as the Americans fell a goal short of reaching London.
Plenty will be on the line as well for Figueroa and Honduras on Friday. Honduras currently sit tied for last in the group with French Guiana, but that could change pending a review by the CONCACAF Gold Cup Disciplinary Committee regarding French Guiana's fielding of an ineligible player in its 0-0 draw with Honduras on Tuesday.
Regardless, a win against Canada would likely send Honduras into the quarterfinals of the competition, meaning there will be plenty of incentive for Figueroa and his teammates to go for all three points.
Honduras and Canada will kick off at 9:00 p.m., with Costa Rica and French Guiana preceding that match at 6:30 p.m.
