Soccer - Japan midfielder Honda scores on Pachuca debut in Mexico

A calf injury kept the 31-year-old out of the Pachuca lineup for five matches since he joined the club after his AC Milan contract had expired in June.

Soccer - Japan midfielder Honda scores on Pachuca debut in Mexico

(Reuters)





Honda came off the bench in the second half at the Estadio Hidalgo to replace Angelo Sagal, who had opened the scoring in the first half, and netted the home side's fourth goal in the 73rd minute.

"Not bad for a first step," Honda, who scored with a left-foot shot from outside the box, was quoted as saying by the Kyodo news agency.

"Finally being able to join my team mates, I was psyched up when I was called on to play. We won, and I have no words to express how I feel. I have to work a bit more on raising my game," he said.

Victor Guzman also scored a brace for the home side while Cristian Pellerano netted Veracruz's only goal in the 78th minute.

Pachuca are currently fifth in 18-team standings on nine points from six games.





(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by John O'Brien)


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world