SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - After edging Belize, 1-0, in a semifinal match tighter than many might have expected, Honduras progressed to a second straight final at the UNCAF Copa Centroamericana.

Despite the luxury of a roster full of international stars, the Catrachos have been made to work for everything that they have earned in the competition. A pair of 1-1 draws in the first round and a narrow semifinal win in three games reinforce that notion. Through it all, though, the Hondurans are exactly where most observers thought they would be…in the last two, contesting for the trophy.

"I'll keep the second half," Honduran head coach Luis Fernando Suarez said of the showdown with Belize. "I thought Belize might be a tough opponent for us.

"They did things well. But we scored the goal, and that's why we're deserving finalists."

Honduras returns to the championship match on Sunday, when it will meet familiar-foe Costa Rica once again. They squared off two years ago in Panama City, with the Catrachos posting a 2-1 win to capture a third Central American crown.

Over the years, the format of the Copa Centroamericana has experienced different variations. Even though this is the 12th edition of the competition, a championship match has taken place only on five previous occasions.

Honduras has played in three of those finals, winning two (1995, 2011) and drawing 1-1 with Costa Rica in 2005 before falling 7-6 on penalty kicks.

This will be Costa Rica's fifth straight appearance in the final, but it has never lifted the cup without going to penalties.

"We're happy to be in the final again, after all the work we've put in," said Honduran defender Juan Pablo Montes. "Now we have to focus on Sunday's game."

The rivalry between Honduras and Costa Rica, which has come to be known as a Central American "clasico," will be renewed at 5 PM local time in the Estadio Nacional in San Jose.