Carlos Pavon struck an early goal to give Honduras a 1-0 win over neighbours El Salvador, putting them back on course for a place at the

World Cup finals.

The win lifted Honduras to third in the CONCACAF World Cup

qualifying tournament with seven points from five games. El

Salvador are fifth with five, one below Mexico, who beat

Trinidad & Tobago 2-1.

The top three teams qualify directly for South Africa and

the fourth plays off against the fifth-placed South American

side for another place.

Honduras and El Salvador, who fought a five-day war 40

years ago after a series of World Cup qualifiers fuelled

existing bad feeling over Salvadorean immigrants in Honduras,

are both trying to qualify for the World Cup for the first time

since 1982.

El Salvador, boosted by a shock 2-1 win over Mexico on

Saturday, began brightly but it was the hosts who took the lead

when 35-year-old Pavon scored from a rebound in the 14th

minute.

Honduras, despite missing striker David Suazo through

injury, almost went 2-0 up just after halftime when Pavon's

shot was cleared off the line.