World Forums

Since there are 2 1/2 concacaf posters here I thought we could dedicate a little corner to this very important subject

Actually there should be more than 2 1/2 since there are quite a few yanks here.

Anyhow, there are now three groups that will compete for 3.5 spots*. This stage is called the semi-final round. (Preceding this round there was stage 1 and then stage 2 rounds.)

Group A:
USA, Guatemala, T&T, Cuba

Group B:
Mexico, Jamaica, Honduras, Canada

Group C:
Costa Rica, Surinam, El Salvador, Haiti

Final Stage:

The three Round Three group winners and 3 Round Three group runners-up will contest Round Four.

The six teams will form 1 round-robin, home-and-away group.
The top 3 teams qualify for the FIFA World CupTM.
The 4th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 5th placed South American team.

Likely qualifying scenario ( USA, Mexico, Costa Rica)

* 4th place finisher will square off against 5th place CONMEBOL finisher

After looking over the tables a bit more, the 4th spot will be quite intreguing.

Realistic chances go to:

T&T, Guatemala, Canada, Honduras, El Salvador

Costa Rica has played like shit. Good thing El Salvador got rid of Panama, they gave Guatemala fits last time around.

Costa Rica weak?

I hope so

We should be able to beat Haiti I think.

ANy thing better than finishing last in the group will be a good accomplishment. Just being realistic.

They've lost a bunch of game and even tied Grenada in theis round qualifiers in the first game. Plus Medford is about to get fired.

Concacaf's 4th spot has a good chance to beat Conmebols 5th spot, which is likely to be Colombia, Ecuador or even Venezuela. Bolivia, Peru and Chile and Uruguay seem to be out.

Guys

CONMEBOL will win the playoff regardless of the matchup.

It's pretty much all these CONCACAF teams fighting for 1 spot. 2 are already taken up by USA & Mexico.

Not so quicly. Honduras and Costa Rica have beaten teams in Copa America. The bottom eight in South America are not that great. It's like playing the bottom 30 in Europe.

Take Italy, Germany, France, out of the mix and you have a few pedestrian teams.

Remember CR in WC '90 ?

USA lately?

T&T against England?


It's a fucking fantasy.

Palo,

Remember that Australia had a very experienced coach that really made a difference. Most CONCACAF teams do not have such world class coaches who coached in various countries and various Intl. tournaments.

I think that the edge goes to CONMEBOL for their 5th spot.

Good coaches does make a big difference. Reggea Boyz is a good example.

I don't think technically there will be much difference between the 4th CONCACAF & the 5th CONMEBOL teams. It will come down to good tactical discipline.

That is why I say CONMEBOL has the edge but I would not at all be surprised if Concacaf takes the 4th spot.

I disagree. Honduras has Rueda, T&T has Maturana, Mexico has the Swede. Guatemala has a coach who has been in 3 WCqs.

Who do the southamericans have after Brasil, Paraguay and Argentina.Look at CHile with Bielsa getting their ass kicked.

Wow,

I must admit I have not been paying much attention to the coaching staffs

Mexico has the Swede? I immediately start thinking conservative footy.

How is that working out for Mexico?

Surprised that Bielsa still gets a job as coach

Ericsson hasn't coached yet. We'll see. He can't be worse than the piece of crap we had under Ego Sanchez. Bielsa is a good coach, just a bit misunderstood.

Bielsa is too stubborn IMHO

He sticks with a system weather it works or not. At least that is my impression.

Was there ever a Euro coach in Latin American team or Caribbean team?

They usually accuse us as being lazy because of our carefree attitude

I don't think it's a good mix. But who knows

Heh. I just remebered beenhakker. But he was in the region for a long time already.

Was there ever a Euro coach in Latin American team or Caribbean team?

Bora Milutinovic for Mexico. Bora was the Gus Hiddink of his day (i.e., a mercenary coach).

Bielsa was a stubborn coach but he does a good job... even if he walks up and down the sidelines talking to himself...

Not only Mexico but the USA, Costa Rica and I think even Honduras and Jmaica recently. I know he coached Nigeria and China. But Bora is Mexican as far as I am concerned.

If Bora's Mexican, why can't Pabs be Italian.

Bora has lived and played in Mexico for over 30 years is a nationalized Mexican Citizen, is married to a Mexican and has Mexican children. He developed as a coach in Mexico, speaks the language fluently and openly professes love for Mexico. All we know about Pabs is that he's a lonely, womanless amateur eurocentrix xenophobic racist , who may or may not own a chicken and may even have an Italian mother.

bah...bah...

lol

LOL @ Palo

Chicken... he he he

it may also be a duck

In Puerto Rico, Pato is nick for fag. due to the similarity of the way both of them walk

I'm so tired of serving Pabs, I feel guilty.

sure sure. I used that Seinfeld line on the Liga thread about a year ago.

sure you did.

Leo Beenhakker (Netherlands) - coached T&T to the 2006 WC

Sven-Göran Eriksson (Sweden) - current coach of Mexico

Leo also coached in Mexico but he is as Mexican as Pabs is Italian.

yeah I remember he coached Amerika

Group A:
USA, Guatemala, T&T, Cuba

Group B:
Mexico, Canada, Honduras, Jamaica

Group C:
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Surinam, Haiti

my picks in bold. Group B is the most difficult. In Canada they are saying that this is arguably the best team in about 30 years (De Guzman, De Rosario). Anything less than a WC berth will be a failure. Clearly now is the time because I can't see anything better coming up in the youth. The key players are now in their prime (and even then De Rosario will be 32 in 2010). The head-to-head with Honduras will be the key. Whoever wins that joins Mexico. I can't see Jamaica doing anything this time.

My flame war with Surinami aside, Group C is a bit on the lightweight side. They will outplace Haiti though.

For the Final Hex, USA & Mexico will place 1-2 (in either order) and any of the remaining 3 teams of Guatemala/Canada/El Salvador are about at the same level. Costa Rica is normally the solid 3rd place team in the region but they might be slipping. So I would say that these 4 are on par and any of them could take the last 1.5 spots.

Guatemala will make it. I don't know about Canada though. All thier good players seem to want to play for other countries.

Guatemala for sure will make the Final hex, but not so sure if they get the #3 or #4 spot.

At this point it's a tossup.

And yeah, if Canada had Owen Hargreaves, he surely would make a difference.

Stage 3 -- Round 1

Group A:
Guatemala 0 - USA 1
Cuba 1 - T&T 3

Group B:
Mexico 2 - Hounduras 1
Canada 1 - Jamaica 1

Group C:
Costa Rica 1 - El Salvador 0
Haiti 2 - Suriname 2


Missed opportunity by Canada tonight. On paper this was supposed to be the easiest game (home versus Jamaica). Certainly played better, more positive, more attack-minded than Jamaica but to no avail. Got the lead and were looking good but a goalkeeper error allowed Jamaica to equalise. DeGuzman hammered one off the cross bar in the dying minutes but it ended 1-1.

Decent result for Surinam.

Surinam was up 2 - 0 at the half in an away game!

With that scoreline I would think they can win at home.

It appears that the competition in our group is not as strong as I first thought.

Good result for Jamaica as well

Great goal by Pardo to tie it up with Honduras.

what a fukcing rip off in the Guatemal-USA game. But the USA has fielded its worse team in 10 years. I don't see them in the WC.

If Honduras, CR and Guatemala make the final round, the USA will be left out.

When is the next game?

Felix K wrote:September 6th. In fact, this is a World Cup matchday in all 6 confederations.

I'm looking forward too it.

It may be one of the few times we see Surinam in a match on TV outside Surinam simply because we are playing Costa Rica.