Was winning the hex important for the USA?

[roarksown1]

According to this writer at Fox it was, and I for one agree with him.

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/4994224

[ugaaccountant]

Not really since we didn't make our A team come in. It's a nice thought but the key task this cycle, besides qualifying of course, was beating Mexico. We came up 1-1 in our attempt. All these other games were incidental and merely preparation for the WC.

If it was really a big goal of ours would we have been starting Brian Carroll?

[Bluecat82]

For the team, A little, I think...especially for someone like Landon who absolutely loathes the Mexican National Team...

For the hardcore fan, a whole lot. Bragging rights is a wonderful thing, if you're the one who gets to brag...

[Dirt McGirt]

Yes because of possible WC seeding.

[Marko72]

If we do "well" this WC (which I'm pretty much defining as advancing past the group stage in Europe) then, yes, it's a small feather in our cap, and one which we should frankly achieve with regularity in the future.

If we crash out of the group stage, it'll be a small, empty feather in our cap. (And bragging rights will be damn hollow, let me tell you.)

[ZeekLTK]

Yes because of possible WC seeding.

To quote the article's first full paragraph:

"Does finishing atop the final round group help to avoid Brazil in the group stage of the World Cup? Not at all. Does finally finishing above Mexico after what seems like many generations' lifetimes give us a shot at being seeded in Germany? Once again, a big 'no'."


But honestly, no, it's not important at all. The only thing that matters in qualifying is just that... qualifying. We qualified. Who cares if we were #1 in CONCACAF or we went through the play-offs as #4. We are going to Germany, that is all that's important.

[HDC neighbor]

It's time to look forward....rather than look back and just savour the hex win....

I think it is better to be non-seeded and perform well at the group stage of WC and beyond.....than seeded and embarassed by non-seeded teams.

I believe days will come when the U.S. will be able to qualify in Concacaf with MLS-only team.....without the assistance of Euro guys......

[El Jefecito]

But honestly, no, it's not important at all. The only thing that matters in qualifying is just that... qualifying. We qualified. Who cares if we were #1 in CONCACAF or we went through the play-offs as #4. We are going to Germany, that is all that's important.

I agree that nothing tangible came from winning the hex. However I believe the intangble benefit of the way it was won is important: that without fielding the "A" players and after the "B" team stunk it up against the Ticos, that the "B" team showed some intestinal fortitude to come back and beat Panama. I believe that the confidence of the "B" players in themselves, & of the "A" players in their backups will help the team overall in Germany...or not?

[Dirt McGirt]

To quote the article's first full paragraph:

"Does finishing atop the final round group help to avoid Brazil in the group stage of the World Cup? Not at all. Does finally finishing above Mexico after what seems like many generations' lifetimes give us a shot at being seeded in Germany? Once again, a big 'no'."


But honestly, no, it's not important at all. The only thing that matters in qualifying is just that... qualifying. We qualified. Who cares if we were #1 in CONCACAF or we went through the play-offs as #4. We are going to Germany, that is all that's important.Seeding do understand the concept or do you want face Brazil in your groupstage at WC2006?

[Asprilla9]

CRC won the Hex in 2001 ... US and Mexico both advanced further than they did in the followin WC. which would you prefer?

with odd scheduling, injury risks, travel issues, european player call-up issues .... so many variables at play ... it's just not that important. no one remembers who won the Hex in 97. no one remembers who won in 93. 89. maybe the few fanatics on here do, but generally, no one gives a sh1t.

[Indiana Jones]

No, which is why Mexico also fielded a below full strength side v TT.

[Captain10]

Yes it was important ... because we want to start a tradition of winning our conference EVERY cycle. By doing that, we instill extra confidence in our own players ... and knock our opponents down a peg. We should want to be king of our part of the world.

Brasil was very happy to win first place in their conference. Do they have anything to prove? Not really ... but they know how important an intangible it can be...

[Dirt McGirt]

CRC won the Hex in 2001 ... US and Mexico both advanced further than they did in the followin WC. which would you prefer?

with odd scheduling, injury risks, travel issues, european player call-up issues .... so many variables at play ... it's just not that important. no one remembers who won the Hex in 97. no one remembers who won in 93. 89. maybe the few fanatics on here do, but generally, no one gives a sh1t.With our Fifa ranking and winning the hex it can only help us get into a better seed and avoid some heavyweights in the groupstage.

No one remembers the hex of 97 but I remember our group from wc98. :rolleyes:

[Sachin]

Mexico won the Hex in 1997 finishing just one point ahead of the US. I belive they were undefeated and we had only one loss that Hex. During our 1996-1997 entire qualifying run, we had only two losses -- both in Saprissa!

Wish we could acheive some of those results again today!

Sachin

[EvanJ]

But honestly, no, it's not important at all. The only thing that matters in qualifying is just that... qualifying. We qualified. Who cares if we were #1 in CONCACAF or we went through the play-offs as #4. We are going to Germany, that is all that's important.

Even if we qualified I would have been unhappy if we finished behind anyone other than Mexico.

[mickhayafe]

"two or three thousand American fans.... in Salt Lake City. Over 40,000 (American) fans"

that's what I call progress.

to the topic: i think that for BA it matters not. but for the team and fans it does matter, it is another feather in a cap that has quite afew right now. in the "US is king of concacaf" thead after the game there were mexican fans backpeddaling saying "it doesn't matter that you guys won the hex, we are going to be seeded", it matters to them.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/mickhayafe/misc/WCQ05finalstandings.jpg

I can't see how any US fan wouldn't care if we were 3rd or 4th on that chart and going to the WC

[hasselhoff]

Mexico won the Hex in 1997 finishing just one point ahead of the US. I belive they were undefeated and we had only one loss that Hex. During our 1996-1997 entire qualifying run, we had only two losses -- both in Saprissa!

Wish we could acheive some of those results again today!
Haven't we? Here are the USA's results from the semi-finals and finals in the last three world cup qualifying rounds:

Year GP W D L GF:GA Pts

1998 16 8 6 2 27:14 30
2002 16 8 4 4 25:11 28
2006 16 10 4 2 29:9 34

This cycle we had more wins, more goals scored, fewer goals allowed, and more points than ever before. We won the hex for the first time and qualified earlier than ever. Our last three games had no impact on qualifying, which makes this year's results even more impressive compared to previous cycles. Seems to me that 2006 stacks up pretty well compared to 1998.

Whoops, screwed up number of losses. Fixed now.

[Adam Zebrowski]

before the hex began, most thought this was the weakest hex when compared to 2002 and 1998....

beenhaker turned trinidad around....

and panama was just emerging in concacaf...

while guatemala was better than past incarnations, they still are NOT overly athletic , and when ruiz has to sit, their forward line suffers...

personally, the goal was to get in the top 3.....

the likelihood of getting a number 1 seed has more to do with what happened to other sides in europe...it's been documented elsewhere the huge likelihood mexico gets a number 1 seed...

so winning the hex versus getting a number 1 seed don't appear well correlated...

so if on december 9th, mexico is a number 1, then the usa hex win isn't all that meaningful...actually I thinkt he number 1 seeds gets announced a day or two early

[HogDaddy]

I don't think winning the hex was that important, but qualifying in the 7th match was. That's a big improvement from the past 2 final rounds when we were going into match 9 or 10 needing a result to insure qualification. That's how I measure the progress. If our B team fell on their faces in the last few games and we failed to win the hex it wouldn't change the progress shown in the first 7 matches.

[California Jack]

I think it makes 2005 a nice milestone on our road to permanent top-ten or world power status. In this year, we've qualified for our fifth consecutive World Cup, we've finished first in the Hex, we've beaten our biggest rival 3:2 on aggregate, we've won the Gold Cup, and we've amassed an overall record of 13 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws. We might even conclude the year as the highest-FIFA-ranked side in the region, and for a while, there was a chance we might qualify for a seed in the World Cup.

Take a look back at last fall's threads on "goals for USMNT for 2005" and I think that the results would please even the most optimistic of those posters.

We have a lot to look forward to for 2006 and reason for optimism. No need to be overconfident, but we have a chance to match or exceed our great 2002 showing.