[Balerion]

I don't think there's a thread yet.

It's Rene Simoes' first game in charge. His very important debut game is a home match against Trinidad & Tobago. If CR muffs this, their chances of reaching third place will be in very dire straits; they'd have to hope for a complete Honduran collapse.

The 26-man squad:

GK: Keylor Navas (Saprissa), Ricardo Gonzalez (Herediano), Adrian de Lemos (Herediano)

DF: Roy Myrie (Gent, BEL), Pablo Herrera (Aalesund, NOR), Michael Umana (Liberia), Cristian Montero (Herediano), Gilberto Martinez (Brescia, ITA), Luis Marin (Alajuelense), Oscar Seravalli (Cartagines), Leonardo Gonzalez (Seattle Sounders, USA), Junior Diaz (Wisla Krakow, POL), Dennis Marshall (Aalborg, DEN)

MF: Douglas Sequeira (Saprissa), Celso Borges (Fredrikstad, NOR), Michael Barrantes (Saprissa), Cristian Bolanos (Start, NOR), Armando Alonso (Saprissa), Walter Centeno (Saprissa), Esteban Sirias (Liberia)

FW: Bryan Ruiz (Twente, NED), Rolando Fonseca (Communicaciones, GUA), Alvaro Saborio (Bristol City, ENG), Victor Nunez (Liberia), Froylan Ledezma (Admira Wacker, AUT)


Not too many dramatic changes from the previous WCQ rosters despite the managerial change. Carlos "Red Card" Johnson has been dropped. More importantly, Celso Borges will miss out on both games due to an injury he picked up this weekend. Borges is CR's top scorer in the Hex with 3 goals and has been captaining the team at the age of 21 (in the absence of Centeno, I think). Also, Andy Furtado, who had been provisionally suspended, has been fully suspended for two years for doping. Gonzalo Segares is still out injured.



Costa Rica is almost guaranteed fourth place, but their prospects for finishing third are not great. The home game vs. T&T is a must-win because it allows CR to at least get a shot at a top-three finish in the final round of matches and it puts them in better position to take advantage of a Honduras slip-up against the US. With a loss or a tie, CR would need a lot of help to finish in the top three.

CR generally plays much more poorly on the road than they do at home. However, unless CR loss to T&T is paired with a Honduran win over the US, they will be playing for their top-three lives in the final round (either to leapfrog the US or Honduras), which must be taken into account.

[olephill2]

If Celso Borges is out, that is a huge blow to Costa Rica's chances. He has been their engine in midfield and has popped up with several vital goals during qualifying.

[Stogey23]

Can anyone shed light on CR's yellow card situation? I'm wondering how many of their players are one yellow away from suspension.

[Balerion]

Originally Posted by Stogey23

Can anyone shed light on CR's yellow card situation? I'm wondering how many of their players are one yellow away from suspension.

It's hard enough to track down the even freaking roster, so we're going to have to do this manually.

6/14/08 @Grenada -- Jose Luis Lopez (Y), Cristiano Bolanos (Y), Victor Nunez (Y), Gabriel Badilla (Y), Ricardo Gonzalez (Y)
6/21/08 vs. Grenada -- Bryan Ruiz (Y), Victor Nunez (Y), Gonzalo Segares (Y)

8/20/08 vs. El Salvador -- Junior Diaz (Y), Christian Montero (Y), Alvaro Saborio (Y/straight red), Froylan Ledezma (Y)
9/6/08 vs. Suriname -- Froylan Ledezma (Y)
9/10/08 @Haiti -- Gonzalo Segares (Y), Junior Diaz (Y), Jose Fernandez (Y), Ricardo Gonzalez (Y)
10/11/08 @Suriname -- Alonso Solis (Y)
10/15/08 vs. Haiti -- Alonso Solis (Y)
11/19/08 @El Salvador -- Walter Centeno (Y), Ricardo Gonzalez (Y), Froylan Ledezma (Y), Christian Montero (Y), Armando Alonso (Y)

2/11/09 vs. Honduras -- Junior Diaz (Y), Walter Centeno (Y)
3/28/09 @Mexico -- Oscar Granados (Y), Roy Myrie (Y), Celso Borges (Y), Andy Furtado (Y)
4/1/09 vs. El Salvador -- Michael Umana (Y)
6/3/09 vs. USA --Jose Fernandez (Y), Pablo Herrera (Y), Junior Diaz (Y)
6/6/09 @T&T -- Bryan Ruiz (Y)
8/12/09 @Honduras -- Andy Herron (Y), Harold Wallace (Y), Cristian Bolanos (Y)
9/5/09 vs. Mexico -- Cristian Oviedo (Y), Alvaro Saborio (Y), Armando Alonso (Y)
9/9/09 @El Salvador -- Cristian Bolanos (Y), Michael Umana (Y)


Hopefully I didn't screw that up. Cards do carry from round to round, right? Anyway, there's nothing too exciting going on. Guys on CR's current roster who are on a yellow:

Cristian Bolanos
Alvaro Saborio
Pablo Herrera
Roy Myrie
Ricardo Gonzalez
Froylan Ledezma

I think that's it. Ricardo Gonzalez's three yellow cards are really impressive for a GK who doesn't even start every game. Gonzalez, Bolanos, Saborio, and Ledezma started their last game, although all bets are off with a new manager. Ledezma plays for a second division Austrian club, for example. So maybe he gets suspended. Woo-hoo.

[olephill2]

Originally Posted by Stogey23

Can anyone shed light on CR's yellow card situation? I'm wondering how many of their players are one yellow away from suspension.

YouTube - Chingy - One Call Away

YouTube - Chingy - One Call Away

[MetalFutbol]

Apparently Tuma Martinez who plays in Italy has been kicked off the team due to not showing upt for training.

[Squan]

Originally Posted by olephill2

YouTube - Chingy - One Call Away

Win

[E Diddy]

With God as my witness, I've never before typed these words in sequence. But here goes.

Man, I'm sure glad that Frankie Hejduk was called into camp for the upcoming fixtures!

OK, that's it. I'm logging off to do some serious soul searching as a US National Team fan.

[TrueCrew]

Originally Posted by E Diddy

With God as my witness, I've never before typed these words in sequence. But here goes.

Man, I'm sure glad that Frankie Hejduk was called into camp for the upcoming fixtures!

OK, that's it. I'm logging off to do some serious soul searching as a US National Team fan.

It's OK, we all know how you feel.

Even if he doesn't see the pitch, he'll be an asset. And, with this group and our LB issues, and the near certainty Boca can't play LB in either game, he's a positive on the pitch as well.

[QuakeAttack]

Originally Posted by E Diddy

With God as my witness, I've never before typed these words in sequence. But here goes.

Man, I'm sure glad that Frankie Hejduk was called into camp for the upcoming fixtures!

OK, that's it. I'm logging off to do some serious soul searching as a US National Team fan.

He is out current Cobi Jones. Wind him up and put him out there. You don't know which direction he will go or what will happen...