Easiest thing would be to change qualifiers formats. They changed perfect World Cup format, they wouldn't have problems with messing around with qualifiers if clubs make some treats.
The Haitian federation has revealed that the playoff will take place on March 24 and 28; apparently there will be a draw this Friday to determine who hosts which leg.
The fixtures are set (stadia about 99% certain): Friday, March 24: Haiti vs. Nicaragua - Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince Tuesday, March 28: Nicaragua vs. Haiti - Estadio UNAN, Managua
Quick show of hands: who here thought we'd actually have a draw for the Gold Cup in Montagliani's CONCACAF? Inocentes palomitas... Also worth noting: as I expected with the number of knockout-round venues, the semifinals will be held in different cities for the first time in recent memory.
Haiti - Nicaragua 3-1 in playoff leg 1. Nicaragua scored late to give themselves glimmer of hope for Tuesday's return leg.
Nicaragua has qualified to the gold cup, a seven minute hattrick by Juan Barrera. Meant that Nicaragua won 3-0 on the day, and won 4-3 on aggregate External Links: http://www.concacaf.com/article/nicaragua-roars-to-gold-cup-on-barrera-hat-trick
One of the worst games I have ever seen Haiti play, and that's including the blowouts at the Copa América. I could count on Lula's left hand the number of times they strung four passes together; it was mostly dribbling 1-v-4, errant through balls and daring Nicaragua to break down their two lines of defense (which they did all night - both outside backs were non-factors). The penalty was soft, but the defense fell apart after that. @JasonMa and other Rapids fans: after a few solid games, Steward Ceus finally had a Ceus moment with the NT, chasing butterflies when Barrera beat him to the long-ball for the series winner. At that point, Haiti found it hard to transition from near 0 offense to having to desperately create goalscoring opportunities (surprise, surprise) and that was it. Props to Nicaragua - and while I don't 100% share Henry Duarte's confidence that they'll make the Gold Cup QFs, I'm certain they won't leave empty-handed like in 2009 either. As for Haiti: it's now time for a long-overdue rebuild, with no official games until the 2018 Caribbean Cup, or whatever Gold Cup qualifying tournament CONCACAF sets up now that the finals are expanding to 16.