Tag Archives: united states
World Cup 2014: Semifinal Round, Matchday 3 Review
Perhaps reports of the Caribbean footballing demise have been somewhat exaggerated. Cuba did continue to fulfill the whipping boy role in Group C, this time by succumbing to a new-look Honduran attack featuring Jerry Bengtson and Georgie Welcome (although I remain unconvinced of their effectiveness against a higher-quality defense). Antigua …
World Cup Preview: 2014 Semifinal Round, Matchday 3
How much panic is justifiable after a rough start? Following the first two matchdays of the semifinal round in June, Honduras and El Salvador found themselves in third place in their respective groups, three points away from safety, with fans from both countries openly worrying about a premature end to …
World Cup 2014: Semifinal Round, Matchday 2 Review
Before we look back at what information can be gleaned from Tuesday’s World Cup qualifying matches in our region, I should address the lack of a preview article for the same. As it turns out, consuming fried food prepared by a street vendor in another country can be a risky …
World Cup 2014: Semifinal Round, Matchday 1 Review
Costa Rica are favorites to move on, they said. Honduras are the best team in Group C, they said. Of course, there are plenty of fixtures left in this round for conventional wisdom to win out. Friday’s results, however, replenished my confidence in the prognostications I offered last year. The …
World Cup Preview: 2014 Semifinal Round, Matchday 1
If this is the first time that you are paying attention to World Cup qualifying in our region (for the 2014 tournament, that is), you may be surprised to find out that more than half of the fixtures have already been played. Between the first and elementary rounds, the smaller …
Normally, with a heap of de facto CONCACAF Champions League qualifiers set to take place this weekend in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, I would focus today’s primary article on the upcoming fixtures: parsing out which teams are in need of a particular result, who stands to benefit from …
2011 in Review: 5 Best Gold Cup Matches
This year’s Gold Cup, the golden goose showpiece event for our region, was the most bizarre tournament I have ever seen. The opening two matchdays featured three blowouts, followed by a scoreless draw; then, the Mexican federation pulled five players for testing positive for Clembuterol, a black eye for Mexico’s …
Today I am going to temporarily depart from my normal subject matter, although the current topic is very much CONCACAF-related. When Chuck Blazer announced that he would resign as CONCACAF General Secretary at the end of 2011, most of us presumed that his issues lay with the Caribbean. From his …
CCL 2012-13 Qualifiers: Supporter’s Shield, Take 1
Newer readers may ask: why we are talking about a tournament that will not start until nine months from now? First, because the teams that get to play in next season’s CONCACAF Champions League do not appear out of thin air; rather, they earn their spots through the various leagues …
How did this week go? The answer, for CCL participants, depends on where your club is located with respect to Zacatecas or San Luis Potosí, Mexico (randomly selected markers). Those teams north of these cities enjoyed a solid start to the group stage, with wins all around. To the south, …
