News: 2015 Gold Cup qualifiers

Discussion in 'Gold Cup' started by Paul Calixte, Jan 30, 2014.

  1. Catracho_Azul

    Catracho_Azul Member+

    Jun 16, 2008
    New Orleans
    Club:
    Corinthians Sao Paulo
    Nat'l Team:
    Honduras
    Not so much French Guiana, but definitely Guadeloupe and Martinique who would probably give Jamaica a run for their money with just picking the remains of the French NT litter.
     
  2. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    DR gets the group of death again.

    Haitis group looks like the easy one

    The winner of St Vincent and Curacao will get a nice boost sincw their other two games won't count

    Who would go to the finals if panama beats honduras by the same score as CR did?

    If Canada can win their friendly against Jamaica they can get into the upper part of pot 2 but they do run the risk of slipping to pot 3 if Curacao can beat St Vincent or Barbados has a strong 2nd round. I dont see how they can get into pot 1 at this point with the upper tier teams playing qualifiers.

    Two more rounds of copa centroamericana next week plus a Mexico and Canada Jamaica friendly. I believe Haiti has one too
     
  3. Catracho_Azul

    Catracho_Azul Member+

    Jun 16, 2008
    New Orleans
    Club:
    Corinthians Sao Paulo
    Nat'l Team:
    Honduras
    You mean Panama if beats Nicaragua, and as someone posted in another thread, if they tie on everything, which would happen if they beat Los Pinoleros 3-0, then it goes to a paper draw. Harsh.

    Haiti indeed have a friendly.. against Chile.
     
  4. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    How does the rosters for the copa centroamericana teams stack up in terms of strength? I see coasta rica is the only one that has a strong European presence
     
  5. Catracho_Azul

    Catracho_Azul Member+

    Jun 16, 2008
    New Orleans
    Club:
    Corinthians Sao Paulo
    Nat'l Team:
    Honduras
    near full-strength: El Salvador, Guatemala. Panama, CR

    Absolute B-Team: Honduras

    ES and Guate have come with a lot of regulars.. stars Pappa, Arturo Alvarez, etc.. aside a few players left out, this is a near A-Side. Same for Panama whom entered with a real experienced and starting side.. Chen, Roman Torres, Blas, Penedo, Godoy, etc. CR has more of a mesh, Duarte, Campbell, Borges, but aside them, its subs and reserves tbh.

    Honduras wih a very new and experimental group. Only one Euro player, and iirc three of these guys were at the WC with the team, but were all subs or reserves.
     
    drt2k3 repped this.
  6. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    On top of that, with CONCACAF appeasing CONMEBOL by rescheduling the Gold Cup for July, there's no way Canada can grab FIFA points from competitive games ahead of the WC preliminary draw. At some point in the future, Victor Montagliani's going to start banging on doors to get Gold Cup qualifiers for Canada wherever he can find them.

    As a side note: according to the same calendar, there's no space for scheduling the next Caribbean and Central American Cups on FIFA dates, so we might as well enjoy these editions while we can.

    I still remember the draw from the last tournament, when Panama and El Salvador ended up in the same situation (joint second, with Honduras having won the group). The UNCAF representative drew Panama from the pot...but before anyone could start celebrating, he was all, "Hold on, we have to draw from a second pot to determine in which position Panama will finish." The second draw left Panama in 3rd place, and their delegation used up a year's supply of self-control to avoid trashing the room on the spot. :D
     
  7. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    If i were concacaf i would just take the 12 teams that make it to the 2nd round of wcq and use that as my gold cup tournament. Gives those in contention for wc the best opportunity to gain points
     
  8. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    Also this is why canada should put their spot in the copa centroamericana pool. 8 team tournament where 6 qualify. Just beat Niuragua or Belize and your in. They could really use the points
     
  9. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Fyp, but it would still be a great deal for Canada.
     
  10. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    true, i forgot about the new playin game
     
  11. italiancbr

    italiancbr Member

    Apr 15, 2007
    Does anyone else think it's time that the competition grew to 16 teams? Uefa is moving to 24 teams, the AFC in Asia is moving to 24 teams, and the CAF in Africa will probably do the same in the next edition so there definitely is room for expansion considering the number of teams in the region and the level of play has improved a lot. Nothing would have to change regarding the qualifiers only that more teams would be able to participate and gain some international experience. Canada, the U.S., and Mexico would automatically qualify as they currently do and they'd be free to schedule friendly matches as they wish. The UNCAF competition would still take place and the top 5 teams would automatically qualify. The other 8 teams would come from the Caribbean since they are already under-represented at club and international level. The final 8 teams in the Caribbean Cup would automatically qualify. Obviously the competition is still relevant because there is a lot of pride for the winner and they'd still be playing for prize money. So assuming the favorites advance in the next round the 8 teams representing the Caribbean would be Cuba, Jamaica, T&T, A&B, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. I think all those teams could hold their own.

    My second suggestion would be to rotate the hosts every two years between all three regions of the confederation: North America; Central America; and the Caribbean. I realize that there would probably need to be at least two hosts in Central America and the Caribbean but this would raise the legitimacy of the competition and make it more competitive. The competition could be held in four stadiums. Wasn't the Asian Cup held between four countries the last time they had it? And that's what the competition should be all about: raising the level of play within the region and grow the sport. By always holding it in the U.S. only gives the impression that the region is carried by the U.S. and Mexico. The success of Costa Rica in the World Cup and Mexico almost missing out during the qualifiers probably changed that perception a little but the biggest potential for the growth of soccer is going to come from the Caribbean. Concacaf has a lot of challenges because there is so much competition from other sports but I do like a lot of the things that the new administration has implemented. The old regime led by Warner gave the OFC a run for it's money as the worst run confederation.
     
  12. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    I wouldnt mind a 16 team Gold Cup.

    Mexico and US qualify automatically

    CA 7 and Canada 2 groups of 4 with games that occur over the September and October Fifa dates, the last October date would be the intergroup matchups, where the 2 group winners, 2nd place, 3rd place, and 4th place play

    Caribbean has 31 teams. The previous year winner gets a bye. The remaining 30 teams are paired off and play home and away in September. 15 advance and are paired off along with previous years winners and play in October. The 8 winners advance to the Gold Cup and can play the official Caribbean Cup in November if desired.
     
  13. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No, no and no. A 16-team tournament would be much neater, but the quality of the teams regularly missing out (see: Nicaragua, Belize, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) does not warrant expanding the tournament. Of the examples I mentioned, all of them got sent home from the Gold Cup having received at least 8 goals over three games. IMO the last thing we need at this time are several 4-0, 5-0 and 6-0 scorelines.

    When was the last time you heard a federation president in Central America or the Caribbean even considering bidding to host the Gold Cup? Having it all the time in the US isn't the best footballing decision, but...

    From an economic standpoint, this is 100% true. Realistically, no one outside of North America could even come close to the sort of ticket revenue we get in the US, nor the sizable presence of expat communities from all over the continent.
     
  14. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Gold Cup 2011 didn't affect the draw for World Cup 2014 qualifying because the March 2011 rankings were used, so Gold Cup 2015 not affecting the draw for World Cup 2018 isn't a change.

    What do you mean by there being no space for scheduling the next Caribbean and Central American Cups on FIFA dates? http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/calendar/events.html lists FIFA matchdays in 2016 on 29 August-6 September, 3 October-11 October, and 7 November-15 November.

    1. The WCQ round with 12 teams is the third round, not the second round.
    2. That wouldn't let areas like Martinique and Guadeloupe play in the Gold Cup. What you could do is something like this:

    6 teams that reached the Hexagonal
    2.5 or 3 from UNCAF teams that didn't reach the Hexagonal
    2.5 or 3 from CFU teams that didn't reach the Hexagonal
    0.5 for Canada with a playoff against third from UNCAF or CFU

    One of UNCAF and CFU would get 2.5 spots and the other would get 3. An exception would be if Canada reached the Hexagonal, in which case UNCAF and CFU could get 3 spots each.
     
  15. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    it would be tough to schedule a Carribean Cup and a Copa Centramericana at the same time round 3 is going on in the fall of 2016. Its unfortunate that would limit the non FIFA members participation in the Gold Cups that overlap WCQ, but it would really help CONCACAF teams that need FIFA points if they highest ranked CONCACAF teams were going to be in the pre WC Gold Cup.
     
    Paul Calixte repped this.
  16. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Which typically get used up for the semifinal round of WCQ.
     
  17. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I forgot about that, but here's a partial solution. In 2012 the Semifinals ended in October so November would be available. The Caribbean Cup including its qualifying has multiple rounds, but if you played the Caribbean Cup in November and gave all the Caribbean WCQ Semifinals byes until then you could have other Caribbean countries play Caribbean Cup qualifiers on the same days as WCQs. Alternatively, the WCQ Semifinals could be moved up to March, June and September (2 games each) to leave October and November available for the Caribbean Cup and Copa Centroamericana.
     
  18. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The schedule for the second round of Caribbean Cup qualifying:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    soccersubjectively repped this.
  19. dinamo_zagreb

    dinamo_zagreb Member+

    Jun 27, 2010
    San Jose, CA / Zagreb, Croatia
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Croatia
    Would love to see St. Lucia at the "finals", but they seem to be the biggest outsider here.
     
  20. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    Tough break again for DR opening against the host team
     
  21. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    Canada got the win against Jamaica they needed! Good for them

    Another idea I had about getting Canada some qualifiers to increase points in the future

    In the October international date, the lowest ranked North American team (Canada)could play the loser of the 5th place game of the Copa Centroamericana (likely Nicaragua) for the right to play the winner of the 5th place game in the Caribbean cup in March for the final Gold Cup spot.
     
  22. jagum

    jagum Member

    CF Montreal
    Venezuela
    Jun 20, 2007
    Panama City, Panama
    Club:
    Montreal Impact
    Nat'l Team:
    Venezuela

    After the win against Jamaica what would be the position of Canada in CONCACAF 's ranking ?
     
  23. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    right now they are looking at 14 going into copa centroamericana tomorrow, so its subject to change. however i noticed that fifa.com is using .88 as a multiplier. I read they changed it to .85 for CONCACAF after this WC so the numbers may be off.

    I think its still possible for Canada to get into the top 12 as teams like DR, St Vincent, and St Kitts are all likely to lose which will hurt their 2014 average and cause them to drop. Haiti and Cuba though are ready to skyrocket with a win as Haiti has 0 points so far this year and Cuba only has 26.1. Any qualifier win will cause a dramatic increase for the 2014 average of those 2. I just don't see how Canada can rise to pot 1 with the current Pot 1 and Pot 2 Carribbean teams all gaining points in upcoming qualifiers.
     
  24. drt2k3

    drt2k3 Member

    Jul 1, 2005
    Wilmington, NC
    Club:
    Wilmington H.
    updated rankings headed into round 3 of copa centroamericana

    Costa Rica 1003
    Mexico 963
    USA 937

    Honduras 540
    Panama 480
    El Salvador 462

    Antigua and Barbuda 420
    Guatemala 412
    T & T 374
    Jamaica 321
    St Vincent & the Gren 305
    Dominican Republic 298

    St Kitts and Nevs 281
    Canada 267
    Haiti 266
    St Lucia 259
    Cuba 257
    Aruba 233

    Grenada 209
    Suriname 176
    Curacao 167
    Guyana 149
    Puerto Rico 127
    Barbados 113

    Belize 103

    Dominica 89
    Montserratt 86
    Bermuda 83
    Nicaragua 83
    Turks and Caicos Islands 66

    US Virgin Islands 28
    Bahamas 26
    Cayman Islands 21
    British Virgin Islands 13
    Anguilla 1
     
  25. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Panama beat Nicaragua 2-0 to snatch their berth in the Gold Cup, leaving the pinoleros in the fifth-place match.
     

Share This Page