Martinique beat Antigua and Barbuda 2-0, but finish with 4 points and a -1 goal differential, leaving them unable to overtake French Guiana (4 points, +1 GD). Martinique could still qualify if either Haiti or Jamaica lose by five goals tonight. Having said that, the UNCAF-CFU playoff, tentatively in March 2015, is now set: Honduras vs. French Guiana
Wonder how Guyane will cope with the pressure. Doubt they've played in a crowd bigger than a couple thousand huh.
Jamaica beat Haiti 2-0, but both have qualified for the Gold Cup. And an interesting note: the first time that the Caribbean Cup takes place on FIFA dates happens to be the first time that the Big 4 of the Caribbean qualify for the same Gold Cup. Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will play on Tuesday for the Copa América berth.
I really hope honduras doesnt blow it. Concacaf clearly has a top 12 and we are one team away from seeing them in the gold cup together for what i believe would be the first time
The ELO Ratings agree with you about CONCACAF's Top 12 except ELO has Martinique (who can qualify for the Gold Cup but not the World Cup) in the Top 12. The FIFA Rankings have Antigua and Barbuda, Dominican Republic, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines ahead of some of your Top 12.
Will be interesting to see the new fifa rankings post carribean cup as i think they will reflect accurately the concacaf top 12 except for Canada
Btw: since Florent Malouda played in the 2010 World Cup with France, he's ineligible to take part in this playoff, but he would be able to suit up for French Guiana in the Gold Cup if they make it. No word on whether Bernard Lama is considering coming out of retirement for this one
Ok, so maybe not in ELO or in FIFA rankings, but in professionalism, history, money, facilities, fan support in the USA (also very important) and prestige, I think you definitely have the best 12 team field you can possibly get for the GC assuming Honduras gets through. The big upset of the CCA and CC was that there weren't any major upsets at all. I don't think it's a coincidence that these tournaments were mostly played during international windows for the first time, and I assume we will continue to see that practice going forward. With the lucrative Copa Centanario and Confederations Cup berths on the line, there's absolutely no question that we will see the strongest squads, best attended and the most competitive Gold Cup of all time. I'm excited!
The only problem is that the 2016 calendar will be chock full of Copa América and WCQ matches, so there's no space for a repeat scheduling. Amen.
CONCACAF's side of the story is that they were going to do a draw for the last edition, but the participating teams preferred to arrange the groups so that they could play in front of their expat communities. I'd like a transparent draw as well, but it appears the teams and federations are happier treating this as a money-making event than a football tournament.
I imagine we will not see a group draw until after the CFU/UNCAF playoff, which I assume will occur in March (it would have to if they continue the practice of maintaining the full international windows.). I am guessing Honduras would be a Pot B team and French Guiana a pot D. If you used the rankings as they are likely to be at the end of November (factoring in the wins so far by T&T and Jamaica during this window), you'd have: Pot A: US, Mexico, Costa Rica Pot B: T&T, Panama, Honduras Pot C: Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica Pot D: Cuba, Haiti, Canada
The Guyanais are reporting different dates for the playoff. Translation mine: "For the playoff against Honduras, it's anticipated that the first leg will be on January 21 over there and the return leg here on January 28. It's a chance for the Guyanese public to see this team at home, and a possibility for Guyanese football to qualify for the Gold Cup. Nevertheless, these dates are problematic. [Head coach] Jaïr Karam explains, 'Knowing that these dates don't align with the FIFA calendar, we're trying to reschedule this playoff for March. It's better for bringing in our professional players.' "Because at the highest level, the Guyanese difficulties come from one fact. 'We're not full members of FIFA. If we were, the professional clubs would be obligated to release players 10 days in advance. That would have allowed us to repeat our preparation with all our players and have a better performance.'"
French Guiana currently beating Honduras 3-1 in Cayenne after 73'. Tragic to see from the Catrachos. They can still recover, though, I think.
FT: French Guiana 3-1 Honduras. This just keeps proving that the Hondurans were quite unfair with Medford. The guy is a good coach. They didn't give him time. Not even the "Almighty" Pinto can make this team work with no time. They are in that weird generational gap that we were in during the '06 and '10 cycles (but maybe theirs is even worse, we'll see). It's going to be tough for them.
Actually, I think CONCACAF factored in the potential for a suprise by dumping the winner of this playoff in the US's group. Between Dallas, Boston (where Haitians are also bound to show up) and KC, US fans will take care of filling up the stadia with or without Honduras. As for the result: Honduras have historically been able to score at will at home when necessary, so this series is far from beyond them. But I believe that it justifies CONCACAF's decision to reinstate the playoff: between the big four in the Caribbean, the French DOMs and the occasional surprise package (e.g. Grenada in the previous decade), there are enough decent teams to allow a fifth one to compete for the last Gold Cup berth. Highlights here.
I believe Dallas would sell a lot more tickets with Honduras there. Same with Boston. KC would probably sell out either way. And the knockout stage would also benefit with hondurenos as compared to that small federation in South America.
Looks like the sports gods have largely saved the March upsets for our game. The reason there have been so many surprises in previous competitions is because the Caribbean Cup has often not fully been in international windows. This time in the CC, we got a lot of chalk because the power teams of the region could call in their best. It makes FG's run here a lot more impressive. Furthermore, after their struggle in the Copa CA just to end up in this tie...this one match is far from an anomaly. The next leg is far from a formality, Honduras have their hands full.
What on earth was Valladares doing on the second French Guiana goal? I could have collected that cross, even in my current decrepitude, before it got to the goalscorer, and the highest level I played at was "university intramural", in the 1990s, where I was the worst player on the team. Fortunately for Honduras, the goalkeeper and defense for French Guiana really don't inspire confidence, so a 2-0 or 4-1 scoreline should be there for the taking.
I have to admit: I'm thrilled for the Guyanais that got to attend this historic game. I really hope the CFU takes note and considers letting French Guiana host a Caribbean Cup qualifying group every once in a while - otherwise, this will remain a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.