Haiti did surprise (the USA) so that made it difficult, but CR and the USA were easily favorites and is no surprise they moved on. So I guess the question is what 3rd place team looked the strongest? Haiti Nicaragua Puerto Rico Curacao. Nicaragua (-7 GD) and PR (?-7 GD) were pounded by both teams in their group, Curacao showed more than what many people were expecting from them. But in my opinion Haiti (-2 GD) showed more than Curacao Haiti lost both games by 1 goal and if they had players that could finish they probably could have won both games, so I would agree group A was the most difficult. Obviously this could also mean that CR and the USA are weaker than expected, El Salvador is not a strong team that is why they struggled with Curacao, CR and USA also have issues.
I don't really see the point of grading groups in a CONCACAF U20 qualifier since every group has literally the same balance.
It did not seem very balanced. Haiti looked much better than any of the other third place teams out there.
Or Costa Rica and the US didn't look as good as their fans thought they would. Haiti was better than both the US and CR at transition and dominated large stretches of those games. If praising Haiti makes you feel better, go ahead. Talking about the "toughest" group is just laughable though.
"death sentence".. anything can happen in these tournaments. Especially in CONCACAF. Panama and Jamaica aren't Nicaragua.
obviously. i don't mean it as a slight on Panama or Jamaica, good sides. anything is possible i guess, but Mexico is as powerful as they've ever been from U17 through to Senior, it would be one for the ages if they dropped this QF.
Makes me feel better? We won both games and are in first place. Makes you feel better does not even make sense in that context.
So 02 / 26 /2013 USA vs Canada Cuba vs Costa Rica 02 / 27 /2013 Mexico vs Jamaica El Salvador vs Panama The 4 winners make the World Cup.
Right. Because grading the difficulty of the groups before the tournament is even over implies what exactly?
Well, I said arguably the toughest group and so far no one has provided sufficient evidence to argue against that premise.
That's because the strength of every group is not determined until after the tournament over. Everything else is mental masturbation.
Or you may not have a keen eye of observation pertaining to how a team has played. Or you may not have even watched the other groups and may be ignorant. Those are also plausible theories.
Or your insecurities lead you to automatically classify the US and Costa Rica group as the "toughest group". victim mentality at its finest
I implied it could be argued. Nothing more , nothing less. Also you always seem to misquote me. Before you use quotes please learn how to use them.
When all else fails...... Next time, at least wait a day before basking in the glory of taking part in "the toughest group" in the tournament.
Be honest and tell me if you've actually watched all 12 games. I have not, I've only watched the Mexico games and highlights of some not even all, these are U20 teams you do realize that every time this tournamen rolls around it is a new team, it is not like you know some of these teams well beforehand, unless of course they have accomplished something before (e.g. Win a WC at an earlier age group). Point is it is hard to say at this point which group is the toughest. /p
I will wait until the tournament is over. For now, you will have to find other ways to boost your self esteem.
It is not that hard at all. It does not take an astute soccer eye either to see that the individual quality and team play of Haiti is better than any other third place team in any other group.