Re: Official Hexagonal schedule I noticed that every country plays their opponents in Games 1 and 6, 2 and 7, 3 and 8, 4 and 9, or 5 and 10 with no countries playing each other twice during the first five games or last five games (assuming no postponements like one of the semifinal groups had). The CONCACAF semifinals were not done this way.
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule I substituted Costa Rica for Canada...and we finished second, with a heroic performance at the Azteca and the best part we held our American cousins to a draw in both matches, plus revenge victories over Guatemala and Trinidad away! Wow, that was fun, Deutschland here we come! -Cold blast of reality- Nothing but the gloating of our bloated neighbours to look forward to...and a playoff between Guatemala and North Korea. Now is the winter of Canada's discontent.
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule Wow, first week and we already have some graet games, i predict a CR win over Mexico at the always unpredictable Saprissa stadium..........
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule Mexico will impose himself in the first two games, after beating Costa Rica and USA, we can sit back and relax the rest of the teams are loosers. we already beat guatemala 2-0
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule Care for a little wager moradita? winner picks the others avatar for a week?
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule Last time Canada went out in the Hex they won the next Gold Cup. 8) Canada needs to work on getting a top flight professional program in place and then the national team will follow.
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule The game against the USA is going to be nothing like the game against Guatemala, St. Kitts, St Vincent or any of the othe opponents they've played lately . If Mexico plays the way they did in some of those game (like the second St Vincent game) then the US will win 4-0.
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule if you haven't noticed, i don't have an avatar, maybe cause i dont pay for BS.com... but anyway, i could get one just for you... Just remind this to me next year.... adios mexicanito
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule Hey its up to you...if you have that much faith in the Costa Rican Shemale nat'l team go ahead and get a avatar...either way I'll remind you next year...
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule i predict a 2-2 draw for Panama and Guatemala in Panama, a 3-1 win for the ticos in Costa Rica, and a 2-1 win for Trinidad and Tobago in Trinidad in Tobago(T&T wins with a last minute goal)
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule morado --- sounds like a good deal, will you take it? is only 14.99 (paypal), if mexico wins you buy an avatar, if CR wins you tell him what avatar to carry for a Week.
By the way, conspiracy theorists might note that for the second straight cycle, T&T gets to end the Hexagonal at home against a team that figures to have qualified already (2002 USA, 2006 Mexico).
Stop being so dam bias, you write articles on planet football and speak of one thing then you come here and speak of another.... Weak strong, weak strong.... What about GUA, they have to play CRC last... (at home). What about PAN, they have to play USA last.... T&T play Mexico last.... CRC, USA and MEX all "might" by that time qualify allready.....so whats your dam point.
One very clear advantage in a draw is getting your last-round game against a team that will probably already have qualified. (I'd argue that it's the biggest single advantage you can get in a draw.) Panama and T&T got the major advantage this time. T&T's advantage is slightly greater than Panama's, since Mexico will have played one more home game than the USA, and will thus have a slightly better chance of having qualified. T&T got a similar advantage in the previous Hexagonal draw. There are lots of people who believe that T&T gets the advantage in the CONCACAF draws. Those people are "conspiracy theorists," as I said, and the coincidence that T&T got the major last-round advantage in two straight draws will give them ammunition. The fact that the draw was deliberately conducted behind closed doors will give them more ammunition. How the draw was conducted, I don't know. This discussion has been had before: some people think Jack Warner influences things, some people don't. Personally, I'm undecided (and by the way, I did NOT think the semifinal round draw was deliberately arranged, as many thought). Admittedly, it's all speculation, and maybe I shouldn't have brought it up, since the discussion can't really lead anywhere. But I'm a statistics freak, and I notice those kinds of things. None of this has anything to do with bias against T&T. I've always liked T&T, and I support them as I support all CONCACAF teams. I hope they do well in the Hexagonal. It will be a great story if they qualify.
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule Mexico with its two toughest games right at the start. A cold blast of reality. Are any of the typical qualifying venues reasonably chilly in late March?
Re: Official Hexagonal schedule Never mind me. I'm an idiot that doesn't know how to read. We're in Mexico for game 2. Still, Mexico gets a good test right at the top.
When all is said and done, the teams that qualify for Germany will have earned it on the pitch over a series of 8 months. Injuries, officiating, and weather are all factors as much as the strategies employed by the six head coaches in this final phase. On top of that, player availability and the execution of a team's game plan will go a long way in determining the top 3 and the last-gasp 4th place finisher. Throw in a dash of luck, and voila! You've got your CONCACAF representatives for 2006! If this region is as tough as people on this site say, February could be the start of wild heart palpitations from Port of Spain to Pacific Palisades. The only "fix" I see in the course of the schedule is if a team rolls over and dies in the late stages rather than put up a good fight--even if they are not guaranteed a berth in 2006. Bruce Arena says he thinks the final spots will be determined on the last match day, and he could well be right.