Other than Mexico who do u feel will give us the most trouble

Mexico will give us trouble?

 

Costa Rica, Honduras.

 

Watchout for that dwarf Tyson...He is small but he is exciting to watch and he is pretty fast.

 

if jamaica has their act together they too will give us trouble. also canada can sometimes can pull tricks out of their bags and beat people. for sure mexico and costa rica. probably honduras since they gave us trouble last time.

 

Oh Canada . . . no, sorry, just kidding eh.

 

I think the biggest trouble we'll have is developing our chemistry. In other words, we will give ourselves more trouble than our opposition. How many games do we play that will be in conflict with other things on the MLS schedule, and with the traveling problems for our European guys?

We've got the goods to qualify, even with our B team (MLS players rather than Euro). The trick is not self destructing with players that get 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th camps with no results in actual games.

 

In terms of real difficulty:

1a. Mexico -- we're already down three points at Azteca
1b. Costa Rica -- ditto for Saprissa. It's not called the Snake Pit for nothing.
2. Guatemala (if they make it that far). Ruiz can always pull it out.
3. Honduras - They have a fearsome attack. If they can successfuly meld that with Bora's defensive style, they are going to be the equal of the USA, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Sachin

 

Grenada...

 

You're talking about Jamaica right? They had a 50-match home unbeaten streak at The Office. It was broken by a desparate Mexico team who HAD to win in order to qualify.

We did beat them at The Office last year, but it's been tough for us there since 1994.

Sachin

 

I think we've generally been able to get a draw when the game mattered down there.

 

I think Sachin hit the nail on the head (I would flip-flop Guat& Hond). However, I'm more concerned about any let-down against other teams such as Canada, T&T, Jam that we should beat.

 

This is how I would rank the teams heading into qualifying..

1. USA
2. Mexico
3. Costa Rica
4. Honduras
5. Canada
6. Jamaica
7. Guatemala
8. T&T


The rest don't really factor at all..

As I said before qualifying began for Japorea, I think the USA is top seed due to their superior depth and quality at key positions.. The thing that brought the USA back to the rest of the pack in the last hexagonal was their ridiculous crush of injuries to key personnel, especially along the offensive side of things (McBride, Mathis, Wolff and Reyna all missed significant time).. The USA now has more than capable replacements in the likes of Donovan, Beasley, Convey, Buddle and other talented players who were too young to make a difference the last time around..

Mexico and Costa Rica are neck and neck for the #2 and #3 spots but both of those teams are almost invincible at home..

Honduras showed their offensive potential during the last Hexagonal, but in the end it was their lack of good defense that caved them in.. Honduras is a little older and haven't really done all that well in re-stocking their national side..

Canada is the real wild card IMHO.. They are right behind the USA in developing quality youth internationals and most of their senior team plays for quality professional teams.. They could cause some teams some real problems..

Jamaica and Guatemala just aren't very good.. While Jamaica has some nice individual talent, that is all it really is.. Like Guatemala, they don't travel well.. Guatemala is a one-trick pony with Ruiz.. That won't be enough and I doubt they even reach the Hexagonal..

T&T are just a bad team.. They can play decent enough, but they aren't going to suprise anyone.. Not a single player of note is remotely dangerous outside of Stern John..

 

Times have changed Sachin my friend..

We have to remember what dreck we dragged out in those two away matches last time..

Kirovski/JMM forward tandem for Mexico? Are you kidding me? We can upgrade that ten fold nowadays..

The nightmare in Saprissa was a real desperate attempt by Arena to gain a draw.. Preki, Kirovski, Henderson, Armas and Williams in the midfield.. We had no chance of scoring..

Things I think are a tad different these days.. I'm not saying we're going to waltz in and take points out of those places, but we're definitely in a better position to play them heads up then we were in 01'..

Guatemala stinks.. Ruiz can and will pull out some goals, but I'm not terribly threatened by them.. In all likelyhood I don't think they'll even make the Hex..

Honduras is a different story.. They remind me of the Jamaica team of 98' in that they were dangerous offensively but atrocious defensively.. I don't see much that has changed with them though the addition of Bora will make a difference and make them difficult to play, but in the end, we are the better side..

 

I am with you. First remember that we play a round robin, so in each round you only have to be in the top half to move on.
Second, win at home and tie on the road will always take you through. As usual we will have a very well-organized defense.WE also have Donovan and Beaz , wich we did not last time-they make things happen.I am pretty optimistic, unless we have a real melt-down or an unbelievable number of injuries.

 

1.Costa Rica - despite Sampson they should still be a force
2.Honduras - never underestimate Honduras
3.Jamaica - poor as of late but still have sufficient talent in their player pool to pose a threat
4.Canada - if there's anyone who can turn this team around it's Yallop
5.Guatemala - Ruiz

(the only two I'm worried about are Costa Rica and Honduras)

 

My prediction of the final results of the Hex...

1. Mex (just because Azteca advantage is something we dont have yet)

2. USA

3. Canada (wildcard. for some reason I see them getting in)

4. Costa Rica (should make an interesting home and home against saudi or whoever)

 

I think Sachin got it right with Costa Rica and Mexico. I think wishing for anything more than 1 goal loss @ Saprissa, and @ Azteca is wishful thinking. But honestly, I think that the HEX will be easier than actually qualifying for the HEX because you just need to finish in the top 4 for at least a playoff

 

Tell that to the Mexicans who played in Columbus. They force us to play in smog and altitude, we'll force them to play in cold weather where our football-hardened fans are perfectly comfortable. I'll take on anyone in the world if we get to play them in Columbus in cold weather, and expect to win.

 

Originally posted by appooOnU

Tell that to the Mexicans who played in Columbus. They force us to play in smog and altitude, we'll force them to play in cold weather where our football-hardened fans are perfectly comfortable.

That was one of the worst Mexican sides ever.. Just take a look at their record prior to WCQ. That squad was getting beat everywhere they went. Add to that the Idiot Meza (coach) fielding two injured players in Marquez and Luis Hernandez and putting in the aging and slow defender Claudio Saurez in Midfield. Prior to that match Mexico had also lost Ramon Ramirez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco which Meza was never able to properly replace. If this wasnt enough Meza still goes into C-bus trying to win the match. If that squad plays defensively and with Arenas tactics this would of been a 0-0 game..

 

I'm going to respectfully disagree slightly with this line of reasoning. I think the USMNT is s-l-o-w-l-y turning itself around with regards to getting a positive result of some kind in Mexico City and Saprissa. The last three games played in Azteca, since 1997, have been quite different from previous years. We all remember the 0-0 tie in '98 WCQ. That was followed by another 0-0 result after 90 minutes in the Confederations Cup ('99?). Mexico did win that game with a goal in overtime, but even that goal from Blanco came after he completely mowed over his first attempt and Keller was caught wrong footed. In 2001, another measly 1-0 loss came at Azteca and in this game the MNT was somewhat energized (!?) by the coaching change of Aguirre. The absence of O'Brien did not help matters for the US.
{Of course we can see that the US is still not scoring goals!}
Anyway, those kind of results are a far cry from before 1990. Some of the players coming up really have more of a different, positive, attitude in games vs. Mexico. The new generation, so to speak, (Donavan, Beasley, Convey, et. al.) really go into games with Mexico expecting to win rather than just hoping to hang with them. I would include Arena in that mindset as well.
{Also, having better players and more depth than in relation to pre-1990 always helps!}
The altititude and smog and massive crowd support will always be there, of course, but the US has begun to overcome these barriers by altitude training in Colorado, for example.
I think, even though they may complain to high heaven, the US should continue to schedule FRIENDLIES with Mexico at the Rose Bowl or the LA Colisseum. The preparation of playing in a pro-Mexico environment in a non-WCQing matchup has begun to show dividends since the 1991 Gold Cup win in Los Angeles. Since then, there has been only one one-sided loss to Mexico (4-0 in the 1993 GC Final, which the US reciprocated in 1995!), in or out of Mexico. There have been a few ties, a few narrow defeats, and of course, some meaningful wins.

 

With Ruiz's playing in MLS, don't you think our defenders would've figured him out by now?

 

Will Guatemala even play the WCQ?

 

Oh yeah, totally forgot about that.



Well, here's hoping they don't. One less team to worry about.