CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Revisited
March 22
Jamaica vs. Panama – Kingston, Jamaica
In what was a very even match, each team certainly wound up with the result they deserved. We anticipated this one ending in a draw, and that is what happened. In a very, very close hexagonal round, winning home games is vitally important. But this is not the end of the world for Jamaica. They will have some work to do to climb back into the standings. Panama, meanwhile, made up for their collapse in the home match against Costa Rica. They must be pleased.
Prediction: Draw
Result: Draw
Honduras vs. Mexico – San Pedro Sula, Honduras
After winning 9 of their last 10 games in 2012, Mexico just cannot find their stride in 2013. Back-to-back tallies from Chicharito appeared to have Mexico back on track in qualifying, but their defense could not hold back the charge of the Hondurans. Carlo Costly perfectly headed a corner home to pull Honduras within one. But Costly was not done. Just minutes later, he won a penalty. Jerry Bengtson had his attempt saved, but cool as the other side of the pillow, he slotted home the rebound to tie the game. Honduras doubled Mexico in shots and had 65% of the possession. They deserved something.
Prediction: Mexico by 1
Result: Draw
USA vs. Costa Rica – Commerce City, USA
If you did not see this match, you missed out on one of the most unbelievable sights in recent memory. This game was played in near blizzard conditions. Who knows if the Costa Rica players have even seen snow, but you can be sure they would be happy never to see it again. By the end of the match, the officials could barely see the ball. They also apparently could not see Clint Dempsey clearly draw a penalty, which went uncalled. Complaints from the Costa Rican federation fell on deaf ears, and the result stood. Costa Rican defender Cristian Bolanos says that if there were no snow, he’s sure they would have won. Sorry, Cristian. If the USA must play with urine filled water balloons thrown at them, you can play through snow.
Prediction: USA by 1
Result: USA by 1
March 26
Panama vs. Honduras – Panama City, Panama
We Global Football relocated to Honduras for the day of this match. After interviews with several locals, I was assured that Honduras would be ready for Panama. Just like the Joma jersey I was assured was real, it appears I was lied to. It took Panama all of 57 seconds to take the lead. The 2nd goal was brutal. The defense and the keeper were all caught napping, and Elias Pérez sealed the deal for Panama. He somehow found a cowboy hat and wore it during his celebration. Impressive. This was a huge win for Panama who currently sit alone atop the standings. Honduras is still on 4 points and has games against Mexico and USA out of the way. The schedule should get easier for them.
Prediction: Panama by 1
Result: Panama by 2
Costa Rica vs. Jamaica – San Jose, Costa Rica
We stated “You can’t pass up this opportunity if you want to play in the World Cup”. We also stated that “We think this is where the tide turns and Jamaica starts to fall towards the bottom.” It appears that Costa Rica quickly wiped their tears and focused on Jamaica. Costa Rica needed to keep pace with the rest of the qualifying teams, and 4 points brings everything virtually back to neutral. Jamaica must move on quickly, as they have a large task ahead of them. Due to Mexico playing in the Confederations Cup, the June 18th match day has been moved up to June 4th. That means they will host USA and Mexico in the span of 3 days, followed by a trip to Honduras 4 days later. We’ll see where they stand after that.
Prediction: Costa Rica by 1
Result: Costa Rica by 2
Mexico vs. USA – Mexico City, Mexico
No es penal!! Actually, it probably should have been a penalty called against the USA in the 76th. But perhaps, repeated embellishment caused the Guatemalan referee to hesitate. This reminds me of the classic child’s story “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. If you try to trick people enough times, if something truly does happen, they will not believe it. Despite all of the security in the Azteca, the snipers taking out the Mexican players were nowhere to be found.
Mexico caused our only two incorrect predictions. We thought they’d be on a full 9 points right now. Instead, they are 5th with nothing to show other than 3 draws. Mexico definitely should have won this game, and at this point it is fair to wonder if there is a possibility of them missing out on Brazil. It all evened out for the USA. They probably expected a draw in Honduras and a loss here, so some nerves have been calmed.
Prediction: Mexico by 2
Result: Draw
Oh, Mexico. You stood between us and perfection. The Honduras breakdown was unnecessary. We nailed 2 games on the head and were off by a lone goal in 3 others. 4 of 6 results were predicted correctly. Somehow, the United States escaped the Azteca with a point.
We hope you enjoyed CONCACAF qualifying as much as we did. This has to be the most even Hex ever. No team has a goal differential of more than +/- 2 through 3 games, which is remarkable. I don’t think anybody will be clinching World Cup spots until at least September, if not later. Be sure to check out everything else We Global Football has to offer on the website. Follow us on Twitter @We_Global and on Facebook!
CONCACAF Correspondent
-Cro
