Postby RASC » June 15th, 2008, 10:58 am
CONCACAF qualifiers kicks off this weekend.
Canada vs. St. Vincent and the Grenadines Canada’s new style of attacking soccer will be put to the test in games that matter when the 60th-ranked Maple Leafs face St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The new style has resulted in more goals, but, more importantly, has instilled confidence in a young, athletic and talented Canadian team. Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne de Rosario, who has Caribbean heritage, will lead the Canadian attack along with creative midfielder Julian de Guzman. Dale Mitchell’s side will try to guard against a letdown, especially after taking Brazil to the limit in a recent 3:2 friendly loss, by imposing its will on the struggling islanders.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines have not won this year in six friendlies, including a 5:1 defeat at the hands of Jamaica in early June, and has seen its ranking plummet almost 50 places in just six months to its current No. 147 position. Despite the run of poor results, Vincey Heat players are not intimidated and look to the first-leg at home in the Vincey Heat as a chance to take the advantage. Coach Stewart John Hall will lead a mix of overseas professionals and local players that are buoyed by past successes and thoughts of an upset. The two nations have never faced each other at any level.
Guatemala vs. St. Lucia It’s back to the future for Guatemala as recently re-appointed coach Ramon Maradiaga seeks to complete the job that he couldn’t quite finish during qualifying for Germany 2006. Maradiaga, who led the Chapines to within a game of the World Cup finals, is sparing no detail, even turning to psychologists to get his players in the right frame of mind for qualifying. The results have been slow to come, as 89th-ranked Guatemala is winless in its last three friendlies, including a draw with El Salvador and losses to Panama and Chile.
One player who can turn things around is leader and striker Carlos Ruiz, but the Los Angeles Galaxy star is recovering from a knee injury and may not be available. This is good news for No. 166 St. Lucia, a relatively young football nation, which reached this stage after defeating Turks and Caicos Islands 3:2 on aggregate. After losing 2:1 in its first leg at Turks and Caicos, Titus Elva capped a comeback with a goal in the 83rd minute to send St. Lucia on its way. If St. Lucia hopes to stun Guatemala, head coach Terrence Caroo must find a way to help the club rebound from a 6:1 beating by Antigua and Barbuda in a friendly on May. St. Lucia has never faced Guatemala, but the small island nation hopes to pull off a big upset against the traditional Central American power.
Haiti vs. Netherlands Antilles This match-up of Caribbean island nations features two squads going in opposite directions. After winning the 2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup, Haiti has dropped from a high of No. 66 in Nov. 2007 to No. 113 in the FIFA rankings. Recent friendly losses to Guatemala, Honduras and Ecuador have contributed to the slide. If the Les Bicolores plan to make it to the World Cup for the second time in their history, then they will have to overcome the improving Netherlands Antilles.
Wagneau Eloi, who became Haiti’s head coach in early April, looks to pass along his top-flight experience as a player to his squad, led by captain Richard Pierre Bruny, Alexandre Boucicaut and Fucien Brunel. Eloi’s squad will meet a team on the rise that has benefited from the contributions of its Netherlands-based professionals to rise to No. 146 from No. 183 at the end of 2007. Coach Leen Looyen has not only counted on his players’ overseas professionalism and experience, but also on youth. Half of the squad that faced Nicaragua earned their first international caps. Netherlands Antilles earned the chance to play Haiti after it surprised the Nicaraguans 3:0 on aggregate. In their history, Haiti holds a decided advantage with eight wins, two draws and a loss in 11 games, including four wins and a draw in World Cup qualifiers.
Trinidad and Tobago vs. Bermuda With Germany 2006 fresh in its memory, Trinidad and Tobago begins its quest to return to the World Cup finals in 2010. The Soca Warriors are in something of a transition period following the retirements of national team veterans Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy and Shaka Hislop. With a rise in the FIFA rankings to No. 87 from No. 98 in February, the team has made progress with a young group of players that look to carry the mantle under the guidance of coach Francisco Maturana.
Key among the crop is Kenwyne Jones, who some believe is the heir apparent to Yorke. The 23-year-old Sunderland striker had seven goals in his rookie season in the English Premier League.Standing in the path of Trinidad & Tobago is 139th-ranked Bermuda. The Atlantic Ocean island nation that advanced to this stage by beating Cayman Islands 4:2 on aggregate.
Keith Tucker’s side is led by speedy winger Khano Smith of Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. The Gombey Warriors will be going into the series on a mini-roll with two friendly wins over Barbados on 6 and 9 June 6. In head-to-head action, Trinidad and Tobago has the advantage with four wins, two draws and two losses in eight matches.
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying continues this weekend
In the first of four articles to be published over the next two days CONCACAF.com takes a look at the upcoming second stage of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying. Twenty-four nations from all across the confederation will play 12 home-and-away encounters to determine which countries will form the three groups of four teams in stage three of the qualification process. With 3.5 spots in the 2010 FIFA World Cup â„¢ in South Africa at stake (the fourth placed team will play the fifth placed CONMEBOL finisher for the final spot) there is everything to play for this weekend and throughout the rest of the qualifying competition.
Jamaica vs Bahamas The Bahamas secured their spot in Stage Two courtesy of the narrowest of victories against the British Virgin Islands. Both first stage games ended as draws but the Bahamas secured the all important spot in the next round by virtue of the away goals rule. Their opponents, the Reggae Boyz of Jamaica, made their first and so far only FIFA World Cup â„¢ in 1998 where they lost to Croatia and Argentina but beat Japan, exiting the tournament at the group stage. Jamaica, a traditional powerhouse for football in the region, have had a couple of tough years missing out on the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup â„¢ and failing to make it past the first round of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. It’s something current captain Ricardo Gardner is more than aware of: “It’s been a tough couple of years for us, but I wouldn’t call it a crisis. We are a very good team and we have some very good players.â€
Go Lakers!
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then if we get Jack to run for office in the FIA we inside 
