Clearly, Mexico is having trouble moving ahead in this year's Gold Cup.
They barely made it past Trinidad and Tobago (who frustrated Mexico for practically the entire match) courtesy of one lucky goal, scored by Raul Jimenez six minutes before the end.
But there's an explanation for this.
Having a look at the squad present at the Gold Cup, versus the squad that was at the Confederations Cup, one can clearly see that the best players are not in the United States right now.
Where are de Nigris, Hernandez, dos Santos, Guardado, Torrado, Ochoa, and others?
Why would Mexico care more about that Confederations Cup? It's a filler tournament.
I guess when they are two Gold Cups ahead of United States, the nearest rival, you start to get cocky...
Still, I have to wonder who made the decision that the first squad would be sent to play in the Confederations Cup, but the Gold Cup would be defended by second-string players.
Maybe the players asked for it, because the clubs don't want them injured, meaning it's a financial/business issue. Otherwise, I find it hard to think that the Mexican football federation would willfully neglect a tournament that is always so good to their national team.
Anyway, now, that they still managed to make it to the semifinals, are they going to manage a better result against Panama than they did in the group stage? That's the question every Mexican fan is asking.
The Panamanians clearly take this competition seriously. If there was any doubt as to their abilities, they put that to rest after getting a better score against Cuba than even The United States did.
Highlights from Mexico - Trinidad and Tobago:
Highlights from Panama - Cuba:
Showing posts with label Trinidad and Tobago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trinidad and Tobago. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Monday, 15 July 2013
Honduras' Goal Against El Salvador Eliminated Haiti
Trinidad and Tobago beat Honduras. Actually, they beat Honduras' third team, formed from squad players that the Honduran coach saw fit to throw into battle when there was not a lot at stake.
(And this is, of course, an argument for having both matches being played at the same time, on the last matchday.)
Honduras knew they would have topped the group even with a large defeat, because Haiti had not won against El Salvador. (The previous match ended: El Salvador 1 (4 pts.) - (3 pts.) 0 Haiti. And, with T&T on 1 pt., no other team could have reached 6 pts.)
So, because the result was meaningless for Honduras, they wanted to save their best players for the upcoming matches.
And Trinidad and Tobago took advantage.
Meanwhile, Haiti was left holding the short stick at the end of this thorny situation. Because they lost against El Salvador (following a penalty which probably should not have been given), their hopes of progressing were relying on Honduras not losing against T&T.
But what does Honduras care about Haiti, right?
They wouldn't have tried protecting their players as they did, if only Honduras - El Salvador had ended 0-0, which was actually probably a more equitable result.
So, basically, that goal is the one that eliminated Haiti, by proxy. Because, if Honduras had used their first team, they should have probably beaten Trinidad and Tobago, too.
The fact that Trinidad and Tobago won by two goals means that they now have a better goals-scored situation than El Salvador, and the island nation moves into second spot now. But that means that they now have to play Mexico.
El Salvador is probably going to play Panama, arguably an easier match. (But let's not get ahead of ourselves, as there could be another switch and El Salvador could also potentially play The United States, or even Costa Rica, both of which might just be tougher opponents than Mexico.)
The fact that remains, regardless of what happens, is that Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador are all through. Haiti is out, unfortunately for a very attack-minded, hard-working team, which deserved better.
And two of Belize, Cuba and Martinique will be out for sure. (Most likely, Martinique will stay, but who knows? It's not written in stone that there won't be more than 3 goals in the Cuba - Belize match.)
As you can see, whoever wins between Belize and Cuba must win by at least 4 goals to qualify. Otherwise, they'll be the worst third-placed team in the competition, and watch the rest of the tournament as non-competitors.
Highlights from El Salvador - Haiti:
Highlights from Honduras - T&T:
(And this is, of course, an argument for having both matches being played at the same time, on the last matchday.)
Honduras knew they would have topped the group even with a large defeat, because Haiti had not won against El Salvador. (The previous match ended: El Salvador 1 (4 pts.) - (3 pts.) 0 Haiti. And, with T&T on 1 pt., no other team could have reached 6 pts.)
So, because the result was meaningless for Honduras, they wanted to save their best players for the upcoming matches.
And Trinidad and Tobago took advantage.
Meanwhile, Haiti was left holding the short stick at the end of this thorny situation. Because they lost against El Salvador (following a penalty which probably should not have been given), their hopes of progressing were relying on Honduras not losing against T&T.
But what does Honduras care about Haiti, right?
They wouldn't have tried protecting their players as they did, if only Honduras - El Salvador had ended 0-0, which was actually probably a more equitable result.
So, basically, that goal is the one that eliminated Haiti, by proxy. Because, if Honduras had used their first team, they should have probably beaten Trinidad and Tobago, too.
The fact that Trinidad and Tobago won by two goals means that they now have a better goals-scored situation than El Salvador, and the island nation moves into second spot now. But that means that they now have to play Mexico.
El Salvador is probably going to play Panama, arguably an easier match. (But let's not get ahead of ourselves, as there could be another switch and El Salvador could also potentially play The United States, or even Costa Rica, both of which might just be tougher opponents than Mexico.)
The fact that remains, regardless of what happens, is that Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador are all through. Haiti is out, unfortunately for a very attack-minded, hard-working team, which deserved better.
And two of Belize, Cuba and Martinique will be out for sure. (Most likely, Martinique will stay, but who knows? It's not written in stone that there won't be more than 3 goals in the Cuba - Belize match.)
Classification of third-placed teams, ahead of last matchday in group C:
1. El Salvador 3 1 1 1 3-3 0 4p
2. Martinique 3 1 0 2 2-4 -2 3p
3. Belize / Cuba 2 0 0 2 1-7 -6 0p
2. Martinique 3 1 0 2 2-4 -2 3p
3. Belize / Cuba 2 0 0 2 1-7 -6 0p
As you can see, whoever wins between Belize and Cuba must win by at least 4 goals to qualify. Otherwise, they'll be the worst third-placed team in the competition, and watch the rest of the tournament as non-competitors.
Highlights from El Salvador - Haiti:
Highlights from Honduras - T&T:
Saturday, 13 July 2013
Nicely Done
Haiti played very well against Honduras. They had more possession than the Hondurans, for one, in that 0-2 defeat.
But they lack experience, more or less.
Apparently, less, especially after what they've shown in their match against Trinidad and Tobago.
The Haitian team is reasonably balanced, and can go forward. And they have a good attacking player, in Jean-Eudes Maurice. But their small lack of experience can make them vulnerable against teams that are significantly more experienced (like Honduras).
They could dominate, and beat, T&T because both teams are roughly on the same level.
But Haiti has to be more careful, especially in defense, if they want to get past the quarter-final stage. (They might have just already done enough to make it to the quarter-final stage...)
Nicely done!
Highlights:
But they lack experience, more or less.
Apparently, less, especially after what they've shown in their match against Trinidad and Tobago.
The Haitian team is reasonably balanced, and can go forward. And they have a good attacking player, in Jean-Eudes Maurice. But their small lack of experience can make them vulnerable against teams that are significantly more experienced (like Honduras).
They could dominate, and beat, T&T because both teams are roughly on the same level.
But Haiti has to be more careful, especially in defense, if they want to get past the quarter-final stage. (They might have just already done enough to make it to the quarter-final stage...)
Nicely done!
Highlights:
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