Group A Standings
1. Belgium 16 pts +10
2. Croatia 16 pts +7
3. Serbia 7 pts
4. Wales 6 pts
5. Macedonia 4 pts (can only qualify through playoff-- see below)
6. Scotland 2pts (eliminated)
With only 4 games left, the Scots are officially eliminated. Hey, I'm sad to see them go. There is a growing political movement within Scotland to officially end ties with English crown-- bye bye UK! There spirit of independence intrigues and inspires me. Sounds like 1776 all over again, maybe we should given the US Constitution, or hopefully Scottish pride will wake up some people in the States. Sorry, getting way off topic here! If you contact me through the comments below, I can give you access to my political blog.
Macedonia isn't officially eliminated yet but they cannot win the group so the only way they can qualify is if they take second place, lands in top 8 of the 9 second place teams, and wins their playoff on aggregate, but it seems like a longshot as Belgium and Croatia, the current teams that are at the top, steamroll through their opponents. Belgium was a big surprise to me. I though Serbia was going to be Croatia's only real competition, but after the 1-1 tie in Belgium, Belgium has matched up well against Croatia, which is making the heated rivalry between Croatia and Serbia more of a sideshow when it comes to qualifying. The Croatia-Serbia match in Serbia in September will probably be played for pride more than anything else since Serbia will probably be eliminated by then or close to it.
Wales lost 2-1 to Croatia in their last qualifying match. Wales plays their next match against Macedonia on September 16th. A loss for Macedonia will mean elimination from any chance of qualification. Macedonia can be a tricky and stubborn team so they can drag Wales down to. The chances for Wales to qualify is also slim but not mathematically impossible. Wales will be eliminated for sure if Belgium and Croatia win 1 more match.
Serbia's loss to Croatia was a huge hiccup and huge loss to a huge political rival. ("U boj u boj za narod svoj!"). Yeah, that's right, I'm Croatian!
The Serbs are still alive, but it is just a matter of time before they share the same fate of fellow former Yugoslav Republic, Macedonia, and eventually Scotland. Serbia's 2-0 defeat of Scotland killed the Scots hopes of qualifying on the last matchday. Serbia will be eliminated if they lose to Belgium on the next match day on June 7th, but Croatia must also defeat Scotland to send the Serbs packing so Croatia can still play a part in the the elimination of Serbia. The last time Croatia and Serbia were in the same group for a competition was for Euro 2000 qualification. Serbia won the group and Croatia did not qualify (Serbia and Croatia tied twice in two very heated and tense matches). Serbia was still in a union with Montenegro and they still played under the name "Yugoslavia" with the Yugoslav flag and the old Communist national anthem "Hej Slavs," all of which they finally abandoned when Serbia and Montenegro split after the 2006 World Cup although for this World Cup, they played under the name "Serbia and Montenegro" (by the way, Montenegro is doing very well in their own group which includes England-- I will talk about that in a later post). The 2006 World Cup was an embarrassment for the Serb dominated team which only included 2 Montenegrins and none of the players or fans even supported that national anthem or seemed to have any enthusiasm singing it. With so much political turmoil, the team had an embarrassing showing in 2006 which included an 8-0 shutout against Argentina. After that World Cup and after Montenegro peacefully separated, I read a comment on a blog from a Serbian fan who said the smartest thing among a bunch of other angry posts from Croatian and Serb nationalists. This one fan said that "we" lost Croatia, "we" lost the Adriatic (access to the sea), but "we" should still be thankful because "we" still have our country, an independent Serbia, a national anthem "we" can be proud of and not the old Communist one. Anyway, I completely went off topic with that- just thought I will bring up some history, so let me get back to the subject of this post.
If Belgium and Croatia continue winning like this, it will probably take Croatia's home match against Belgium at Poljud Stadium in Split (home of Hajduk Split) on October 11th. Croatia and Belgium tied the match in Belgium 1-1, but Belgium wins the tiebreaker over Croatia with a goal difference of +10 vs Croatia's +7. Belgium either has to lose matches against teams lower in the standings or Croatia has to outscore Belgium in matches against these weaker teams in order for Croatia to take the top spot and qualify directly. However, even the weaker teams of this group are stronger than Malta or Cyprus, the teams that Croatia is usually accustomed to playing in World Cup or Euro Cup qualifying tournaments. Croatia should not take any weaker team for granted. Based on history, I have seen Croatia come out of big wins too cocky and than screw up against smaller teams by drawing games that they should have won. In order for Croatia to qualify directly, the best thing would be if they beat Belgium at home.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
CONCACAF standing updated: Panama takes top spot in "the Hex" while the USA and Mexico tie
It may have been a scoreless tie last night at the Azteca, but if you talk to the players and officials of the American and Mexican national teams, you will get very different reactions. The United States played very well and to them, this was a win against a Mexican team desperate for points and currently sits in 5th place, just out side of qualifying for the intercontinental playoff against New Zealand. Both teams had very slow starts in the fourth round of the CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and Caribbean zones for those few that don't know)) qualifying campaign- also known as "the Hex" or Hexagonal round. Both the United States and Mexico were also favorites to qualify before this round started.
Top 3 teams qualify automatically for the finals. The 4th place team must face New Zealand, the winner of the Oceania qualifying, in a two legged home and away intercontinental playoff for a chance to join the other three. None of these teams want to have to travel all the way to New Zealand so there will definitely be a fight to stay out of 4th place. The 5th and 6th place teams are eliminated. Currently, that is Mexico and Jamaica, the only Caribbean in the round. Here are the standings. As always, 3 pts for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss). First tiebreaker is goal difference.
1. Panama 5 pts
2. Costa Rica 4pts +1 (4-3)
3. USA 4 pts 0 (2-2)
4. Honduras 4 pts -1 (4-5)
5. Mexico 3 pts
6. Jamaica 2 pts
As you can see from the standings, all a team on the bottom needs to get to the top is one win so right now, all 6 teams are still in it. For example, Honduras was at the top of the standings before their game last night but a loss to Panama caused them to fall to the feared 4th place. Upsets are common and ties can screw up some of the bigger teams.
Next match day (Match day 4): June 7th (a long break from national team duty but players will be returning to their leagues-- many of the players that get called up for national team play, play for clubs in Europe. These leagues are very competitive so it isn't really a "break").
Honduras at Costa Rica: This will be an interesting match. Honduras beat the United States in the opener of this round which caused the Americans to worry but a tie against Mexico and a loss to Panama put them in 4th place. Costa Rica is a tough opponent at home but Honduras is not a weak team if they show up.
USA at Jamaica: The Stars and Stripes should not take this Caribbean team lightly even if they are at the bottom of the table. After all, they tied Panama and Mexico which is what gave them 2 points. If the United States played like they did against Mexico, they should win. Although the Americans played well against Mexico, that had a lot of luck on their side--a snowstorm in Denver which helped them beat a Costa Rican team not used to the weather and the ref was definitely on their side against Mexico, denying two penalties that I should honestly say should have been given (one is debatable). Were they really playing at the Azteca? Because I thought the home side always got the pass.
Mexico at Panama: I don't have much to say about this match. Mexico tied all 3 of their matches. Mexico should play this game as if its their last so they can get that much needed 3 points and so they don't go deeper into a whole.
Remaining schedule:
Matchday 5: June 11th
Costa Rica @ Mexico
Jamaica @ Honduras
Panama @ USA
Matchday 6: June 18th (the Mexico-Jamaica match will be played on June 4th to allow Mexico to play in the FIFA Confederations Cup, which I will talk about later in my general soccer blog).
Mexico @ Jamaica
Panama @ Costa Rica
Honduras @ USA
Matchday 7: September 6th
USA at Costa Rica
Honduras at Mexico
Jamaica at Panama
Matchday 8: September 10 (a day after my birthday...sorry just had to put that in there...haha)
Panama at Honduras
Costa Rica at Jamaica
Mexico at USA (important match for both teams...the rivalry continues.....)
Matchday 9: October 11th
Costa Rica at Honduras
Panama at Mexico
Jamaica at USA
Matchday 10 (final match day for the CONCACAF qualifying campaign): October 15th
Mexico at Costa Rica
Honduras at Jamaica
USA at Panama
Intercontinental playoff: 4th Place Team CONCACAF vs New Zealand
1st leg: Nov 15th
2nd leg: Nov 19th
(so in 8 months we will know who qualifies. It is still a LOOOOONG way to go and anything can happen. Can't wait!)
Top 3 teams qualify automatically for the finals. The 4th place team must face New Zealand, the winner of the Oceania qualifying, in a two legged home and away intercontinental playoff for a chance to join the other three. None of these teams want to have to travel all the way to New Zealand so there will definitely be a fight to stay out of 4th place. The 5th and 6th place teams are eliminated. Currently, that is Mexico and Jamaica, the only Caribbean in the round. Here are the standings. As always, 3 pts for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss). First tiebreaker is goal difference.
1. Panama 5 pts
2. Costa Rica 4pts +1 (4-3)
3. USA 4 pts 0 (2-2)
4. Honduras 4 pts -1 (4-5)
5. Mexico 3 pts
6. Jamaica 2 pts
As you can see from the standings, all a team on the bottom needs to get to the top is one win so right now, all 6 teams are still in it. For example, Honduras was at the top of the standings before their game last night but a loss to Panama caused them to fall to the feared 4th place. Upsets are common and ties can screw up some of the bigger teams.
Next match day (Match day 4): June 7th (a long break from national team duty but players will be returning to their leagues-- many of the players that get called up for national team play, play for clubs in Europe. These leagues are very competitive so it isn't really a "break").
Honduras at Costa Rica: This will be an interesting match. Honduras beat the United States in the opener of this round which caused the Americans to worry but a tie against Mexico and a loss to Panama put them in 4th place. Costa Rica is a tough opponent at home but Honduras is not a weak team if they show up.
USA at Jamaica: The Stars and Stripes should not take this Caribbean team lightly even if they are at the bottom of the table. After all, they tied Panama and Mexico which is what gave them 2 points. If the United States played like they did against Mexico, they should win. Although the Americans played well against Mexico, that had a lot of luck on their side--a snowstorm in Denver which helped them beat a Costa Rican team not used to the weather and the ref was definitely on their side against Mexico, denying two penalties that I should honestly say should have been given (one is debatable). Were they really playing at the Azteca? Because I thought the home side always got the pass.
Mexico at Panama: I don't have much to say about this match. Mexico tied all 3 of their matches. Mexico should play this game as if its their last so they can get that much needed 3 points and so they don't go deeper into a whole.
Remaining schedule:
Matchday 5: June 11th
Costa Rica @ Mexico
Jamaica @ Honduras
Panama @ USA
Matchday 6: June 18th (the Mexico-Jamaica match will be played on June 4th to allow Mexico to play in the FIFA Confederations Cup, which I will talk about later in my general soccer blog).
Mexico @ Jamaica
Panama @ Costa Rica
Honduras @ USA
Matchday 7: September 6th
USA at Costa Rica
Honduras at Mexico
Jamaica at Panama
Matchday 8: September 10 (a day after my birthday...sorry just had to put that in there...haha)
Panama at Honduras
Costa Rica at Jamaica
Mexico at USA (important match for both teams...the rivalry continues.....)
Matchday 9: October 11th
Costa Rica at Honduras
Panama at Mexico
Jamaica at USA
Matchday 10 (final match day for the CONCACAF qualifying campaign): October 15th
Mexico at Costa Rica
Honduras at Jamaica
USA at Panama
Intercontinental playoff: 4th Place Team CONCACAF vs New Zealand
1st leg: Nov 15th
2nd leg: Nov 19th
(so in 8 months we will know who qualifies. It is still a LOOOOONG way to go and anything can happen. Can't wait!)
FIFA sets date for 2014 World Cup Draw
On Tuesday March 19th, FIFA had a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland with the organizers of the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, where they officially confirmed that the drawing of groups for the first round will be on December 6th at 1 pm Brasilia standard time. While this announcement adds to the anticipation, the first whistle to start the first match of the tournament will not be heard for more than a year (442 days to be exact).
Meanwhile, national teams are still competing for the right to be one of the 31 nations to join Brazil at the big event, and I will do my best to bring you my own unique news and analysis.
Meanwhile, national teams are still competing for the right to be one of the 31 nations to join Brazil at the big event, and I will do my best to bring you my own unique news and analysis.
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