Canada's quest to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup has started off in fine fashion.
After beating St. Lucia convincingly on Friday, the Canadians topped Puerto Rico by a 3-0 scoreline on the road behind goals from Iain Hume, Simeon Jackson and Tossaint Ricketts to take early control of Group D on Tuesday. Through two games, Canada stands atop its group, two points clear of Saint Kitts and Nevis for the one automatic spot in the next qualifying round.
Panama also made a road statement Tuesday, topping Nicaragua, 2-1, behind goals from Luis Tejada and Blas Perez. In the three-team Group C, Panama is level on points with Nicaragua but has a game in hand while also already winning what should be its most difficult game in this qualifying round.
Here are the latest standings other results following Tuesday's CONCACAF qualifiers:
GROUP A
- El Salvador, 6 points
- Suriname, 4 points
- Dominican Republic, 1 point
- Cayman Islands, 0 points
Dominican Republic 1, Suriname 1
Cayman Islands 1, El Salvador 4
GROUP B
- Guyana, 6 points
- Trinidad and Tobago, 6 points
- Bermuda, 0 points
- Barbados, 0 points
Barbados 0, Trinidad and Tobago 2
Guyana 2, Bermuda 1
GROUP C
- Nicaragua, 3 points
- Panama, 3 points
- Dominica, 0 points
Nicaragua 1, Panama 2
GROUP D
- Canada, 6 points
- Saint Kitts and Nevis, 4 points
- Puerto Rico, 1 point
- Saint Lucia, 0 points
Puerto Rico 0, Canada 3
Saint Lucia 2, Saint Kitts and Nevis 4
GROUP E
- Guatemala, 6 points
- Belize, 3 points
- Grenada, 0 points
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 0 points
Belize 1, Guatemala 2
GROUP F
- Antigua and Barbuda, 6 points
- Haiti, 6 points
- Curacao, 0 points
- U.S. Virgin Islands, 0 points
U.S. Virgin Islands 1, Antigua and Barbuda 8
Curacao 2, Haiti 4
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Do any of the early results surprise you? Which teams do you see topping the groups and advancing to the next qualifying round?
Share your thoughts below.
not to diss cuba but am still shocked that Cuba was seeded higher than Panama
Panama are no slouches. ALSO Cuba would be tons better if they could keep there players.
I can’t wait til the next round!
You’d have to say Canada’s in great shape to finally get to the Hex.
El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Canada, Guatemala, and Haiti are expected to win their Group. If these predictions comes true then the Third Round for the CONCACAF Quilfactions stagewould look like this:
Group A
USA
Jamaica
Guatemala
Haiti
Group B
Mexico
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Trinidad and Tobago
Group C
Honduras
Cuba
Panama
Canada
“Real” surprises – I would say no … a few minor upsets, but no big shockers. The teams expected to advance are all still in prime position. The biggest upset was Nicaragua over Dominica (world’s #179 over #136).
Not really. If I remember correctly, Tejada came in fat & out of shape. He never really did anything to get into shape during his stay, or change opinions that he was lazy.
It says a lot that he couldn’t crack into RSL’s line-up back then.
Link is broken but I found this one : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4bMYiRZPgI
No real surprises here so far, right?
James Marcelin of the Timbers netting two goals from the two games.
Kreis and RSL really dropped the ball with Tejada. MLS needs to make another run at this dangerous attacker. Ditto for Perez.
Wow, Haiti …
Big congrats to Haiti with 6 points.
El Salvador-Cayman Islands highlights (on the Worst Pitch ever): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyBeIPqnNWA
horray Canada!
wtf? wow going to look into this…
The Bahamas dropped out a few weeks ago and weren’t replaced. Their brand new stadium, financed by China, wasn’t quite ready because the Bahamians didn’t live up to their end of the bargain with China.
Bahamas dropped out of the whole competition.
What’s up with Group C only having three teams?