All the major European leagues finally got going last weekend but World Cup qualifying this weekend and in midweek takes centre stage. The European qualifying competition is the last of the federations to get going but to honest there is little for a neutral fan to get excited about this this weekend.

The most interesting games are in CONMEBOL and CONCACAF.


Argentina vs. Paraguay

Paraguay currently leads South American qualifying with a third of the fixtures complete. They have 13 points, two more than second place Argentina. Paraguay’s one loss to date came away to Bolivia 4-2 in the last round of matches.

On the other hand Argentina racked up full points in their first three games before stumbling in the last three. Over that period Argentina have lost 2-1 to Colombia, drawn 1-1 against Ecuador and finished scoreless away to Brazil. In 2006 WCQ Paraguay drew this game 0-0 and beat Argentina 1-0 in the return.

 A lot has been made of Argentina’s second straight Olympic gold including a number of articles on how it sets Argentina up for the 2010 World Cup. The fact is that there is no modern day correlation between Olympic and World Cup success – two very different beasts. You have to go back to the first two World Cups (19030 and 1934) to find Uruguay and then Italy hold both titles at the same time.


Chile vs. Brazil

If there is any remotely close to a pick-me-up for Brazil it is a match against Chile. In the countries last five meetings Brazil have won four and drawn one while scoring 19 goals and conceding a single. You have to go back to August 2000 to find the last time Chile beat Brazil – 3-0 that day. However, the countries meet this time with 4th placed Chile a point and a place above Brazil.

Despite two losses in their opening six games (away to Argentina 2-0, and a surprising 3-0 loss in Santiago to Paraguay) there is a feeling that Coach Marcelo Bielsa may have a squad that can push for a top four spot.

On the other side Brazil Coach Carlos Dunga is in a hole and he has not stopped digging. An emphatic loss to Argentina at the Olympics and only two wins in six WCQ matches and there is a strange 2002 WCQ déjà-vu feeling about this campaign. 


Colombia vs. Uruguay

If you are looking for goals this game may be the one to watch out for. In the last five games between these two there have been 21 goals. Uruguay are unbeaten in the last four (3 wins and a draw) since losing 5-0 to Colombia in WCQ in June 2004.

So far in CONMEBOL qualifying Uruguay are top scorers with 15 goals in six games, although Colombia boasts the best defensive stats with only 2 goals against. This game is a six-pointer with Colombia currently sitting third with 10 points and Uruguay fourth with 8 points.


Cuba vs. USA

The long-standing political stand-off between these two countries will bring a bit more media attention to this game. The USA’s last trip to Havana came over 60 years ago when they lost 5-2. The US started off WCQ with a great result (winning 1-0 away to Guatemala) and by next week at this time they could have a iron grip on Group 1. They follow this game with a home match against Trinidad and Tobago on September 10. Cuba lost their opener to ####mp;T 3-1 and are badly in need of three points.


Canada vs. Honduras

After a disappointing result in their opener against Jamaica (1-1 home draw) Canada faces Honduras. With Mexico the hot favourite to progress from group 2 there is probably a mini group of Honduras, Canada and Jamaica being played out with any points taken from Mexico a bonus.

Another draw would not bring an end to Canada’s hopes for a trip to South Africa in two year’s time but it would certainly place them firmly behind the eight ball. In order to move on Canada would have to get points off of Mexico and in all likelihood have to win on the road in Honduras and Jamaica.

Canada has a decent record against Honduras in international play 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in last 10 meetings. In WCQ since 1981 Canada has won 3, drawn 3 and lost only 1. Interestingly enough the three draws have all come from very late Honduras equalizers and two have been from the penalty spot.

After this weekend’s play Canada have Mexico to look forward to at the Azteca next Wednesday while Honduras will play their first home game with Jamaica providing the opposition.

Because of Hurricane Gustav this weekend’s match between Jamaica and Mexico has been moved to Mexico City. This means that Mexico will play their first three games at home while Jamaica will be in the opposite position.

Here is some more background on the draw that will start tomorow in Durban, South Africa at 10:00 a.m. EST.

An introduction and set up piece from FIFA.

You can find the draw information by federation tucked away near the bottom right hand corner of the page . As I mentioned at the end of the show last night it is seems curious that UEFA seeding is  based on the FIFA rankings from November 2007.

Concacaf however, has opted to use May 2007 which is prior to this past summer’s Gold Cup. Anyone smell  a rat? (Africa is using July 2007).

Country                       (May-Nov)
Mexico                         1-1
USA                             2-2
Costa Rica                 3-7
Honduras                   4-3
Panama                      5-5*
Trinidad & Tobago    6-10
Jamaica                      7-12
Cuba                            8-8
Haiti                             9-5*
Guatemala                10-13
Canada                      11-4
Guyana                       12-11
St Vincent & Gren.    13-9

* tied for 5th. (Should the tie breaker not have been the respective penalty kick shoot out records?)

I’ve never put any credence into the FIFA World rankings but if there are to be used for seeding purposes surely then the most current version should be used.

Reuters have a World Cup draw fact box.

UEFA seeding courtesy of RTE.

 

As the Canada – Haiti match coincided with part of the FSR last night I didn’t get a chance to see the full game until today.

An improved performance by Canada – they played at a higher pace and kept Haiti under pressure when they had the ball. Toronto’s Chris Pozniak came into the side to play as the defensive midfield player, while Atiba Hutchinson dropped a bit deeper to play alongside Julian De Guzman in the centre of midfield. Over the ninety minutes the two moves gave Canada a more solid look in the engine room although the price paid was a lack of support to Rob Friend who played as the lone striker. 

Dwayne De Rosario’s two goals inside five minutes just after the half hour mark of the first half put Canada in the driver’s seat. The first came after a Stalteri cross that bypassed striker Rob Friend but dropped to De Rosario. The Haiti keeper got caught out badly at his near post. The second was from the penalty spot when the lively Issey Nakajima-Farran was fouled after nipping around a defender. The power in De Rosario’s spot kick compensated for a placement that was a bit to close to goalkeeper Gabart Fenelon for comfort.

Either side of half time Haiti enjoyed their best spell and that lasted for around twenty minutes. During that time Canada lost their way defensively and needed keeper Pat Onstad to come to the rescue on at least three occasions. In one case Onstad took a sickening shot to the head as he dove at an on-rushing Haitian forward. After a delay of over five minutes Onstad continued on.

Going into the last eight of the Gold Cup (opponents still not known) the centre of the Canadian defense is probably the biggest concern. Under any sort of pressure Hastings and Hainault look very uncomfortable. Despite De Rosario’s two goals against Haiti there were long stretches of the game when he was not involved in the game as he was left marooned out on the left wing. To be consistently successful Canada has to find a way to bring De Rosario into the game for longer stretches.

Ian Hume was left on the Canadian bench again – something that I think surprises many people while Rob Friend could have benefited with more support up front. He was left to plough a lone furrow with minimal support from midfield.

A post-script to how Guadeloupe stacks up against other teams in the region. In the Shell Caribbean Cup of 2007 – the qualifying competition for this Gold Cup – Guadeloupe played eleven games, winning seven and losing four. They beat French Saint-Martin, Dominica, Martinique, Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They lost to Guyana twice, Haiti and Cuba. In total they scored 22 goals and conceded 14.