Friday, June 13, 2008

CONCACAF-World Cup Qualifying picks for this weekend

I thought I would have some fun and make my picks for CONCACAF. I will include some Caribbean Island Teams as well. Time for a tropical drink, sit back and enjoy the game.
Some games are easy to make based on the books, it appears to be a mismatch. Those can be the dangerous and embarrassing games too. Some Caribbean Ball Clubs I am not familiar with which is why this is going to be fun.

Grenada vs. Costa Rica: Costa Rica should win this match. They have some nice talent on their squad. I am concerned they may not qualify for World Cup but time will tell. I would love to see them qualify. Costa Rica qualified for World Cup 2006 but did not produce results. Grenada is a small island in the Southern Caribbean.

Guatemala vs. St. Lucia: I have been in St. Lucia, along with Cricket they really enjoy their football. As we say in the US, Soccer. Guatemala has a good squad who could qualify for World Cup. They are a rising team in Central America.

Puerto Rico vs. Honduras: Puerto Rico is better known for it's baseball and Honduras has some good Futbol Clubs. I pick Honduras to win this match.

USA vs. Barbados: USA better win this one. Much better team than this beautiful island nation. Some heat is on the US to produce better results. This should be a mismatch but US better never take any team lightly. It appears we are still hurting in some positions but should still win this match.

Haiti vs. Netherland Antilles: I believe Aruba has their own squad but I have visited the ABC islands twice. Very nice places to visit. There are other islands that make the Netherland Antilles. Anyway back to Soccer. Netherland Antilles love their football. Haiti is a much higher rated team. Home field makes a difference. Not sure who is hosting, I am going on the limb and pick Netherland Antilles to lose to Haiti. I hope I am wrong since I am part Dutch. Would love to see Netherland Antilles win this one.

Jamaica vs. Bahamas: Based on much higher ranking, I will pick Jamaica to win this one.

Belize vs. Mexico: I guess Mexico has to play everyone. This should be a easy one for Mexico to win under their new Coach.

Panama vs. El Salvador: Many people are saying Panama is a rising ball club. El Salvador has some decent ball clubs and maybe be known more for Football instead of Panama. Panama has a better team, higher ranked and I will Panama to beat El Salvador.

This is why I love the CONCACAF. So much variety. You have large countries like US, Mexico and Canada competing You have great Soccer Nations like Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. Then you have small Caribbean Nations like Jamaica, Barbados, Belize and many more. It maybe a mismatch but every Country deserves a chance. No matter how big or how
small.
I love Soccer at all levels too. From Big Ball Clubs in Europe to various ball clubs (larger & small) in Central America to the ball clubs in South America. This weekend I am looking forward to watching some Caribbean Nations play for their nation. Two CONCACAF matches are on GOL TV. Haiti vs. Netherland Antilles and Jamaica vs. Bahamas. I can't wait. I will sit back, have a fruit smoothy and enjoy the games.

No comments: