Crazy_Yank Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 It looks like it should be a pretty good tournament. Mexico is sending pretty much their full team (minus Blanco). Same with Costa Rica. Even though the US is missing 6 starters we're still sending a pretty strong squad. McBride is back and with the emergence of Kyle Martino we've got a pretty good playmaker. He had an excellent match against Cameroon, providing what we were missing against Turkey and Brazil. His excellent touch, vision, and passing allowed us to create more quality chances and play with a team who whipped Brazil. Number 2 keeper Kasey Keller is back too, although I think Howard is better. Other than up top is appears Canada has most of their 1st choice players. Here are the pairings Group A (Mexico City): MEXICO, BRAZIL, HONDURAS Group B (Miami): COLOMBIA, GUATEMALA, JAMAICA Group C (Foxboro): USA, EL SALVADOR, MARTINIQUE Group D (Foxboro): COSTA RICA, CANADA, CUBA Group A: The only "group of death." I know it's Brazil's U23 team, but they still have Robinho and many other studs. Mexico being the home team will most likely advance, although it isn't a given due to the quality of Honduras and Brazil's U23 team. I predict Mexico and Brazil U23 will advance. Group B: Colombia and Jamaica will advance. Guatemala has a few good players, but you're only as good as your supporting cast. Colombia has a very strong domestic league and some players in Europe's top leagues. They are always very dangerous. Jamaica has many players plying their trade in England and the US, in fact the majority of their starting lineup. Group C: USA and Martinique will advance. The US is just a lot better than both of these teams. I doubt any of the members of either squad would make the US' two deep roster. Martinique did impress me during the last Gold Cup so we won't take them lightly. El Salvador has a decent keeper and a US junior team reject. That's about the only positive things I can say about them. Group D: Costa Rica and Canada will advance. Cuba doesn't have the experience or depth to hang with either of these squads. They aren't even a professional team. It will be interesting to see how Canada stacks up against Costa Rica. It will be a very good test for a young Canadian squad. semifinals: USA, Mexico, Brazil, and Costa Rica final: USA-Mexico Champion USA (of course i'm a biased homer ) "Try not, do. Do or do not. There is no try" - Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimglow Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Nice assessment, Crazy Yank! I tend to agree with you on the whole, but I don't think Martinique will make it out of their group with the U.S. and El Salvador. Also, I hope the non-Concacaf teams get eliminated early on. I wonder if you feel the same. Shouldn't the Gold Cup be for the CONCACAF teams exclusively? Welcome to the board! Checked out your hometown on mapquest - that's a pretty funky island! I didn't even know Texas had islands! Mimglow, Ottawa _________________________ Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Yank Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Mimglow Nice assessment, Crazy Yank! I tend to agree with you on the whole, but I don't think Martinique will make it out of their group with the U.S. and El Salvador. Also, I hope the non-Concacaf teams get eliminated early on. I wonder if you feel the same. Shouldn't the Gold Cup be for the CONCACAF teams exclusively? Welcome to the board! Checked out your hometown on mapquest - that's a pretty funky island! I didn't even know Texas had islands! Mimglow, Ottawa _________________________ Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Yes, I feel this tournament should be exclusively a concacaf affair. I would like nothing more than to see the South American teams crash out in the first round. I loved it last year when Haiti beat Ecaudor 2-0. Yep, Texas does have a few islands. Here in South Padre we're called the "Tropical Tip of Texas." Great beaches, women, surf, and you can get a tan on Christmas day. Not to mention we're only 20 miles from Mexico. 50 cent beer kicks ass "Try not, do. Do or do not. There is no try" - Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimglow Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 That's it, I'm moving! Mimglow, Ottawa _________________________ Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C. Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 There should be some very interesting games in the first round: Group A: Mexico vs Brasil U-23, Brasil U-23 vs Honduras Group B: Guatemala vs Jamaica Group C: El Salvador vs Martinique Group D: Canada Costa Rica, Loser vs Cuba USA: I'm looking forward to seeing this Kyle Martino guy run the offense. He seems to have received mixed reviews on the Bigsoccer.com board. I haven't followed the US team in a while but I always thought that Landon Donavon was a better playmaker than a striker. Our opening game vs Costa Rica will tell a lot as to where our team stands. Costa Rica are on a real high right now and are sending a pretty strong team. They represent the proverbial 3rd CONCACAF spot for WC Qualifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 I won't be confident of having our first choice players until I see the official roster. Jason DeVos, our captain and best defender, is a question mark because he's recovering from a foot injury. DeVos makes a world of difference to our team. His presence will make or break our chances, so I'm holding off my Group D prediction until I know if we have our captain or not. As for knocking out the South America interlopers in Groups A and B, I think Honduras might have a chance to knock out the Brazilians in Group A (my assumption here is that Mexico will win the group so the fight is for second.) I haven't seen the Honduran roster yet but I'm thinking that if they bring a veteran team with some of their players who've been through past CONCACAF wars at the Azteca, this might give them an edge against this inexperienced Brazil side. We'll see. It's unlikely that either of the CONCACAF teams in Group B will be able to handle Colombia, even though it's essentially Colombia's B-team, so it will probably be up to Mexico to knock them out in the semis. As for Group C, I think it'll be interesting to see who will finish second. I wouldn't count Martinique out just yet, despite their recent loss to the T&T U-23s. The roster they used in that match wasn't even close to the roster they used in qualifying (when they knocked out T&T). Assuming they bring their best team to Foxboro, they'll give El Salvador a run for their money. Mike D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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