ray Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 The CSA has announced WCQ dates: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 The Road To FIFA World Cup 2006 Begins Next January 30.09.2003 – The long, winding road to the FIFA World Cup Finals of Germany 2006 will begin for the 34 CONCACAF entries in a little less than four months time, based on the final format proposal submitted to FIFA. The first games will be played on the weekend of 17-18 January 2004, with the last ones scheduled for 12 and 16 November 2005; almost two years of intense competition to see who will represent the Confederation in Germany. The dates used for the extensive qualifying schedule include those set aside in the FIFA International Calendar as well as dates reserved for Confederation and FIFA competitions. All CONCACAF countries will enter the qualifying competition at the same, first, stage, instead of the more successful teams from previous events being "seeded" into later rounds. The 34 teams will be divided into ten groups of three and two groups of two, to play home and away to produce 12 qualifiers, the group winners, for the second, semi-final stage. The first stage will be completed by the weekend of 19-20 June in order for the semi-final round to begin on 18 August and end on 17 November 2004. At the semi-final stage, the twelve qualifiers will be divided into three groups of four, with the top two from each group moving on to the final qualifying stage. The final group of six qualifiers will play, home and away, from 9 February 2005 until 12 October 2005 at which point the three certain CONCACAF qualifiers will be known. The fourth place team will then face a play-off in mid-November 2005 for a chance to make it four CONCACAF World Cup Finalists for the first time in history. 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Dates for CONCACAF 2004 Saturday/Sunday, 17-18 January Preliminary Round – Date 1 Wednesday, 21 January Preliminary Round – Date 2 Wednesday, 18 February Preliminary Round – Date 3 Wednesday, 31 March Preliminary Round – Date 4 Saturday/Sunday, 12-13 June Preliminary Round – Date 5 Saturday/Sunday, 19-20 June Preliminary Round – Date 6 Wednesday, 18 August Semi-Final Round – Game 1 Saturday/Sunday, 4-5 September Semi-Final Round – Game 2 Wednesday, 8 September Semi-Final Round – Game 3 Saturday/Sunday, 9-10 October Semi-Final Round – Game 4 Wednesday, 13 October Semi-Final Round – Game 5 Wednesday, 17 November Semi-Final Round – Game 6 2005 Wednesday, 9 February Final Round – Game 1 Saturday/Sunday, 26-27 March Final Round – Game 2 Wednesday, 30 March Final Round – Game 3 Saturday/Sunday, 4-5 June Final Round – Game 4 Wednesday, 8 June Final Round – Game 5 Wednesday, 17 August Final Round – Game 6 Saturday/Sunday, 3-4 September Final Round – Game 7 Wednesday, 7 September Final Round – Game 8 Saturday/Sunday, 8-9 October Final Round – Game 9 Wednesday, 12 October Final Round – Game 10 Saturday, 12 November Fourth-Place Team Playoff – First-leg Wednesday, 16 November Fourth-Place Team Playoff – Second-leg The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is one of six FIFA world confederations serving as the governing body of soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It is composed of 40 members, spanning from Canada in the north to Suriname in the south. For the latest information about the Confederation please visit our official website www.concacaf.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodway Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Canada to take first step in January on road to Germany 2006 soccer finals TORONTO (CP) -- The World Cup soccer focus is on Canada's women right now, but the men will open their qualifying campaign in mid-January. CONCACAF, the governing body of soccer for North and Central America and the Caribbean, announced Tuesday that 34 teams in the confederation will take the first steps on the road to Germany 2006 on the weekend of Jan. 17-18. That's a month earlier than Canadian officials expected, leaving little time for a team currently without a permanent coach to sort itself out. Qualifying won't end until November 2005, with Canada and 33 other countries vying for three automatic berths to the finals. A fourth CONCACAF team will advance to a playoff to make the 32-country World Cup field. Unlike past years, there are no byes this time. That means powerhouses likes Mexico and the U.S., ranked fifth and 11th respectively in the world, could be rubbing shoulders with such holiday destination countries as No. 181 Bermuda, No. 195 Aruba and No. 203 Turks and Caicos Islands. The Canadian men won't know who they're up against in the first round until FIFA holds its qualifying draw on Dec. 5 in Germany. The Canadian Soccer Association hopes to have a new coach in place by then. San Jose Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop is probably the front-runner although acting coach Colin Miller will also be given serious consideration to replace Holger Osieck. In holding the draw, FIFA will no doubt ensure that the top countries will be separated in the first round so they won't bump heads too soon. For France '98, Canada entered CONCACAF qualifying at the semifinal stage. The Canadians made it to the final round, only to finish last with a 1-6-3 record. Coach Bob Lenarduzzi resigned as a result. For 2002 in Japan and South Korea, the Canadian men had to enter qualifying at a lower level, forced to beat Cuba in a home-and-away playoff before joining the semifinal round. Canada failed to advance to the final stage of qualifying in the region, ousted under the hot sun at a cricket ground in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Miller, who played 61 times for Canada between 1983 and 1997, says he hopes to add another friendly to the Oct. 11 exhibition game in Finland to get the men's team ready for the first qualifying hurdle. "They take on added importance now, he said Tuesday of the upcoming friendlies. "Because we've got to get as strong a squad together as we can and move on from past experiences." Miller is unfazed by CONCACAF's decision to have everyone join qualifying at the same time. "We've dropped so far down the rankings that we've made our bed and we've got to lay in it," he said. "We've got to build from whichever games we're given. "It doesn't make it easier, that's for sure." Canada is ranked 79th in the world and ninth in CONCACAF. The CONCACAF schedule means Canada would play either 18 or 20 games if it made it all the way to the final stage of qualifying. Miller knows that getting players for that many games will be difficult, even if some of those dates are reserved for internationals. But he says that has always been the case. He recalls playing 16 games in one qualifying campaign for Canada, missing that many club games in Scotland as a result. The 34 teams will be divided into 10 groups of three and two groups of two. Teams will play home and away matches within the group, with the 12 group winners advancing to the semifinal stages. Match days for the first round in 2004 are Jan. 17-18 and 21, Feb. 18, March 31 and June 12-13 and 19-20. The 12 semifinalists will be divided into three groups of four, with play starting Aug. 18. After home and away games within the group, the top two from each pool will move on to the final stage of qualifying. Semifinals match days are Aug. 18, Sept. 4-5 and 8, Oct. 9-10 and 13, and Nov. 17. Six teams will advance to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying in 2005, a slate of home and away matches to be played between Feb. 9 and Oct. 12. The fourth-place team will go to a playoff Nov. 12 and 16. Three other confederations also hold half-places, meaning teams from Asia, South America and Oceania will join the CONCACAF fourth-place finisher in the fight for two berths in the finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 We better get another friendly lined up, and soon. And we better look at as many options as is possible. Hopefully we will be drawn with the Cayman Islands (or a nation of similar quality) in a 2-game series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian B. Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Why do they give 6 dates for the preliminary round? Shouldn't be only 4? A maximum of 3 nations per group equals 4 games.... The semi-finals get 6 dates and it's okay. The final roud gets 10 dates and it's all right. Maybe the 6 dates will help Canada to present the home games as late as possible. The last 2 dates are in June. To host a home game in January (Even in BC) would be extremely hard for the players. Especially for the visiting team but we don't care. Let's welcome Haiti in a January snow storm live from Edmonton at -40 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 how many games would canada have at home? where would they be and would do you think they would be aired on TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Christian B. Why do they give 6 dates for the preliminary round? Shouldn't be only 4? A maximum of 3 nations per group equals 4 games.... Only 2 teams can play on the same date with a group 3. So, with 4 dates, only 4 of the required six games can be played i.e. Date 1: Canada vs Haiti (Cuba idle) Date 2: Haiti vs Cuba (Canada idle) Date 3: Cuba vs Canada (Haiti Idle) Date 4: Cuba vs Haiti (Canada idle) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian B. Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Gordon Only 2 teams can play on the same date with a group 3. So, with 4 dates, only 4 of the required six games can be played i.e. Date 1: Canada vs Haiti (Cuba idle) Date 2: Haiti vs Cuba (Canada idle) Date 3: Cuba vs Canada (Haiti Idle) Date 4: Cuba vs Haiti (Canada idle) Oh boy! Shame on me! Next time I will think longer before asking a question..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack There's a FIFA date in November. Canada should set up a friendly on this date against a CONCACAF side, in order to prepare. January will be here before you know it. What incentive is there for players to show up for this friendly? The man who will be coaching come January won't even be there. Or do you just show up on the slim chance that Miller will have some say in the selection of players for WCQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 how many games would canada have at home? where would they be and would do you think they would be aired on TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Half the games will be at home. Based on past experience, I'd guess that the games will be televised, but will be on tape delay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 You're right, of course. But two games isn't much preparation, especially when you have no idea what the game plan is and when there's no one around who can tell you what it's going to be. Also we're back to square one as far as the roster is concerned. How do you evaluate a pool of 20-30 players in two games and prepare for crucial qualifying matches at the same time? Given the timeframe, I'd think Miller will have to have a huge influence in both selecting the players and assigning their roles. Otherwise these friendlies are just a waste of time. That said, any opportunity the players have to get to know each other on the field will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Christian B. Maybe the 6 dates will help Canada to present the home games as late as possible. The last 2 dates are in June. To host a home game in January (Even in BC) would be extremely hard for the players. Especially for the visiting team but we don't care. Let's welcome Haiti in a January snow storm live from Edmonton at -40 degrees. As late in the year as is possible is fine by me. Don't think the other pool partners would complain too much either. But if we are put into a possition where games must be hosted in January/Febuary unless we can get the squad together for a reasonable period before hand I hope the matchs are played as far east as possible. Halifax would be nice if they have the facilities to pull it off and the climate isn't too harsh. Except for not having to deal with the Central American heat and humidity I don't realy see the cold climate advantage our home matchs would allegedly bring. We'll be fielding a Europian squad anyway so I think our lads will be about as happy to see freezing or near freezing tempatures as anyone from more tropical climes would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Gordon Only 2 teams can play on the same date with a group 3. So, with 4 dates, only 4 of the required six games can be played i.e. Date 1: Canada vs Haiti (Cuba idle) Date 2: Haiti vs Cuba (Canada idle) Date 3: Cuba vs Canada (Haiti Idle) Date 4: Cuba vs Haiti (Canada idle) Good on you, I made a dumb post on the other board complaining about this and it never occurred to me that you couldn't play all three teams at once. Where I do think I was right over there was that they are not using the FIFA dates in late April, and I don't know why. Especially since the June dates are not FIFA sanctioned, nor are the January dates. Here are the official FIFA dates for 2004, remember that lower division clubs are not obliged to respect them for some odd reason. 2004 February 17-18 March 30-31 (May 21 - FIFA Centenary Anniversary Match) April 27-28 August 17-18 September 4-5 October 9-13 November 16-17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by ray Saturday/Sunday, 17-18 January Preliminary Round – Date 1 Wednesday, 21 January Preliminary Round – Date 2 Can I be the first one to say Roadtrip! How does St Kitts on Sunday and Antigua on Wednesday sound? I'd say a hell of a lot better than Saskatchewan in late January. I know I'm getting so far ahead of myself that even I can't believe how fat my arse has gotten, but I was hoping for two dates in the same week and we may have gotten them. I know you all want to. Can anyone afford to? I figured out a way to get a free cruise to the carribean, but apparently they hold your passport with the ship so you can just ditch the cruise. So I don't think that would work to hit the early qualifiers. But I still want to go. Reading the Rum Diary is definitely not helping. cheers, matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 i think the January/February dates may conflict with final round Olympic qualifying in Mexico. Interesting to see what we do. Probably will depend on whether we are drawn against a week side or not for a match that conflicts with the Olympic qualifying (assuming we get by El Salvador) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Assuming the top 12 sides on the FIFA ranking will not be put in the same groups with each other for the prelims, this is the list from the FIFA site: 5 Mexico 746 4 -1 8 3 11 United States 731 9 -2 10 -1 19 Costa Rica 681 17 -2 21 2 41 Honduras 593 40 -1 40 -1 46 Jamaica 576 45 -1 51 5 57 Cuba 541 58 1 71 14 58 Trinidad and Tobago 538 54 -4 47 -11 66 Guatemala 521 64 -2 78 12 79 Canada 487 78 -1 70 -9 82 Haiti 484 85 3 71 -11 88 El Salvador 469 84 -4 94 6 95 Barbados 433 95 0 99 4 The remaining sides are as follows: 120 Panama 379 116 -4 129 9 122 St. Lucia 377 122 0 112 -10 125 St. Kitts and Nevis 370 123 -2 109 -16 145 Grenada 280 144 -1 131 -14 153 Surinam 255 150 -3 141 -12 155 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 227 155 0 144 -11 159 Antigua and Barbuda 217 159 0 155 -4 165 Dominican Republic 203 163 -2 149 -16 169 Belize 177 168 -1 158 -11 170 Nicaragua 176 172 2 186 16 170 British Virgin Islands 176 169 -1 161 -9 176 Cayman Islands 165 174 -2 164 -12 180 Guyana 147 180 0 169 -11 181 Bermuda 144 181 0 172 -9 184 Dominica 136 183 -1 174 -10 186 Netherlands Antilles 123 185 -1 177 -9 190 Bahamas 97 190 0 187 -3 195 Aruba 76 195 0 189 -6 197 Anguilla 56 197 0 196 -1 199 US Virgin Islands 46 199 0 197 -2 200 Puerto Rico 42 200 0 198 -2 203 Turks and Caicos Islands 15 203 0 202 -1 204 Montserrat 7 204 0 203 -1 Therefore, the real key is to avoid Panama as see them as the only real danger side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S. Where I do think I was right over there was that they are not using the FIFA dates in late April, and I don't know why. Especially since the June dates are not FIFA sanctioned, nor are the January dates. I'm not sure what the deal is with the January dates--they're not on the FIFA calendar, but the African Nations Cup starts on the 24th, and a FIFA official had this to say in response to complaints from Premiership teams: "The second half of January and the first half of February 2004 are reserved for international dates and it is up to the national leagues to adapt to the international calendar for those competitions, not the other way round," http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1054851,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S. Where I do think I was right over there was that they are not using the FIFA dates in late April, and I don't know why. Especially since the June dates are not FIFA sanctioned, nor are the January dates. I'm not sure what the deal is with the January dates--they're not on the FIFA calendar, but the African Nations Cup starts on the 24th, and a FIFA official had this to say in response to complaints from Premiership teams: "The second half of January and the first half of February 2004 are reserved for international dates and it is up to the national leagues to adapt to the international calendar for those competitions, not the other way round," http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1054851,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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