As I see it....

[Lilloco]

After watching these games, including the Canada - Honduras, US- El Salvador, Panama- Jamaica and Guatemala- Costa Rica..I have to say, and this is my opinion, the only teams in CONCACAF that have shown real growth are Canada, Guatemala and Panama.

Canada showed yesterday that they can ball with anybody in the region and probably take on South America too (with the obvious exceptions of maybe Argentina and Brazil)and make a game of it. After yesterday my repect for the Canadian team increased two fold. Im sorry about that penalty call, but as a Honduran i can assure you that everything balances itself out later on. Honduras has gotten the shaft so many times that I guess this non-existant penalty was just things re paying themselves.

The Guatemala-Costa Rica game showed two not-so great teams playing, but the difference is that Guatemala has shown something that they never had shown before...balls. They are now fighting for every ball, and maybe they dont have too much skill but they now have bite, and thats growth.

Panama, as I have been telling my friends for a long time is showing good soccer and is becoming like Venezuela, which is a team that can kill you if you dont take them seriously..not very may teams win in Jamaica, thats an example of whats coming.

All other teams, including Honduras are showing the same old same old..and in soccer if you stay in the same place for a while, you will get left behind...

[kokanne]

Well, In CONCACAF Canada gets the shaft always!

If you see the American ref calling the game biased towards canada when we play Honduras again. Then I wont speak of this again, but American refs call everything by the book. They are motivated by trying to be the best possible ref!

In sports the best refs are the one's that don't get noticed! Especially not getting their name in the headlines!

As for everything balances out, This is CONCACAF not UEFA! CONCACAF put 4 of the top 6 teams in one pool on purpose!

They don't like risking things for USA and Mexico! and then they love when they send a third world country to the world cup! gives them a feel good story!

I don't blame Honduras and Im sure you've gotten the shaft a few times before because thats the case with shotty officiating.

But when a sport allows for cheating something is wrong with it and things need to change!

Refs need accountability "fine's, downgrade in rankings for blown calls" Something that hurts them so they strive to not make mistakes!

Otherwise refs don't do there homework! In UEFA the refs know what the teams are like and watch for dives! Both those calls last night, in UEFA would have gone the otherway probably with two yellow cards to Honduran players!

[Gian-Luca]

Interesting points about the other teams in the region. Guatemala this time round seems to be on a similar run to T&T in 2000 and Panama beating Jamaica in Jamaica greatly surprised me. I thought that our group would be the only one where there was some doubt as to who would be qualifying from it, but with Jamaica having picked up 1 point in two home games (sound familiar) their place in the next round alongside the US is not assured, to say the least.

[Gordon]

Lilloco:

Every national team has its legacy of bad calls. But how many of the Honduran legacy happened in Honduras. That the biggest difference, I suspect. We get screwed at home and abroad.

[Cheeta]

Still don't know about the Guats. Never saw todays match odviously but they're a side which I feel certainly looks ripe for the picking.

Wicked game yesterday in a lot of respects. Am still shocked it ended in only 2 goals scored. Could have reasonably been 2-2 at the end of the 1st half.

Wouldn't it have been nice had this tourny been held over the summer along with the EURO Cup? All the teams would have had time to train together, stay together, and what not. Would have made for a grand tourny I'd say. Six matchs in four weeks! Would've loved that. Bit hot down in CA I'd imagine but oh well.