Crazy_Yank Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 Todat there was an excellent US Today article about Claudio Reyna. When the reporter asked about the weakness of the current hex lineup he said, "Canada, Jamaica, and Honduras would have made this a much better hex. They are better and more deserving than some of the times there." I honestly believe the semi-final draw was rigged. What else could explain the easy group T&T drew, while Canada and Honduras were put in the group of death. Can anyone with a straight face say that Panama and T&T are better than Canada and Honduras? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 The problem was that the whole WCQ process was ENTIRELY based on the 2001 results. This means that Canada and Honduras will again be seeded in the bottom 2 of 4 while Panama, T&T and Guatemala will be in the upper half. And that's not even counting Cuba and Haiti, who will probably get tougher draws than St. Kitts and St. Vincent BECAUSE OF THE DRAW IN 2000!!! Cuba faced Canada while Barbados went through. So Barbados were seeded higher than Cuba but they got knocked out easily by another minnow. Cuba had to play CR and Haiti had to play Jamaica. CONCACAF needs to consider world rankings and maybe even GC play when setting up their seeding. I think that a good formula would be whoever qualified for the previous WC with the rest seeded by ranking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis_Rancagua Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Crazy_Yank ...Can anyone with a straight face say that Panama and T&T are better than Canada and Honduras? The whole thing was rigged from the start. Canada was robbed big time by poor and corrupt Mexican officiating that derives from CONCACAF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangoutoforder Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 I knew from the beginning that you guys got screwed. And you're a good team. A Canada-US rivalry is waiting to develop. But you guys have got to get there to make it happen. I was disappointed when you failed to do it this time. And while I may piss and moan about ways by which certain Canadians delight in Uncle's shortcomings, I greatly admire your sporting culture and mentality. Canada is a credit to every competition in which it participates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 Canadian fans who hope for the US to do poorly (other than when the US plays Canada) are just shooting themselves in the foot. Every time the US (or Mexico or any other CONCACAF team) does well in a FIFA tournament it builds the case for CONCACAF to get more qualifying slots in future FIFA tournaments. I firmly believe that the strong performances of all 3 CONCACAF entrants in the last World Cup (including Costa Rica, who just barely missed out on the second round) is what earned our Confederation an extra half spot in Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 Agreed. Plus, many of the problems faced by soccer in the US (eg.: luke warm fan support) also apply to canada. Showing that one side can overcome or succeed inspite of those issues gives canada a boost and also helps us determine what we need to focus on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 Why can't we go to two groups of six and find some half-assed way to figure out who finishes fourth? Maybe a cross-over play-off for the top two in each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone Why can't we go to two groups of six and find some half-assed way to figure out who finishes fourth? Maybe a cross-over play-off for the top two in each. I like this idea a lot, but wouldn't it just be easier to have the 2nd place teams play each other for the guaranteed 3rd spot? The loser would have to play another against an Asian region team. This would make it a lot like Asian qualifying, wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dave Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 Yeah, but if CONCACAF went with two groups of six, I bet it'd look like this: Group One (Jack Warner's Fair and Honest Group) USA T&T El Salvador Panama Haiti St.Kitts Groupt Two (The Let's Screw Everyone Else Group) Mex Costa Rica Honduras Jamaica Canada Cuba What, me cynical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaku_bert Posted June 17, 2005 Share Posted June 17, 2005 LOL, Dave. It's only funny because its true. I got clobbered by a bunch of ex-pat Brit Saints fans on a Saints board for suggesting that we sometimes appeared to get the short end of the stick here in Canada when CONCACAF is involved. "That just can't happen" and "rotten loser" they said. Ahh, its nice to come here and know that others understand we are being persecuted! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Yank Posted June 23, 2005 Author Share Posted June 23, 2005 quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone Why can't we go to two groups of six and find some half-assed way to figure out who finishes fourth? Maybe a cross-over play-off for the top two in each. I think a single group for the final round is the way to go. If everyone plays everyone else then the best teams will rise to the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Crazy_Yank I think a single group for the final round is the way to go. If everyone plays everyone else then the best teams will rise to the top. Do you mean status quo with the Hex? Or a group of 12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 The problem isn't so much with the Hex as it is with the seeding and the previous rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruud Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Soccer is the only sport where I will support the Americans. American soccer fans are knowledgable without being smug, and the players are totally approachable. They are a pleasure to support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fearnsey Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 The problem is not the draw - We simply did not come out to play. No matter the poor refereeing or tough draw, the truth is we still failed to get results against these teams when it mattered most. If we continue to complain about our unfair treatment, we will be destined to repeat or past results. Our boys just need to go into these competitions with the mentality of the Mexicans and just grind out results againts weaker opponents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 quote:Originally posted by fearnsey If we continue to complain about our unfair treatment, we will be destined to repeat or past results. Our boys just need to go into these competitions with the mentality of the Mexicans and just grind out results againts weaker opponents. True, but then why not do both? If we send out the message to Concacaf that its okay to screw us with horrible calls and disallowed goals just for the hell of it, what's to stop them from continuing to screw us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natesta Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 I think a single group for the final round is the way to go. If everyone plays everyone else then the best teams will rise to the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Natesta I think a single group for the final round is the way to go. If everyone plays everyone else then the best teams will rise to the top. Do you mean status quo with the Hex? Or a group of 12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Natesta I think a single group for the final round is the way to go. If everyone plays everyone else then the best teams will rise to the top. Do you mean status quo with the Hex? Or a group of 12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timotas Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 quote:Originally posted by beachesl Do you mean status quo with the Hex? Or a group of 12? I think 1 group of 12 is an awesome idea. Top 3 get in, number 4 plays Asia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natesta Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 South America runs quite well with a group of 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 A group of ten seems alright, its 18 matches. You could give the top 9 automatic entry, then 1 team has to qualify. Lets see: USA, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, T&T Honduras, Canada, Jamaica. So that leaves Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Barbados and all the other small countries to play in a preliminary round. The problem with this is that it might mean way too many games for one country. Im not sure the most fair way to do this because CONCACAF has such disparity between the top and bottom countries. The best way might be if World Cup spots went up for grabs in what we call the semi final round where each group winner gets to the world cup, then the runner up for each group competes in playoffs for the last half spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I'd like a format where the wednesday friendly dates are not used. It's a huge strain when our players have to fly here and back for a single midweek game with the Guatemala game being a prime example. In South America they don't use these dates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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