CONCACAF Second round review Group E

CONCACAF second Round Group E. Guatemala dominated and advanced to the semi-finals.

Guatemala's celebrates their return to the semi-finals

This was Guatemala’s group from the beginning. Guatemala was the big Central American country (population of close to 13 Million.) Guatemala has the well established Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala. Guatemala competes with the very competitive national teams in Central America. They played the top national team in the group (Grenada) in the Gold Cup and beat them convincible 4-0. Guatemala scored 19 goals for and only let in 3. Close to 24,000 fans came out in Guatemala every game. Guatemala has a very competitive team going into the semi-finals. They will be grouped with regional power USA, Caribbean Champion Jamaica and new comer Antigua and Barbuda. Since the top 2 team advance the Jamaica vs. Guatemala games should be the most interesting.  ..

               Belize is trying to get it Federation, its domestic league and its act together. FIFA’s goal project gave Belize a small but beautiful national stadium where they could host World Cup Qualifying matches. Belize not only earner more points that higher ranked Saint Vinny’s twice but also beat Grenada 3-0 in Grenada. Belize was the biggest surprise in this group. Belize’s play also reinforces the belief that Central American nations are much more competitive that the Caribbean national teams. Belize’s next national games will be the Central American Cup 2013. They are over due to host this regional tournament.

          Saint Vincent and the Grenadines only had 1 win. They wound up in 3rd place …ahead of Grenada.

         Grenada.....The Gold cup darlings flopped in this World Cup Qualifying tournament. They were the biggest disappointment since they were the top ranked nation in the group and failed miserable and wound up in last place.

4 Caribbean nations are determined

There will be only one new team from the Caribbean in next years Gold Cup. That nation will be Cuba. Cuba did qualify for the 2009 Gold Cup but decided not to participate. Haiti won it's spot. Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Grenada all participated in the 2009 event and will all be participating again.

Since will we have 5 nations from Central America I believe we will again see
Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador as repeat participants. It will be a big surprise if Nicaragua can qualify again. I believe Guatemala will be the new Central American participant.

In total there will only be 2 new nations (Cuba, Guatemala) if the Central American Cup play out with the favorites winning.

Caribbean Cup Group E

Group E kicks off tonight at the "Police Grounds" also called Grenada National Stadium. The National Stadium is next to the big ckicket National stadium in Grenada. The soccer stadium holds about 9,000 spectators. If there is a time to support Grenada soccer ...it is now.

Guadeleloupe

The games start with Group B surprise winner Saint Kitts and Nevis taking on Guadeloupe. Guadeloupe has made the last 2 Gold Cups.
Kansas City Wizards vice captain and defensive dynamo Stephane Auvray this weekend, as he's joined the Guadeloupe this weekend. He will bring professionalism and skill to the Guadeloupe defense.
play a well organize, tactical game. They are a favorite to go through based on the last 5 year of consistent play.

Saint Kitts are riding the emotional wave. Kitts has 3 games under their belt to prepare. I believe Guadeloupe will prevail.

Grenada

The night cap will feature the host Grenada against Puerto Rico. Grenada will have the confidence of last Caribbean Cup behind them. The made it all the way to the final game and lost to the host (Jamaica). Jamaica scored on 2 penalty kicks. A sour way to lose any game. Grenada will be prepared to show the fans they can beat anyone in the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico national team is preparing for it’s goal to reach the Gold Cup 2011. They arrived on Grenada Wednesday with out their skipper and some key players. Colin Clark their coach also coaches the Islanders. The Islanders are getting ready to play the Carolina RailHawks Sunday, so Clarke is with his club team. Adrian Whitbread will be in charge of the national team as they get ready to play the host.

Also missing from the Puerto Rico national team will be their star goal keeper Terry Boss. They will be missing FW Josh Hansen who had great service in the box on all 3 games. Midfielder Noah Delgado is leave a big hole to fill. DF Richard Martinez will also be missed on defense.
This leaves plenty of opportunity for younger players to step up. The group still feels confident they can advance. This from their assistant coach.

"We have a very good chance to qualify with the group we have right now in Granada," said Stefanowski

Caribbean Cup prediction

The 2010 Caribbean Championship an international soccer tournament for the Caribbean. This years edition will have 23 nations participating. The final stage will be hosted by Martinique. Martinique won the right to host over Guadeloupe and Barbados, who had also put in bids. All groups have changed from the original draw. Cuba and Antigua and Barbuda will get a bye to the second round at the expense of Guyana and the Netherlands Antilles who now have to qualify for Stage 2. The hosts in Stage 1 are Puerto Rico (Group A), St Vincent and the Grenadines (Group B), Suriname (Group C) and Dominican Republic (Group D). The final round of 8 has the host Martinique along with current Champion Jamaica. The top 4 teams automatically qualify for Gold Cup 2011. The winner of the Gold Cup 2011 will represent CONCACAF in FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 Brazil. This Caribbean Cup is interesting to me for a few reasons. I have been waiting for the “big” populous nations of Puerto Rico (3.9 Million) and the Dominican Republic (10 Million) to propel them selves into the thick of CONCACAF. If there is a chance that the Gold Cup will expand to 16 nations soon it will be up to these nations. These nations have a huge immigrant population throughout the states. They could support their nation like Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico did not participate in the last Cup. (PR missed the last 2 Caribbean Cups.) These countries are also hosting stage one games. In my eyes both will be favorites to advance to Stage 2. We will see how far each of these nations has progressed in 4 years. I am hoping a lot. The championship game is again moved to a new host country. Unlike the Gold Cup this makes for an exciting tournament where any number of teams can knock the host out. This will be the 4th different host in a row which makes every tournament exciting.
Stage 1 will have 15 teams fighting for 6 spots. All the group winners will advance along with the 1st and 2nd runner ups. The host nation always seems to have the advantage and this tournament is not different. I see Puerto Rico, Barbados and Suriname all advancing. The Dominican Republic Group D only has 3 teams so the winner of the Dominican Republic- Dominica game will advance. Stage Two also has the advantage go to the host nations however this is where I have my upsets changing the perspective of power in the Caribbean. The Favorites right now are the 2 teams that have already qualified for the final 8 (Jamaica and the host Martinique along with perennial power Trinidad &Tobago who are hosting a Stage 2 group). Cuba qualified for the Gold Cup the last 5 times so they have a legitimate shot, Haiti and Guadeloupe also field strong teams. Could we finally see a South American team in the Gold Cup (Surname- Guyana). Both have very competitive teams.


Group Stage One
Group A
Saint-Martin
Cayman Islands
Puerto Rico
Anguilla

Group A will be played in Juan Ramon Stadium, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has not has much international success however the sport has grown on this Caribbean Island. Colin Clarke (No. Ireland) coaches both the Islanders and the PR national team. I think they will have the most fans of any group in the entire tournament. The have fans have supported the Islanders and hopefully will they support their national team. There were over 12,000 Puerto Ricans who turned out to support the Islanders game Aug 4th, 2001 against the LA Galaxy. Puerto Rico recently started a soccer league in 2008 and currently has 10 teams for the 2010 seasons. I think Puerto Rico will win this group and advance to Stage 2. The play Oct 2nd, 4th and 6th.
Group B
Barbados
Saint Vincent
Saint Kitts & Nevis
Montserrat

Group B will now be played in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Barbados was one of the last 8 teams standing last Caribbean Cup because they have a good team. Barbados best result was 2005 when they placed 4th. They also advanced to the final 8 in both the 2007 and 2008 Caribbean Cups. They (Barbados) have the best team in the group which should be enough for the Bajan Pride to advance to Stage 2. St Vincent, playing at home will have the advantage, of advancing as one of the 6 nations. They should get enough points here. Saint Kitts will provide the test. Montserrat will provide cannon fodder. (
Group C
Suriname
Guyana
Saint Lucia
Netherlands Antilles

Suriname will be the favorite at home. They were one of the last 12 standing in World Cup Qualifying which the true test of any national team. Suriname has over 150 Surinese playing in the various Dutch leagues. Guyana is the arch rival of Suriname and a fellow South American nation. Surname knocked Guyana out of WCQ. This game will be a great battle. The Netherland Antilles are ranked higher that every team in Group A and group D. The Netherland Antilles only lost to Haiti 1-0 in World Cup Qualifying. This makes Group C the most talented group to advance. St Lucia does not have a chance. Played in Suriname from October 13–17. (Prediction Suriname 1st w/Guyana getting 2nd runner up spot.)

Group D
Dominica
Dominican Republic
British Virgin Islands

The Dominican Republic is the 2nd most populous nation in the Caribbean at about 9.8 Million. CONCACAF wants to ignite the passion for soccer here so the Dominican will host and has the easiest group to advance. Games will be played in Estadio Panamericano (2800) San Cristobal. The DR from October 13th , 17th 10. Prediction Dominican Republic wins their first ever significant game and finally advance to Stage 2.

Group Stage Two
Stage 2 has 6 seeded teams in Grenada (host) with Guadeloupe, T&T (host of course) with Haiti, Cuba and Antigua and Barbuda (host). 6 teams from Stage 2 will advance to the Final round. All the host nations have a great advantage. The most difficult will be Group E in Grenada while the easiest Group will be G in Antigua and Barbuda
Group E
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Winner Group A Puerto Rico
Winner Group B Barbados
Grenada advanced in the 2008 Cup by playing stingy defense and scoring when they had to. They will again have to play well defensively to advance out of this formidable group. The Gwada Boys of Guadeloupe made the finals in both the 2007 and 2008 tournament. They also qualified for Gold Cup 2007 and 2009. The Gwada Boys will be determined to make the Final 8 against the arch-rival Martinique. We will all see just how far Colin Clarke boys (Puerto Rico) have come in this group. They have not played since 2008. Barbados has advanced to the Final 8 the last 2 Cups. I see upsets here. Prediction Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe advance. Played in Grenada from October 22–26.

Group F
Trinidad and Tobago
Haiti
Winner Group C Suriname
1st Place Runner-up St Vincent
Group F after rescheduling surprise, surprise….Trinidad & Tobago is hosting yet another group. T&T has won 8 out of 14 Caribbean Cups. They have been kings in the Caribbean over the last decade. Haiti beat T&T in the 2007 Caribbean Cup Final in Trinidad. Haiti also tied the USA in the states in the last Gold Cup 2009. Haiti will not back down. These 2 teams will be challenged by my Group C winner Suriname. The first runner I think will be St Vincent which will fill out this group. This group will played in Trinidad and Tobago from November 2–6. Prediction T&T and Haiti again.
Group G
Cuba
Antigua and Barbuda
Winner Group D Dominican Republic
2nd Place Runner-up Guyana
Group C will be played in Antigua recreational Grounds (Cricket Stadium) that hold 12,000. Antigua made the Final 8 in 2008 and tied both Haiti and Guadeloupe but lost to Cuba in the final group. A&B relied on the scoring punch from Peter Byers and Jamie Thomas (6 goals each) who led the goals scoring in the last Cup. They will have to be in form again to make the Final. Cuba is rejoicing in the new scheduled group. Cuba should beat everyone here and advance. The Dominican Republic should finally make stage 2 and this is the easiest group in this stage. If the Dominican Republic wants to have some soccer success their chance is now. Could they pull an upset? I am hoping they do. If the Final runner up is Guyana) I think they go through as winners of 2nd place runner up. Games will be from November 10–14. I see Cuba & Guyana advancing.

Final round
Played in Martinique from November 26 - December 5.
Jamaica has won 2 of the last 3 Caribbean Cups and want to remain as the top team in the Caribbean. I thought they would advance last Gold Cup however they had coaching changes to close to tournament. They won the last Cup playing at home against Grenada. The Jamaicans are talented and tactically sound. They have settled their coaching issues and have settled on Theodore Whitemore (Jamaican). Martinique also won the Caribbean Cup in 1993 against the Raggie Boyz in Jamaica. Martinique has also qualified for the Gold Cup 3 times advancing to the quarterfinals in 2002. Martinique has watched their arch rival Guadeloupe accent to prominence and they want to share in the lime light.
Group 1
Jamaica

Winner E (Guadeloupe)
Winner G (Cuba)
Group F Runner-up(Haiti)
This is how I see the group shaping up. I wish the Gold Cup would expand to 16 team so all these teams could be make the big tournament. Jamaica will be in a dog fight to make the final 4 here. They will be challenged. Jamaica will not had as many warm up games as the others. Haiti has very talented players who just need a coach and their federation to back them. Cuba will be eager to make the Gold Cup to challenge for the Confederations cup. Guadeloupe looks to make it 3 Gold Cups in a row. I think it will be Jamaica and Cuba advancing.
Group 2
Martinique

Winner F (T&T)
Group E R-up (Puerto Rico)
Group G R-up (Guyana)
Group 2 will be just as formidable to advance. I have to give the edge to Trinidad and Tobago. They have the best Caribbean Club teams and have a wealth of experience of playing in big Tournaments. Every nation enjoys a huge advantage playing on their home pitch so I will have the second runner up going to Martinique. Puerto Rico would have done well to make the final 8 and play competitive games here. They are gaining experience and could upset the Caribbean. Guyana is still emerging. They were on a 14 game unbeaten streak in 06 but have come down to earth.
I believe it will be Jamaica again emerging the winner. The big prize is having Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago and Martinique taking the 4 Caribbean spots in the Gold Cup. If this happens then it will be 3 new Caribbean participants. (Since I do not think Nicaragua will upset Guatemala or El Salvador) There will be a total of 4 new teams in Gold Cup 2011.

Caribbean Cup 2010

Caribbean Cup 2010
Martinique

(This is not official since it has not been released by Caribbean Football Union CFU)

The Caribbean Cup is a tournament for the CFU currently played biannually (in even years). The Caribbean Cup serves as a qualifier for the CONCACAF’s Gold Cup. The final 4 nations will qualify as the Caribbean representatives to the Gold Cup. This years tournament has 24 nations (territories) participating. That will be 3 more that the last tournament. This year’s final will be hosted in Martinique. This is good since T&T has hosted 9 tournaments which gave them a huge advantage. (Trinidad & Tobago also won 9 Cups).
This will give all nations a fresh start the next World Cup Qualifying cycle. The first games will start Aug 17th in Antigua and Barbuda and ends in Nov 28th in Martinique. There will be 3 rounds. The First round has 16 teams broken into 4 groups of 4 nations. The top 6 teams will advance to the second round. The second round will have 12 teams. These teams will be broken into 3 groups of 4 teams. There will be 6 seeded teams in the Second Round (Cuba, Guyana, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, Guadeloupe and Haiti) waiting the 6 teams that advanced from round 1. Then the top 6 teams from the Second round group advance to the Final 8 in Martinique.

The final will play on the beautiful island of Martinique. The stadium (Dillion Stadium pictured above) will be a nice grass pitch and a stadium that few in the Caribbean could match. The stadium "Stade Pierre-Aliker" can hold 16,500 comfortably. The host (Martinique) and Jamaica (Reigning Champion) will fill out the Field of 8. The top 4 teams from the Final 8 will qualify for the Gold Cup 2011. There are a number of teams that have a legitimate shot at winning the Cup.

The Contenders (3)

Martinique: You always have to consider the host of any tournament and this one is not different. Do not laugh at this little soccer power house. Martinique is one of only 4 teams to win the Caribbean Cup(Champions 1993). Martinique has also made the Gold Cup 3 times. This was when CONCACAF had to invite guess teams to participate. They were also runner up in 1994 to the host Trinidad and Tobago. They have recently seen their arch rival Guadeloupe make the Gold Cup and want to regain their soccer prowess in the Caribbean.

Trinidad and Tobago: They are two tiny islands off the South America coast with a population of about 1 Million You have to mention the 8 times Champions Trinidad and Tobago. They are one of the favorites to win it again. They have an excellent youth program and have the best club teams in the Caribbean.

Jamaica: They are the reigning Champions and will be looking forward to defend their title. They have won the Caribbean Cup champion 4 times and want to remain on top in the Caribbean. They have a very talented, athletic and proud team. Now their coaching issues are settled maybe we can see some cohesiveness from the Raggae Boyz.


The Challengers



Cuba: Cuba has a very good soccer program at both the youth and senior level. They are the only Caribbean team to “place” in the last 4 Caribbean Cup Championships, they accomplished this feat 5 Caribbean Cup in a row. I wonder if they had hosted any of these Caribbean Cup how many they would have won?

Haiti: One of only 4 nations to win the Caribbean Cup. Les Grenadiers last won the 2007 Caribbean Cup. They also had fine form in the Gold Cup tying the USA in the states. An earthquake devastated their Island and this tournament will give some a break from the misery that surrounds the country. They are tall, fast and athletic. They just need cohesiveness to propel themselves to the Finals.

Guadeloupe: Guadeloupe has been in very good form since 2006. They came in 4th (Caribbean Cup 20006-7)and went to the 2007 Gold Cup. At the Gold Cup they made the knockout round. Then they proceeded to beat Honduras and make the semi-finals. Again in the 2008 Caribbean Cup they placed in the final 4 and again went to the Gold Cup 2009. Guadeloupe again made the knockout round. This tournament is on sister island Martinique. They will be well versed in the language and the culture. Watch out for the Gwada Boys.

Dark horses

This group I am most anxious to see play. Three of these nations are hosting games. It will be very interesting as to how many fans turn out in each country. I believe Guyana will lead the attendance. Puerto Rico should have a good turn out since their fans have been waiting with anticipation. They tied Honduras in World Cup Qualifying which was the last game I remember they play of significance.

Guyana: They have been slowly building the soccer program in Guyana for a few years. They just started their own league in 2008. They have half of their team playing in the club teams of Trinidad and Tobago. They are coached by Jamaal Shabazz (Trinidad and Tobago) since 2005. He provides stability and continuity. They are poised to make some noise here since they are seeded in the Second round and are hosting. They had the most fans attend a Caribbean Cup game last tournament at 10,000, more than double any other.

Grenada: Defense wins games and Grenada proved that last tournament. They are hosting a second round group that also has Trinidad and Tobago seeded. They will be playing at the Grenada National Stadium that holds about 9,000. Most of the national team is made up of players from the Grenada soccer league.

Puerto Rico: They have been on a similar path as Guyana. Puerto Rico just started a soccer league in 2008. There are currently 9 teams. Their current Champion (Bayamon FC) s on of 4 teams left in the CFU Cub. The top 3 qualify for The CONCACAF Champions League. The other team is none other than the Puerto Rico Islanders again. Collin Clarke can coach the national team like the Islanders they the entire Caribbean should take note. They have not entered in the last 2 Caribbean Cups but watch this team. 8,000national fans packed Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium when they played the Dominican Republic. We will see if they attend this group games.

Suriname: They made the final 12 in World Cup Qualifying which is the true test of the best teams in CONCACAF. Suriname has an established league since 1924. There are about 150 Surinamese players playing the Dutch professional Leagues. Depending who they bring in will depend how far they go. Will they disappear of will they surprise everyone again. They have the experience.

http://www.football-rankings.info/2010/04/2010-cfu-digicel-cup-schedule.html

Gold Cup preview

revisions

• Grenada -Sharlie Joseph will not be playing for Grenada due to injury
• The USA team will be able to have 30 players since they participated in the Gold Cup. This means to me they organizers do not want to USA to lose early. The reason was players would be taxed, tired ect. However there are only a few players who are coming from South Africa to participate in both tourneys
• El Salvador will be without forward Eliseo Quintanilla. Quintanilla, who has two of El Salvador's six goals in World Cup qualifying, has opted to join his new club, Greek Cypriot side Ermis Aradippou
• Costa Rica will be with out Furtado, who has scored two goals in three World Cup qualifiers, was dropped from the squad after the initial sample of his doping test during the Costa Rican league finals returned positive, the Costa Rican federation said.
• Mexico will not have Cuauhtemoc Blanco, no Rafael Marquez, no Pavel Pardo. Ricardo Osorio, Oswaldo Sanchez but they have young talent that will be on display
• Canada will not have De Rosorio nor

Gold Cup Group B Preview

Group B
Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, USA

Group B will feature the defending Champions USA, Central American representative Honduras and two Caribbean teams in Grenada and Haiti. The group will first appear in the newest MLS venue, Qwest Field in Seattle. Two games will be played on July 4th, American’s Birthday. The Yanks will play against Grenada and should have great fans support on this day. I do not see Grenada mounting a consistent attack this day and the Spice Boys will be in for a long day. Honduras should take care of Haiti in the other match. Then the group travels across the country to the nations Capitol and plays at RFK stadium. Honduras has 4 times as many fans (as the Yanks) in Chicago for a World Cup Qualifier earlier in the year. D.C also has a very large Latin American populous. It will be interesting if Honduras fans out number the Yanks fans in our nations Capitol. This game should determine the winner of the group. To me this game could go either way with an edge to Honduras. The other groups will take an interest in Grenada vs. Haiti. Other group’s teams will hope for a tie so neither team will advance to the knockout round. If there is a winner here the winner may go through as a 3rd place team…so the game will have meaning no only to Haiti and Grenada but also the other two groups.

The group then travels up the Atlantic coast to New England’s Gillette Stadium. If Haiti had any chance against the USA it would have been in an early game. The USA’s dept, playing on their home pitch and all the traveling, will propel the Yanks past Haiti. Honduras should take care of Grenada however Sharlie Joseph will have plenty of fans in the stands. Gillette is the home of his Revolution team so he will be very comfortable playing there. Will Grenada be this years Cinderella story!
I see USA with the edge since they will have home field advantage. Honduras will take the runner up spot relying on their experience. Either Haiti or Grenada may go through if the can get a point against the big boys and beat the other in the crucial 2nd game in Washington D.C. Grenada did not score much in the Caribbean Cup but relied on a stout defense. Haiti problem was that they did not play tagether throughout the Caribbean Cup until the final round. Haiti just do not have enough of their federation backing them. Their fans are great though and hopefully they can put on a nice showing.

The Favorite
USA They will be playing in their 10th Gold Cup in a row.. The Yanks have never lost a group stage match in the Gold Cup. Their last Gold Cup loss was a 2:1 defeat to Brazil in 2003 semi-finals in Miami Orange Bowl. They have the best Gold Cup record with 33 wins and 5 loses and 1 tie. They have won 3 of the last 4 Gold Cups. They are the host and the defending Champions. They are under the direction of Bob Bradley.
They have a very successful Confederations Cup in South Africa and now have to get ready to play the bi-annual Gold Cup. There will only be a few holdovers from that team. This will be mostly a team Bradley wants to evaluate for the World cup 2010. They Yanks need help on the left flank and left Defense. They also want more Forward depth. Bradley wants to evaluate who he can help him starting or the valuable backup spots.
The roster is a split between MLS players and European 2nd tier teams. Their main weakness the team has is this group has never played together. They will have to find cohesion with in the first 3 games or they will be bounced quickly in the knockout round.
Look for Freddy Adu and his great dribbling and attacking skills in the middle. Stuart Holden (Houston) has been given the 10 spot in Houston when they Dynamo let De Rosario go to Toronto FC. This is impressive since Holden is only 23 and possesses veteran skills and a good work rate. They will try to feed the giant at 6-3 Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas) as a target forward. He will be along side the bulldog Charlie Davies the Confederations Cup hero. The left midfield spot will have 2 youngsters battling for Bradley attention in Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew) and Colin Clark (Colorado).
The back line will have a number of ex MLS’er who have moved on to European tier 2 leagues and are trying to make a name for themselves. They are the reigning champs and will play on their home pitch. The defense has to stiffen and the youngsters and veterans have to blend to win this tournament. They are the favorite in this group even with the B team starting. They are playing on their home pitch.

The Dark Horse
Honduras They will be making their 9th Gold Cup. This is their 4th Gold Cup in a row. They are one of 4 qualifiers from the Central America by coming in 3rd in UNCAF Cup in Honduras. They only missed one Gold Cup in 2002. They reached the quarter finals in 2007 and the Semi-finals in 2005. Their best performance was Gold Cup in 1991. They reached the finals in the inaugural event losing in a shootout to the host (USA) at LA Memorial Coliseum
Honduras national team coach is Columbian Reinaldo Rueda. Their Captain is Carlo Costly (GKS Belchatow-Poland) who is big and powerful. Costly will pair with Walter Pery Martínez and he plays for Deportivo Alves-Spain. Kansas City Wizards midfielder Roger Espinoza (KC Wizards-USA) and Luis Ramos Spartus are the only other foreign players on this roster. The rest come from 4 main teams in Honduras (Marathon-6, Real Espana-5, Motagua-4 and Olimpia-4.
Honduras only warm up game is a match against Panama Sunday June 28th which they won 2:0. The game will be in Raleigh, North Carolina. This venue will help both teams get ready for the venues in the Gold Cup. Honduras almost beat the USA team earlier this year and that was against the Yanks top team. This USA team is the 2nd stringers who have not played together. They get the dark horse spot since the Honduras national program has come a long way in recent times.

The Hopefuls (Haiti – Grenada)
Haiti Are back for their second straight and 4th overall Gold Cup. Les Grenadiers is their nickname. They are one of 4 qualifiers from the Caribbean region. They won the Caribbean Cup in 2007 in Trinidad and Tobago against the host in Port of Spain. Their best Gold Cup performance was making the quarter finals in 2002. They are led by Jairo Rios a Columbian. Haiti best performance was in 2002 when they made it to the knockout round. Haitians want to regain the stature they had when they participated in the 1974 World Cup. They luckily got to this Gold Cup when Cuba withdrew and they won the coin flip against Trinidad and Tobago. They are tall, fast and hard charging. They are individually talented but lack the team tactical ability other teams have. They only go through if they beat Grenada and get a point from the Yanks or Honduras....this is a tall task....but so was qualifying for the 1974 World Cup.
Grenada
The Spice Boy will be playing in their first ever Gold Cup. They qualified as one of 4 Caribbean regions slots. They came in second in the 2009 Caribbean Cup. They lost to the host Jamaica 2:0. Both goals were scored on penalty kicks. They will be the smallest country ever to participate in the Gold Cup. They will be wearing bright green or yellow shirts with red socks. Noris Wilson is the coach and he is from Grenada. They are looking to upset the hierarchy of CONCACAF powers. Grenada did not score that many goals in the Caribbean cup and they play a very stout defensive style. They will have Sharlie Joseph (Revolutions-USA). Joseph has been called the best holding midfielder in MLS for a number of years. His versatility allowed the coach to move his to at position. He is the leading scorer for the rev this year. He will be a clog in the middle for Grenada and will feed to potent Jason Roberts (Blackburn Rovers-Eng). These players will help the Grenada attack greatly.

Prediction 1 USA, 2 Honduras, 3 Haiti, 4 Grenada