Yes, I know I'm late, but Happy New Year to everyone! Soccermetrics is keeping me busy as always, but I had a great reason to come back. Belize is going to the Gold Cup! Yes, Belize, currently ranked 164 in the FIFA World Ranking (and last among Central American countries), is headed to the Gold Cup after finishing in fourth place in the Copa Centroamericana, formerly known as the Copa UNCAF.
It's been a very long time since I had anything to write about Belizean soccer beyond the power
struggle in the national federation. But the newly formed Premier League of Belize elected a
chairman earlier this month, and a new league season is on the horizon. The new season starts next
weekend (4-5 February) with twelve clubs split into two geographical zones.
It's been a while since I've written on the Central American playoff scene, but all of the
champions have been decided with the exception of Belize. Below is a summary of who won what: Costa
Rica: Alajuelense won their third consecutive league title, and their 27th overall, by defeating
Herediano 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw in the final series.
Not much time for lots of prose, since I'm on my way to bed and will be out of town for a few days.
But I did want to put out the results and upcoming schedules for the playoff action throughout
Central America. BELIZE None COSTA RICA The Invierno playoffs start on Sunday with the first leg of
the semifinals.
FIFA's Emergency Committee has temporarily lifted the suspension of Belize's football federation
until 15 August, which will allow the second leg of their preliminary round match against
Montserrat to go forward. FIFA suspended the FFB from international competition after the Belizean
government ruled that the FFB was no longer authorized to represent the country in international
competitions and then refused to offer security arrangements for the second leg match in Belize.
CONCACAF announced Wednesday the 13 venues and host cities that will welcome the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 7-28, 2013. It appears that Sporting Park is too small for the organizers.
Via CONCACAF.com The region's premier National Team tournament will again expand its footprint by visiting eight new world-class venues in this year's edition: Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA; M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD; Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, CO; Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT; BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX; Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL; JELD-WEN Field in Portland, OR and Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT.
With Belize lacking an appropriate venue, El Salvador will have an extra berth to the 2012-13
CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF announced on Thursday. El Salvador gets the slot because they
were the only Caribbean country that had a team advance to the knockout stage in the 2011-12
tournament. El Salvador will now send three teams to the 2012-13 tournament: Isidro Metapan,
Aguila, and FAS.
Mais um jogo amistoso, foi disputado no dia 26/02/2012, na cidade de Managua-NIC, onde jogaram as
seleções da Nicaragua (144º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção de Porto Rico (113º no ranking da
FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Managua 24/02/2012 NCA1:0 (0:0)PUR
O árbitro desse jogo, foi; CASTILLA Amir-BLZ
Mais um jogo das eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo de 2014, foi realizado no dia 11/11/2011, na
cidade de Belmopan-BEL, onde jogaram as seleções de Belize (143º no ranking da FIFA) e a
selelção de St. Vincent (146° no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções nunca haviam jogado.
Mais um jogo das eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo de 2014, foi realizado no dia 11/10/2011, na
cidade de Guatemala City-GUA, onde jogaram as seleções da Guatemala (109º no ranking da FIFA) e
a seleção de Belize (134º no ranking da FIFA).
Mais um jogo das eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo, Brazil 2014, foi realizado no dia 06/09/2011, na
cidade de Belmopan, onde jogaram as seleções de Belize (148º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção
de Guatemala (113º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram: Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo
2002San Pedro Sula 19/05/2000 GUA0:0BLZ Central American Round2002San Pedro Sula 19/03/2000 BLZ1:2
(1:1)GUA Central American Round Eliminatórias Continentais
2007San Salvador 10/02/2007 BLZ0:1 (0:1)GUA First stage2005Guatemala City 19/02/2005 GUA2:0
(1:0)BLZ 2001Tegucigalpa 25/05/2001 GUA3:3 (2:2)BLZ First round Amistosos
San Jose 09/10/2010 GUA4:2 (1:1)BLZ
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Marlon Alfonso Mejia-SLV
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Gustavo CABRERA, aos 4 minutos do primeiro tempo, para Guatemala.
Mais um jogo das Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo de 2014, foi realizada no dia 02/09/2011, na
cidade de St. Georges-GRE, onde jogaram as seleções da Granada (118º no ranking da FIFA) e a
seleção de Belize (148º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções nunca haviam jogado.
The final round of matches in the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying might as well
not be played, as all the teams to advance are now known.
The six teams to secure their passage into the third round of qualifying were finalized on
Friday, with Canada being one of the teams to secure its passage.
Mais um jogo das Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo de 2014, Brasil 2014, foi realizado no dia
17/07/2011, na cidade de San Pedro Sula-HON, onde jogaram as seleções de Belize (154º no ranking
da FIFA) e a seleção de Montserrat (203º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram: Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo
2014Couva 15/06/2011 MSR2:5 (1:1)BLZ
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Oscar REYNA (GUA)
O primeiro assistente do jogo, foi: Ronaldo DE LA CRUZ (GUA)
O segundo assistente do jogo, foi: Marco DIAZ (GUA)
O quarto árbitro do jogo, foi: Juan Carlos GUERRA (GUA)
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Daniel JIMENEZ, aos 23 minutos do primeiro tempo, para Belize.
Joined in progress, it's the second matchday of the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Here we go: [Group B] Barbados 0-2 Trinidad & Tobago F [Group A] Dominican Republic 1-1 Suriname F
[Group F] US Virgin Islands 1-8 Antigua & Barbuda F [Group E] Belize 1-2 Guatemala F [Group D] St.
Lucia 2-4 St.
O primeiro jogo das eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo Brazil 2014, foi realizada no dia 15/06/2011,
na cidade de Couva (TTO), onde jogaram as seleções de Montserrat (202º no ranking da FIFA) e a
seleção de Belize (172º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções nunca haviam jogado.
FIFA announced that Belize have been cleared to participate in the next round of the World Cup
qualifiers that start next month after the Belizean government reached an agreement with the
Football Federation of Belize (FFB) to hold new elections at the end of the year. Last month, the
government refused to recognize the FFB as the governing body for football in the country and
refused to provide security at the national team's home qualifier against Montserrat.
And from the looks of things this is about as easy a path as the USA could hope for. No real
threats until the Hexagon.
The USA enters in Round 3 (of 4) and has been drawn into Group A with Jamaica & the winners of what
look to be the 2 weakest groups from the previous round (Rd 2) E & F.
Tomorrow a high-ranking delegation of FIFA, CONCACAF, and UNCAF officials will arrive in Belize to
mediate the ongoing conflict between the national government and the Football Federation of Belize.
The delegation is composed on officials from Central America but wearing different hats. Rafael
Salguero of Guatemala is on the FIFA Executive Committee, Ariel Alvarado of Guatemala represents
the CONCACAF ExCo, and Rafael Tinoco is the UNCAF president.
O Comitê de Emergência da FIFA decidiu hoje, 17 de junho de 2011, suspender a Federação
Belizenha de Futebol (FFB) com efeito imediato em função de grave interferência governamental.
Com a suspensão, fica adiada a partida de volta da fase preliminar das eliminatórias para a Copa
do Mundo da FIFA 2014 marcada para o dia 19 de junho em Belize entre a seleção da casa e
Montserrat.
The Road to the World Cup begins somewhere, and the first of 832 matches which will be used to
narrow FIFA's 207 member-nations down to the 31 which will join host, Brazil, in the 2014 World Cup
finals was played last night. In the first leg of a CONCACAF first round match, Belize (ranked 172
in the world) took a 5-2 aggregate lead over Montserrat, a small island nation that was all but
destroyed when the Soufriere Hills volcano became active in 1995
The rest of CONCACAF first round qualifying, involving the ten lowest-ranked nations, will be
played by the end of July, and early AFC qualifying is also slated to begin this week as well.
A caminhada para obter uma das vagas para a Copa do Mundo de 2014 no Brasil começou nesta
quarta-feira. Em Couva (Trinidad e Tobago), a seleção de Montserrat recebeu Belize e acabou
perdendo por 5 a 2 na abertura das Eliminatórias da Concacaf, ainda em uma fase preliminar.
A partida foi realizada em campo neutro porque Montserrat não possui um estádio dentro dos
parâmetros exigidos pela Fifa em condições de receber o confronto.
Later today the 2014 World Cup qualifying cycle will start with the preliminary round tie between
Montserrat and Belize. St Lucia and Aruba were supposed to get things started a couple of weeks
ago, but those matches were pushed back for who knows what reason. Montserrat-Belize could be
postponed at the last minute, and there have been rumblings from Belize about a standoff between
the national government and the federation that would produce just that, but Montserrat's team is
in Trinidad & Tobago and they expect the match to go ahead today.
Mais um jogo das eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo de 2014, foi realizado no dia 15/11/2011, na
cidade de Kinsgtown-SKN, onde jogaram as seleções de St, Vincent (146º no ranking da FIFA) e a
seleção de Belize (143º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
2014Belmopan 11/11/2011 BLZ1:1 (1:1)VIN Second round
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Kevin Thomas-JAM
Mais um jogo das eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo de 2014, foi realizado no dia 07/10/2011, na
cidade de Belmopan-BLZ, onde jogaram as seleções de Belize (134º no ranking da FIFA) e a
seleção de Grenada (120º no ranking da FIFA).
O longo caminho rumo à Copa do Mundo da FIFA Brasil 2014 começou com uma goleada de Belize sobre
Montserrat por 5 a 2. A primeira das 832 partidas das eliminatórias, a serem jogadas nas seis
confederações por todo o planeta, acabou sendo um festival de gols para o pequeno público de
cerca de 150 pessoas presente no Estádio Ato Boldon, na cidade de Couva, em Trinidad e Tobago.
The USA has learned its second opponent in the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying:
Guatemala.
The MNT was already paired with Jamaica in Group A of the Semifinal Round, and that group now
includes Guatemala. The Central American nation qualified for its spot after Grenada tied St.
Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz doctors have given former Philadelphia Union striker Carlos Ruiz
good news about his cracked ankle, informing the Guatemalan that he does not need surgery.
Reports out of Mexico originally stated that the 31-year-old would most likely be looking at
surgery and a time table that involved a four week return to soccer at the earliest.
With Belize's 3-1 second leg victory over Montserrat on Sunday, helping the former to an 8-3
aggregate win over the latter, the first round of FIFA World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region
has been completed.
Daniel Jimenez, Deon McCauley and Luis Mendez scored the goals which sealed Belize's passage
into the second qualifying round in which they will join other first round winners Dominican
Republic, St Lucia, Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands and nineteen other nations into the draw for
the next round which takes place on July 30th in Rio de Janeiro.
Time to get back into blogging after some time off to make my relocation... This weekend the World
Cup qualifiers restart in the CONCACAF region with two derbies in different parts of the Caribbean.
Two more series will start and finish within a three-day period next week. It remains to be seen
whether the second leg of the Montserrat-Belize series will be played, but if it's not by 10 July
then Montserrat will achieve an unlikely classification to the group stages by default.
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I have seen reports on various forums that the St. Lucia - Aruba World Cup qualifier, originally
scheduled for yesterday, has in fact been moved to a future date. If you look at the CONCACAF World
Cup qualification page on Wikipedia, you will see that the dates of the tie have been moved to
July, but the official page of the Aruban federation still lists June dates for the two matches.
Hartford will host a Gold Cupclash between the United States and Costa Rica on July 16 after CONCACAF released the full schedule forthis year'stournament.
The U.S.-Costa Rica matchkicks off at 8pm and is part of a Gold Cup doubleheader at Rentschler Field thatalso pits Cuba against Belize at 5pm.
Back in January we were overjoyed to find out that, finally, after 2 years of proving that Portland was a great pace to host a US national team game, we would be getting one. Despite the popularity of the game here. Despite the selling out of the stadium time after time after time, US Soccer continued to overlook Portland, and indeed the Pacific Northwest overall, in favor of places like Tennessee.
Three of the four Central American entrants into the 2013 Gold Cup have now been decided as the group phase of the 2013 Copa Centroamericana is in the books. The tournament serves as qualifying for the Gold Cup, with the four semifinalists earning a spot in the confederation championship this summer.
Luis Fernando Suarez, head coach of the Honduran National Team, has told Honduran press that Andy Najar will not be on the team that is competing in the Copa Centroamericana due to the fact that Suarez does not want to interfere with Najar's time with Anderlecht. The top five teams from the Copa Centroamericana, which runs from 18 January to 27 January 2013 and was formerly known as the UNCAF Nations Cup, advance to this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup; that being said, it is five teams out of seven participants, with Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama the nations who contest this Cup.
Before the start of the preliminary round of the World Cup qualifiers I wrote letters to the media
officers of all ten of the national associations involved, inquiring about the national teams and
their preparations for the two-leg series. I thought that it would give the smaller federations a
chance to publicize their activities and make them known to a wider audience.
