Preview of CONCACAF Second Round: Group 2

Belize vs. Mexico

Belize are in unchartered territory in the World Cup -- never before have they advanced to the second round of qualifying, and until the previous round they had never won a game.  Unfortunately the Belizean authorities sabotaged the national team's chances of success by failing to ensure that there was a ground that could meet FIFA requirements, so the 'home' qualifier will be in Houston. To say that this is controversial is a massive understatement, but the Belizean federation stands to make a lot of money from the move.  Shane Orio will be the captain, and Deon McCauley, who scored two goals for Belize in the previous round, must figure in the match for the Central Americans to have a chance.  For Mexico, this is Jesús Ramírez's swan song before Sven-Goran Eriksson takes over.  Despite the 1-4 result against Argentina, the arrest of Oswaldo Sánchez (after the 4-0 reversal against Peru), and the ongoing controversy with Eriksson's hiring, Mexico have little to fear against Belize.  To their credit, they've given a serious analysis of any possible Belizean threats and the players are focused on the task.  Mexico should enjoy a comfortable victory that gives Eriksson more time to learn some Spanish.

Jamaica vs. Bahamas

This series is a rematch between two sides that met during the Olympic qualifying tournament, where the Bahamas achieved a major upset against the Reggae Boyz. Jamaica also lost a friendly against Grenada last week, which has made Jamaican supporters even more nervous.  René Simoes, the architect of the 1998 qualification run, is back in charge, but the team that he is leading is in some ways different from that of ten years ago.  Simoes has said that the qualifier will be different from the friendly match, and he could also have said that the World Cup qualifier will be different from the Olympic qualifier.  Both teams are no longer limited by age and Jamaica has much more players with international experience than Bahamas (most of whose players are playing US college soccer).  Bahamas gave away its home qualifier match and will play it in western Jamaica, so their chances of advancing are even more against them.  I expect Jamaica to win.

St. Vincent and Grenadines vs. Canada

St. Vincent and Grenadines won a free pass to the second round, and both they and Canada will begin their World Cup campaigns this weekend.  St. Vincent is one of the stronger Caribbean sides not named Jamaica or Trinidad & Tobago, and most American soccer fans will recognize Ezra Hendrickson (and maybe Rodney Jack).  Those two players aren't in the lineup anymore, and the side is now composed of mainly local talent and a few overseas players who play in far-flung leagues (from Ireland and Trinidad & Tobago to Malaysia and China).  Canada's side is almost entirely based on players from foreign clubs all over the world, six of whom play in MLS. This is a really good moment for Canadian soccer; the players in the national team are playing well in some high-level leagues, and as a team they have improved rapidly over the last four years.  Unfortunately, they are drawn in the toughest of the three semifinal groups, but for now they have enough talent to defeat St. Vincent.

Puerto Rico vs. Honduras

Honduras took care of business last week, and Puerto Rico bore a heavy price for attempting to mark David Suazo.  Three boricua defenders -- Alexis Rivera, Marco Vélez, and Raphael Ortíz -- are out of the second leg because of red cards, accumulated yellow cards, or injury.  Honduras is taking nothing to chance and will take their full compliment of foreign-based players, with the possible exception of Julio César de León. Honduras should achieve a draw at worst, which will be more than enough for them.