HexagonalBlog

Hexagonal 2009: Round 2

Credit: Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images

Mexico 2-0 Costa Rica

There's nothing like a win to change everyone's mood.  Suddenly the storm clouds have disappeared, everyone is walking in the bright sunshine, smiling broadly, and feeling really good about life.  There was so much conversation during the week about the Aztecazo, Mexico's supposed respect deficit toward the Central American teams, and Mexico's emotional state.  But an Aztecazo repeat was never on the cards, definitely not with a timid Costa Rican side as an opponent. In response to passive tico tactics, Mexico would dominate the center of the field and generate almost all of the goalscoring opportunities.  Memo Ochoa played well in goal, well enough to perhaps maintain the position when the Mexicans play in Honduras on Wednesday.  Guardado and Pardo played well in the midfield, and Vuoso and Bravo worked well together up front.  On the other side, Costa Rica's defense was run ragged by the twin forwards and Guardado, while Bryan Ruíz had no one to support his probing runs.  It's the end of a 13-match unbeaten streak for Costa Rica, and the end of a four-match winless streak for Mexico in official matches.  Costa Rica get a chance to recover with a home match against El Salvador; a rejuvenated Mexico will travel to San Pedro Sula to face Honduras.

An important series on USSF youth development

(I've bumped this post to the top, as Carlisle has finally completed this series.)

Jeff Carlisle of ESPNsoccernet has started an important five-part series on the USSF's efforts to reform its youth development programs through their Development Academy.  I'll come back to this post throughout the series to provide links to his articles.  They're worth a read.

Part 1: Motivation and overview of the USSF Development Academy
Part 2: Evaluation of coaches in the Development Academy
Part 3: Contrasting the Development Academy with foreign counterparts
Part 4: The costs of US youth development
Part 5: The challenges associated with US youth development programs

Conflicting information on Trinidadian scorer

I'm reading conflicting information on the scorer of Trinidad's equalizer against Honduras.  Honduran radio said Guerra, another report said Hyland, CONCACAF's report is saying Kenwyne Jones...and no confirmation from FIFA as of 8:45pm Pacific time.  I'll try to confirm the goalscorer later.

UPDATE (3/29, 0235):  Looks like it was Khleem Hyland, according to Trinidad Express.  FIFA (via Reuters) is saying the same thing.

Round 2 of Hexagonal 2009 as it happened

It's time for the second matchday of the 2009 Hexagonal.  I'm attending the NCAA West Regional final in Glendale (the game should be wrapping up by 4pm local time), so I won't be able to liveblog the early matches.  If you want to give your own thoughts of the matches as they happen, please leave a comment below or send a reply to my twitter account: @hexablog. 

Kickoff times in Arizona time (GMT -7).

Mexico 2-0 Costa Rica F
Trinidad & Tobago 1-1 Honduras F
El Salvador 2-2 USA F

Commentaries after the jump.

An interview with Bob Lenarduzzi

It's not often that I have two posts back-to-back on Canadian soccer, but here they are.

CBC Sports conducted an interview with Bob Lenarduzzi, former player of the NASL's Vancouver Whitecaps, former Canadian national team coach, and current president of the USL Whitecaps, who will make the jump to MLS in 2011.  Lenarduzzi touches on several points in the Q&A session, including the challenges of professional sport in Vancouver, the possible use of the Whitecaps name in MLS (which still hasn't been confirmed), and the importance of BC Place renovations in securing the MLS bid.  It's a good read.

Dale Mitchell gets the sack in Canada

To the surprise of no one, the Canadian Soccer Association has dismissed men's national team coach Dale Mitchell with immediate effect.  Mitchell was promoted from the national U-20 side and had been at the head of the senior team from 22 months.  Once again, Canada failed to reach the Hexagonal, which isn't entirely his fault -- they landed in the most difficult semifinal group for the second time in succession.  However, the breakdown in relations with the more important players on that team, such as Dwayne DeRosario and Jim Brennan, was his fault and contributed to his demise.

Canada have a long road ahead to become a Hexagonal-caliber side.  As Jason de Vos said last October, the problems with the national team run much deeper than who is sitting in the dugout of match days.

Preview of Hexagonal Round 2

All kickoff times are listed in Arizona time (GMT -7).

Trinidad & Tobago vs. Honduras (1600)
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain
Referee: Walter Quesada (Costa Rica)

Honduras have to deal with the loss of David Suazo but will see the return of Wilson Palacios, Carlos Costly, Carlos Pavón, and Julio de León.  Trinidad and Tobago, meanwhile, have to cope with the loss of Dwight Yorke due to suspension, and he is a much more difficult player to replace in the Trinidadian lineup.  Yorke's absence likely means that Latapy will shoulder even more of the midfield work, which is quite a responsibility for someone over 40!  There have been come clamors in the Trinidadian media for Trent Noel (player of the year in the T&T leagues last year) to have more of a midfield role, but the task of getting him acclimated to international play should have started 18 months ago.  In the end, I see a draw or away win being the most likely scenarios. 

Mexico vs. Costa Rica (1600)
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Referee: Terry Vaughn (USA)

All of the talk throughout the week has been about the Aztecazo and the Mexican team's mental state.  There's no doubt that Eriksson's job is on the line (he was never a good fit, anyway) and that Mexico would be in serious trouble if they fail to win tomorrow going into the match against Honduras next Wednesday.  But when Mexico stop hyperventilating, they'll realize that even after discounting their injury list, they still have a potent side that can defeat Costa Rica at Azteca.  It will be a nervous match for the Mexicans, but the play of Pardo and Guardado will be key to their victory, especially from dead-ball situations.  Costa Rica are without Centeno, and without him it will be a challenge to provide service to either Saborio or Hurtado.  I suppose another Aztecazo is possible - all things are possible to those that believe! - but this time, not very likely.

El Salvador vs. USA (1800)
Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador
Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)

The USA's biggest challenge heading into the match has been which goalkeeper to replace Tim Howard, who is suspended for this match after picking up a yellow card against Mexico.  Marcus Hahnemann has been called up, but I think Bob Bradley will go with Brad Guzan tomorrow night.  It may not matter much as Carlos de los Cobos has emphasized a defensive strategy in the run-up to this qualifier, employing a holding midfielder in front of a four-man backline.  The Salvadoran camp is saying that they won't neglect the attack, but I think the lone striker Corrales will be starved for service.   The USA approach could take a variety of forms - either pressing, like they did against Mexico, or sit back and counter.  Perhaps they'll use both as the match wears on.  I think the match will be decided on set-pieces, so the USA need to be careful not to give away needless free kicks near their own penalty area (something that they have not been able to resist).  A 0-1 result or a goalless draw appear to me as the most likely outcomes.

Yorke suspension reduced to two matches

FIFA's appeals board has reduced Dwight Yorke's suspension to two matches instead of the original four.  The Trinidadian striker/midfielder was shown a red card at the end of T&T's 2-2 draw with El Salvador for verbally abusing the match referee.  So in the end, Yorke will miss the upcoming qualifiers against Honduras and the USA but will return for the Hexagonal match against Costa Rica on 6 June.

The twenty-year decline

In a long interview with ESPN Deportes, former Mexico U-20 coach Eduardo Rergis argues that Mexico's current problems with the junior and senior national teams go back twenty years.  In his view, the present state of the national teams is a result of poorly and inconsistently implemented initiatives (such as the youth player quotas in the lower divisions) and a lack of evaluation of the faults in the youth development system.   It's easy to mask the faults when the national team qualifies on the strength of its home matches, but they become apparent when they have to win matches on the road. 

If you read Spanish, read the whole thing.

Hexagonal Round 2 preparations, continued

Tuesday night I wrote a post on the preparations of the Hexagonal participants for the second matchday this weekend.  Here's part two.