Press roundup of Matchday 6
** Updated and bumped **
"Now Mexico have something to talk about all week." So said David Suazo after Honduras' 1-0 victory over Mexico. The Honduran press is exultant over the return of the catrachos to the Hexagonal for the first time since 2001. Reinaldo Rueda is exultant as well, and considers the win a "great gift to the Honduran people." I felt that Suazo played an excellent game and drove the Mexican defenders mad with his speed and his attacking runs through the center and right flank. As I said in the match commentary, it was the best match I had seen him play in the Honduran shirt. However, the match carries a warning: Honduras only won the match because Ricardo Osorio put the ball in his own net, and Honduras must do better at converting their opportunities in front of goal. Former Honduras striker Eduardo Bennett recognizes that, and it's something the rest of the squad must recognize as well. If Honduras ever figure out how to convert scoring opportunities into goals, they can become the most feared side in CONCACAF.
From reading the press reports coming out of Mexico, one might have thought that El Tri got themselves knocked out of the World Cup. Eriksson in trouble? Shakeup in the FMF? Mexico's qualification to the Hexagonal is a good thing, but it doesn't cover up the fact that Mexico took points from one away qualifier during the semifinal round. And Mexico were four Jamaican goals away from elimination, which is enough to put a chill through supporters and club directors, no matter how unlikely that outcome would be. ESTO gives thanks to Canada on their front page, with a fair amount of sarcasm. Eriksson says that he's staying, but then again, he doesn't get to make that final decision. Mexican sports daily Medio Tiempo comments that Eriksson isn't the problem, nor is it the players; rather, "the fault comes from the top, from the poor planning and the lack of a Sports Council that makes footballing decisions..." ESTO disagrees in their main article, claiming that Eriksson has not shown any improvement with "the best generation of players in our history." One voice has suggested a revamp of the advisory board to the national team management, and there could be others in the days ahead. It wasn't a good night for Mexican football overall, as Chivas were routed by Internacional in the semifinal second leg of the Copa Sudamericana tonight.
Bob Bradley sent out a young lineup in Colorado, and they secured a 2-0 win over a subdued Guatemala side who acted like the game was up even before kickoff. Kenny Cooper earned himself a further look by the national team coaches by scoring tonight. And welcome Mr. Adu to the USA scoring charts! That was a beautiful free kick. This commentary on ESPN Soccernet praises some of the performance last night yet acknowledges that the truth about these players will come out in the crucible of the Hexagonal.
Costa Rica completed a 100% record in the semifinal round, but what does it all mean? La Nación saw tonight's match as a microcosm of the state of the national team: the ability to play a fluid attacking style for prolonged periods, but not consistent enough to play at that level for 90 minutes. In Group 3, 45 minutes of good play was more than enough, but it won't suffice in the Hexagonal. On the other side of the ball, El Salvador learned a difficult lesson against the Costa Ricans -- convert your chances, and don't lose concentration on set-pieces. They will need to incorporate those lessons quickly; as things stand right now the Salvadorans will be underdogs against every other team in the Hexagonal except for Trinidad & Tobago -- which I see as a toss-up.
It was a much more difficult game than expected, and the Soca Warrior players and supporters had to suffer for a long period, but Trinidad & Tobago are through to the Hexagonal. They qualify for the final round 19 years to the day that T&T fell at home to the USA in that famous qualifier for Italia '90. It's been a long, strange trip for the Warriors, despite the change in generations, despite the dispute over 2006 World Cup bonuses (a dispute that still has not been resolved), despite the quarrels between Maturana, the federation, Jack Warner (I repeat myself), and the government, T&T are in the final six. Will this round be the limit of their abilities?
Jamaica and Canada say goodbye to the World Cup until 2012. The 3-0 victory isn't bittersweet, just bitter to the Reggae Boyz, who wonder what might have been had Simoes not had such a falling out with certain foreign-based players. As I said when he was re-hired, the second time around is rarely as good as the first. For Canada, it's a familiar and frustrating end with a team that was more talented than the squad in the 2006 qualifying cycle. Changes are in store for the national program -- I can't imagine Dale Mitchell hanging on for much longer -- but in the long term I think that Canada's success in CONCACAF will be tied to the success of the Canadian sides in Major League Soccer.
