North America: Round 2-Group 3 Primer

[ed.] Double post of groups today. I'll be on vacation next week so I want to get all the primers for the groups playing in September done this week. Speaking of vacation, I'll be away from a computer from August 28th through September 2nd. Yes, September 2nd is a gameday. I'll have access to a computer in the evening that day so I'll probably just do a scoreboard when I get home and update the CONCACAF scores as they happen. I'll then be away from a computer on the 3rd and 4th before being back full-time on the 5th. What does this mean? Comeprehensive recaps are going to wait until after the games on the 6th, and I'll just go group-by-group like I've done in the previews. Haven't decided what to do on the 6th but if my readership has gotten high enough by then I might just live blog all or parts of the day.

Bahamas Exit

For those that missed my earlier post on it, Bahamas withdrew from qualifying last Friday. Concerns mainly resulted from the renovations around the National Stadium in Nassau not having been completed. Bahamas also cited an inability for fans to see the team as a result of having to play all of their games on the road. I briefly expressed my opinion on the matter in that post and debated about whether or not I should bother in this one but decided it needed proper attention.

Shame on the Bahamas football federation. First off, you have a suitable field at home in the Bahamas. You played your Round 1 home leg at the Roscow A.L. Davies Soccer Field in Nassau. 1600 people showed up and it's a FIFA-approved venue otherwise you wouldn't have been allowed to play there. Is it the 15,000 seat stadium you were hoping for? No. Is it better then playing on the road all the time? Absolutely. So don't throw out the argument that cost is an issue. You are competing for an opportunity for your country to be involved in the greatest sporting spectacle in the world. Deal with it, open up the pocketbook if necessary, and play the matches you're supposed to.

The real loser in this situation? Not the Bahamas team or its fans but the fans/players for Turks and Caicos. Turks and Caicos lost their Round 1 pairing to Bahamas, eliminating them from contention, and now the team that beat them has dropped out because they aren't going to be able to profit off of it. I'd be furious if I were Turks and Caicos. Not that they would have stood a chance in Round 2 but better to see the team that eliminated them compete and put forth an effort rather then back out at the last second.

There is no Group 3 replacement for Bahamas and the group is now a 3-team group consisting of Dominica, Nicaragua, and Panama.

World Ranking

Dominica-133rd (19th North America)
Nicaragua-177th (29th North America)
Panama-65th (6th North America)

Schedule

September 2, 2011

• Nicaragua at Dominica

September 6, 2011

• Panama at Nicaragua

October 7, 2011

• Dominica at Nicaragua

October 11, 2011

• Nicaragua at Panama

November 11, 2011

• Panama at Dominica

November 15, 2011

• Dominica at Panama

Past International Records

Dominica

• 2011 to date: 0-0-0
  
• 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 0-1-1
  
• vs. Group opponents: 0-0-0

Nicaragua

• 2011 to date: 0-4-2
  
• 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 0-2-0
  
• vs. Group opponents: 4-13-0

Panama

• 2011 to date: 8-2-4
  
• 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 1-1-0
  
• vs. Group opponents: 13-4-0

Team Glimpses

Dominica

Dominica have been inactive since November 2010 and the Caribbean Championship, where they managed to grab just a single point in 3 matches. Having never played either of their group opponents it's tough to gauge how they'll stack up but they appear to be at a serious disadvantage in a group with Panama, the top seed in Round 2. Dominica will start their campaign with a pair of games against lowly Nicaragua before they have to meet Panama. They absolutely need to get a win in both games against Nicaragua in order to keep pace with Panama and set up an opportunity in November to knock off the Latin American powerhouse.

Nicaragua

Credit where credit is due; despite having played 6 games in 2011 without a victory, they've actually done better then I thought they had in those games. None of their losses have been by more then goals, they posted a draw against Cuba in May. All in all, a respectable performance by one of the worst nations in CONCACAF. That said, full disclosure, my original temptation was to simply post the following here:



It's unfortunate for Nicaragua that A) they drew Panama and B) because of how the schedule works with the Bahamas exit, they are the only team playing two doubleheaders as opposed to just one. No doubt in my mind, they will the first CONCACAF team eliminated from contention, probably on October 7th.

Panama

If you're going solely off of 2011 results, Panama might be the best team in CONCACAF right now. And yes, I'm including the U.S. and Mexico when I say that. 3 victories against El Salvador, 2 victories over South American side Bolivia and a split with the U.S. at the Gold Cup highlight their 2011 campaign so far. Drawn in to a group with a pair of pushovers (a trio if Bahamas was still here) they'll be looking ahead to Round 3 (and hopefully Round 4) from the get-go. Normally I'd say that's a bad thing; in this case not at all. Panama will cruise through this group.

September Games:

Game 1
Nicaragua at Dominica
September 2, 2011
Time: 6:00 pm EDT
Location: Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica

Game 2
Panama at Nicaragua
September 6, 2011
Time: TBA
Location: Estadio Nacional de Futbol, Managua, Nicaragua

Little intrigue in Game 2, Panama should won easily. For competition's sake, I'm hoping Dominica can top Nicaragua, if only to make the November matches between Dominica-Panama worth something.

Post-September Standing Predictions:

Panama-3 pts
Dominica-3 pts
Nicaragua-0 pts