Canada-102nd (10th North America)
Puerto Rico-144th (20th North America)
Saint Kitts & Nevis-122nd (17th North America)
Saint Lucia-184th (30th North America)
Schedule
September 2, 2011
- Saint Lucia at Canada
- Puerto Rico at Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Kitts and Nevis at Saint Lucia
- Canada at Puerto Rico
- Canada at Saint Lucia
- Saint Kitts and Nevis at Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rico at Canada
- Saint Lucia at Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Canada at Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Puerto Rico at Saint Lucia
- Saint Kitts and Nevis at Canada
- Saint Lucia at Puerto Rico
Canada
- 2011 to date: 1-2-2
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 2-4-2
- vs. Group opponents: 0-0-0
- 2011 to date: 0-0-0
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 1-1-1
- vs. Group opponents: 0-3-0
- 2011 to date: 1-0-1
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 0-1-1
- vs. Group opponents: 7-2-1
- 2011 to date: 1-1-0
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 1-3-0
- vs. Group opponents: 2-4-1
Canada
Possibly the most underachieving team in CONCACAF relative to their talent and potential. Their roster is full of players from both the MLS and European leagues and yet they've recently slipped out of the top 100 in FIFA's ranking, the lowest point in the country's soccer history. Given that, Canada will be very pleased with this group. There is no major threat facing them for first place and they SHOULD be afforded the luxury of taking these games as an opportunity to fine-tune their performance heading in to the next round. I emphasized should because Canada has a bad habit of playing down to the level of their opponent, and if they do that against either Puerto Rico or Saint Kitts, then they will have a tough road to get out of this group. Best player for Canada as has been for much of the past decade will be Dwayne De Rosario, forward for D.C. United and one of the best players in the MLS.
Puerto Rico
Tabbed by many observers as the team with the best shot of upsetting Canada, but in my opinion, they need to be very concerned with Saint Kitts as well. The difference in ranking is minimal but what has to concern Puerto Rico is an 0-3 lifetime record against Saint Kitts, the last loss coming last year in the Caribbean Championship. Puerto Rico has been in very poor form in their games heading back to the last World Cup qualifying campaign. A draw against Honduras highlighted the end of that run and since they've posted 3 wins against much weaker competition and losses to Grenada, Saint Kitts and non-FIFA member Guadeloupe. All that can really be said about that stretch of games is that if Puerto Rico is the biggest threat to Canada, Canada will run away with the group. Anything's possible on the field but Puerto Rico isn't going to frighten anyone in this group with their current performance.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The real challenge facing Canada and the two teams won't meet until the final two games in November. Before then Saint Kitts must focus on dispatching Puerto Rico. Saint Kitts can afford a loss to Canada but they'll have to head in to that series with the maximum number of wins possible. Saint Kitts is not that far ahead of Puerto Rico. Yes, they have a 3-0 record and defeated them last year but they also posted losses to the same Grenada and Guadeloupe teams that Puerto Rico did (the Grenada loss has since been avenged in a friendly). With no other notable victories since last qualifying run, Saint Kitts will have to be sure to make the most of their first four games where they don't play Canada so they can give themselves a shot at the group come November. Worst case scenario for both Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts? A split of their results which would almost surely mean they'd have to beat Canada twice, a near-impossible task.
Saint Lucia
I won't break out remembrance day music again although it might be more warranted in this case. Saint Lucia is at the very bottom of the food chain in CONCACAF having won just two games since 2004. The 30th ranked team in CONCACAF (out of 35) advanced to this stage by defeating Aruba (27th) on penalty kicks in Round 1. There other win in the past half-decade came in 2010 qualifying with a 2-0 victory against Turks and Caicos (33rd). Best advice I could give to Saint Lucia: enjoy these games. Sometimes you have to make the best of a situation and this is an opportunity for Saint Lucia to play some games against better teams and try improve their squad as a result. If they get the opportunity to be a spoiler for someone then that's just an added bonus.
September Games:
Game 1
Saint Lucia at Canada
September 2, 2011
Time: 8:00 pm EDT
Location: BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
Game 2
Puerto Rico at Saint Kitts and Nevis
September 2, 2011
Time: 8:00 pm EDT
Location: Warner Park, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Game 3
Saint Kitts and Nevis at Saint Lucia
September 6, 2011
Time: 6:00 pm EDT
Location: Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
Game 4
Canada at Puerto Rico
September 6, 2011
Time: 8:00 pm EDT
Location: Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
The two games with Puerto Rico are going to be the ones to watch as Saint Lucia is likely looking at a pair of losses. Can Puerto Rico keep pace with Canada and Saint Kitts is the question. Saint Kitts will be the easier victory and if they can get it on the road then they'll be ecstatic. And Canada in Bayamon will be much easier then Canada in Toronto. If they can grab 4 or more points then Puerto Rico will have a shot at the group. 3 or less and they're going to be facing an uphill climb to the end.
Post-September Standing Predictions:
Canada-6 pts
Saint Kitts and Nevis-4 pts
Puerto Rico-1 pts
Saint Lucia-0 pts
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