Antigua/Barbuda-106th (11th North America)
Curacao-166th (26th North America)
Haiti-116th (15th North America)
U.S. Virgin Islands-149th (23rd North America)
Schedule
September 2, 2011
- Curacao at Antigua/Barbuda
- U.S. Virgin Islands at Haiti
- Haiti at Curacao
- Antigua/Barbuda at U.S. Virgin Islands
- Haiti at U.S. Virgin Islands
- Antigua/Barbuda at Curacao
- Curacao at Haiti
- U.S. Virgin Islands at Antigua/Barbuda
- Haiti at Antigua/Barbuda
- Curacao at U.S. Virgin Islands
- Antigua/Barbuda at Haiti
- U.S. Virgin Islands at Curacao
Antigua/Barbuda
- 2011 to date: 0-0-1
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 2-2-0
- vs. Group opponents: 3-8-3
- 2011 to date: 0-2-0
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 2-1-1
- vs. Group opponents: 4-11-5
- 2011 to date: 0-1-0
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 1-3-4
- vs. Group opponents: 16-2-4
- 2011 to date: 2-0-1
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 0-1-0
- vs. Group opponents: 0-2-0
Antigua/Barbuda
Antigua/Barbuda is the 2nd seed in this group and is presently the highest-ranked squad of the four teams. Good news for Antigua/Barbuda, bad news for the quality of the group. Group 6 is probably the weakest group from head to toe in CONCACAF, with no top 10 teams on the continent in the group. Antigua's record in the past 12 months has not been world-beating, ending with a pair of losses in the Caribbean Championship to Jamaica and Guadeloupe. The only result they've put up in 2011 was a draw against an overrated Grenada squad in a friendly in May. Luckily for Antigua/Barbuda, they find themselves in a group with only one true competitor for the top spot in Haiti, who they will not meet until November. Games against Curacao and U.S. Virgin Islands need to be taken advantage of not only to ensure points are not lost but to improve all facets of their game prior to the decisive series with Haiti.
Curacao
Having formerly competed as Netherlands Antilles, this will be their first qualifying campaign as Curacao. Curacao was a surprise in 2010 qualifying, advancing to Round 2 and falling to 2014 groupmate Haiti 1-0 on aggregate. Unfortunately for Curacao, their only positive result since those games were a victory over weakling Aruba in 2010. That result against Haiti is about all Curacao has going for it as it enters qualifying for 2014. And unfortunately for them the teams have gone in opposite directions since as Haiti has only improved while Curacao has plummeted. They showed last time around the potential to compete at this stage of qualifying but if they perform as they have in all games since, they will be facing a long road in the next few months.
Haiti
Haiti is another team that has struggled of late along with their fellow group members. Difference between Haiti and other teams is the calibre of opponent in which they face. 6 games since the start of 2010, they've faced the likes of El Salvador and Argentina (losses) along with highly-rated Asian side Qatar (win). In my opinion, Haiti makes the right decision in regard to the opponents they seek out. You might not win your games but you will only get better by facing strong competition. Winning games has not been a problem historically for this team however, as evidenced by their 2 losses in 22 career games against this group. Another benefit for Haiti was the recent announcement that upgrades to stadiums within Haiti are completed and they will be allowed to play games at home, something that was up in the air for weeks leading up to these games. If Haiti can continue their air of dominance over their groupmates in the next few months then they could have one of the easiest roads of a top seed in this round.
U.S. Virgin Islands
They are definitely a minnow in this group. They've played 3 games in 2011, and those are the only 3 games they've played since last qualifying campaign. In Round 1, U.S. Virgin Islands won out over neighbour and rival British Virgin Islands to advance to this stage. But 2 victories over BVI and a draw with Anguilla is a far cry below the competition they're going to meet in this group. With no results to go off of since a 10-0 loss to Grenada in 2010 qualifying, it's safe to say that USVI will not be a force in Group 6.
September Games:
Game 1
Curacao at Antigua/Barbuda
September 2, 2011
Time: 5:30 pm EDT
Location: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St. John's, Antigua/Barbuda
Game 2
U.S. Virgin Islands at Haiti
September 2, 2011
Time: 8:00 pm EDT
Location: Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Game 3
Haiti at Curacao
September 6, 2011
Time: 8:00 pm EDT
Location: Stadion Ergilio Hato, Willemstad, Curacao
Game 4
Antigua/Barbuda at U.S. Virgin Islands
September 6, 2011
Time: TBA
Location: Paul E. Joseph Stadium, Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Barring a major upset, this group will be decided entirely in November when Antigua/Barbuda and Haiti meet. I'd be surprised if either team does not grab 6 points this month.
Post-September Standing Predictions:
Antigua/Barbuda-6 pts
Haiti-6 pts
Curacao-0 pts
U.S. Virgin Islands-0 pts
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