October 2011 Review: North America-Group 3

Standings



Game Results

Game 3-Panama def. Dominica 5-0 in Roseau, Dominica on October 7, 2011

• Panama Goals-Amir White (26', 89'), Luis Tejada (34'), Blas Perez (57'), Ricardo Buitrago (62')

Dominica stood no chance against a bigger, faster and more organized Panama team who spent the whole game weaving holes through the Dominican defence to the goal. The Dominican defence looked lost for much of the game and never stood a chance at putting goals on the scoreboard of their own. Dominican goalkeeping was weak as well, with at least 2 of the Panama goals coming off of shots one would expect a goalkeeper at this level to stop.

Game 4-Panama def. Nicaragua 5-1 in Panama City, Panama on October 11, 2011

• Panama Goals-Luis Tejada (27', 64'), Blas Perez (48', 51', 87')
• Nicaragua Goals-Daniel Reyes (88')

In a must-win game for Nicaragua, they managed to stick around for a half before falling down by 3 goals at the start of the second, clinching the game and subsequently the group for Panama. Reyes' 88th minute goal was the first Nicaraguan goal against Panama in almost 2 qualifying matches, not counting the own goal from Panama in their first match.

Thoughts

Dominica-The second seed in this group, they looked completely overwhelmed against Panama. Paired with a 2-0 loss to Nicaragua in September where they surrendered a goal in the 1st minute, this team is cemented at the bottom of the group. And with 2 games left, they are already eliminated from qualifying, unable to catch group leader Panama.

Nicaragua-Gave it their best shot against Panama when they needed to but once the second half started things fell apart for the Nicaraguans. I've still been impressed by their fight in this campaign when many thought they had no chance from the beginning. Nicaragua will meet Dominica in November in their final qualifying match with a shot to finish the campaign at the .500 mark.

Panama-2 games, 2 wins and a +9 goal differential in October, along with the claim to be the first Round 2 team to advance in CONCACAF. Panama struggled in September but looked dominant this month in clinching the group. Panama will have one more game against Dominica this round before advancing to Round 3. I expect to see some unfamiliar names in the starting lineup as Panama looks to build depth going forward.

Going Forward

Dominica's turn to play twice in November as they'll meet Nicaragua on the 11th and Panama on the 15th. Dominica has both games on the road, and both are meaningless at this point.

Post-October Standing Predictions Revisited:

Prediction:

a-Panama-9 pts
x-Nicaragua-3 pts
x-Dominica-0 pts

Actual:

a-Panama-9 pts
x-Nicaragua-3 pts
x-Dominica-0 pts

No huge surprises, but Panama cleaned up in both October games, picking up the group.