Hexagonal Time
After an uninspiring 0-0 showing with our B (possibly C?) team against Canada on 1/29 in Houston, TX things are about to get very real for the United States Men’s National Team. The fourth and final round of World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF, otherwise referred to as the “Hexagonal,” begins in earnest on 2/6 across North America and the Caribbean.
Our boys have a very difficult draw playing three of their first four games on the road, including a trip to the dreaded Estadio Azteca on 3/26. The draw also wasn’t kind to us in two other ways. First our home game against Mexico falls in the summer rather than a colder month taking away an advantage that we normally put to good use. Second we finish on the road, and if we need three points to qualify that could be an extremely daunting task. The two keys for us looking ahead at the draw are 1) don’t get buried in the table early and 2) make hay in June.
Our first match will be played in the Estadio Olimpico at 3 PM local time in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Give Los Catrachos credit for scheduling the game during the heat of the day in hopes that our players will tire from their bodies not being used to it. To add to the atmosphere the Honduran government has also declared the afternoon a national holiday ensuring the 40,000 in attendance will be tuned up and ready to go. I’d like to be greedy and say we can win this one but I will settle for one point on the road as always.
Since I don’t know what formation Manager Jürgen Klinsmann will deploy I’m going to assume he’ll use his preferred 4-3-3 with Tim Howard as goalkeeper. The back line will likely feature central defenders Geoff Cameron and captain Carlos Bocanegra. Since normal starting right back Steve Cherundolo has been left off the roster with knee pain look for Timothy Chandler to start in his place and permanently cap-tie himself (finally!) to the USA. Left back should be Fabian Johnson unless his knee injury acts up. In that case look for Cameron to move left and Omar Gonzalez to play with Boca in the middle.
The midfield will almost definitely be Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Danny Williams. Joining that trio up front will be Clint Dempsey, and if Jürgen and he can at long last bury the hatchet, Jozy Altidore (15 goals in the Eredivisie, 2nd overall). The other forward spot would be Landon Donovan, that is if he wasn’t sitting at home trying on skirts. I mean seriously Landon, you’re 30 years old, in your prime and yet you might retire from international fútbol? Get over yourself already man! In Donovan’s place I’m guessing will be Graham Zusi or another Klinsmann favorite Herculez Gomez.
Our next match is on 3/22 against Los Ticos, and in our own brand of gamesmanship we scheduled a night game at Dick’s Sporting Good Park in balmy Commerce City, CO. For the opening segment of qualifying to be considered a success three points are a must here. Then we head to Mexico City to be shredded by El Tri where hopefully we can keep the final score line from getting out of hand. Something like 0-2 or 1-3 would be considered a success in my eyes.
Four points in our first three matches would have us sitting pretty for the key June portion of qualifying. We owe the Reggae Boyz from our last trip to Kingston where we lost 1-2 in a lackluster performance during the third round of qualifying. Next up are very winnable home games against Los Canaleros and the return match versus Honduras (one of these two is rumored to be in Portland, OR…fingers crossed). Coming away from these three matches with the full nine points is not out of the question in my mind and it would set us up nicely for our very difficult closing stretch.
Going to Costa Rica will most likely be a loss and Mexico at home (expected to be in Columbus, OH) is no gimmie. The return match with Jamaica will probably need to produce three points and the hope is we’ll head to Panama already having clinched a spot in the top three. Even if the worst were to happen and we end up finishing fourth we’d still have a chance to qualify in the inter-confederation playoffs against the winner in OFC (New Zealand or New Caledonia). In this scenario we would play a two-legged home-and-away series on 11/15 and 11/19 with the winner advancing to the World Cup on aggregate score.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that but looking at the SPI rankings below you can see this won’t be an easy road for anyone (except Mexico) as the top six sides in CONCACAF managed to make it to the final round of qualifying. Expectations are high around the country and our home field advantages should be stout (for a change) but the keys as always will be picking up points on the road and taking care of business at home.
SPI Rank
7. Mexico
32. Costa Rica
38. United States
39. Honduras
44. Panama
61. Jamaica
Full Schedule
2/6 at Honduras
1 PM on beIN
3/22 Costa Rica
7 PM on ESPN
3/26 at Mexico
7:30 PM on ESPN
6/7 at Jamaica
6/11 Panama
6/18 Honduras
9/6 at Costa Rica
9/10 Mexico
10/11 Jamaica
10/15 at Panama
(all times Pacific)
Our boys have a very difficult draw playing three of their first four games on the road, including a trip to the dreaded Estadio Azteca on 3/26. The draw also wasn’t kind to us in two other ways. First our home game against Mexico falls in the summer rather than a colder month taking away an advantage that we normally put to good use. Second we finish on the road, and if we need three points to qualify that could be an extremely daunting task. The two keys for us looking ahead at the draw are 1) don’t get buried in the table early and 2) make hay in June.
Our first match will be played in the Estadio Olimpico at 3 PM local time in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Give Los Catrachos credit for scheduling the game during the heat of the day in hopes that our players will tire from their bodies not being used to it. To add to the atmosphere the Honduran government has also declared the afternoon a national holiday ensuring the 40,000 in attendance will be tuned up and ready to go. I’d like to be greedy and say we can win this one but I will settle for one point on the road as always.
Since I don’t know what formation Manager Jürgen Klinsmann will deploy I’m going to assume he’ll use his preferred 4-3-3 with Tim Howard as goalkeeper. The back line will likely feature central defenders Geoff Cameron and captain Carlos Bocanegra. Since normal starting right back Steve Cherundolo has been left off the roster with knee pain look for Timothy Chandler to start in his place and permanently cap-tie himself (finally!) to the USA. Left back should be Fabian Johnson unless his knee injury acts up. In that case look for Cameron to move left and Omar Gonzalez to play with Boca in the middle.
The midfield will almost definitely be Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Danny Williams. Joining that trio up front will be Clint Dempsey, and if Jürgen and he can at long last bury the hatchet, Jozy Altidore (15 goals in the Eredivisie, 2nd overall). The other forward spot would be Landon Donovan, that is if he wasn’t sitting at home trying on skirts. I mean seriously Landon, you’re 30 years old, in your prime and yet you might retire from international fútbol? Get over yourself already man! In Donovan’s place I’m guessing will be Graham Zusi or another Klinsmann favorite Herculez Gomez.
Our next match is on 3/22 against Los Ticos, and in our own brand of gamesmanship we scheduled a night game at Dick’s Sporting Good Park in balmy Commerce City, CO. For the opening segment of qualifying to be considered a success three points are a must here. Then we head to Mexico City to be shredded by El Tri where hopefully we can keep the final score line from getting out of hand. Something like 0-2 or 1-3 would be considered a success in my eyes.
Four points in our first three matches would have us sitting pretty for the key June portion of qualifying. We owe the Reggae Boyz from our last trip to Kingston where we lost 1-2 in a lackluster performance during the third round of qualifying. Next up are very winnable home games against Los Canaleros and the return match versus Honduras (one of these two is rumored to be in Portland, OR…fingers crossed). Coming away from these three matches with the full nine points is not out of the question in my mind and it would set us up nicely for our very difficult closing stretch.
Going to Costa Rica will most likely be a loss and Mexico at home (expected to be in Columbus, OH) is no gimmie. The return match with Jamaica will probably need to produce three points and the hope is we’ll head to Panama already having clinched a spot in the top three. Even if the worst were to happen and we end up finishing fourth we’d still have a chance to qualify in the inter-confederation playoffs against the winner in OFC (New Zealand or New Caledonia). In this scenario we would play a two-legged home-and-away series on 11/15 and 11/19 with the winner advancing to the World Cup on aggregate score.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that but looking at the SPI rankings below you can see this won’t be an easy road for anyone (except Mexico) as the top six sides in CONCACAF managed to make it to the final round of qualifying. Expectations are high around the country and our home field advantages should be stout (for a change) but the keys as always will be picking up points on the road and taking care of business at home.
SPI Rank
7. Mexico
32. Costa Rica
38. United States
39. Honduras
44. Panama
61. Jamaica
Full Schedule
2/6 at Honduras
1 PM on beIN
3/22 Costa Rica
7 PM on ESPN
3/26 at Mexico
7:30 PM on ESPN
6/7 at Jamaica
6/11 Panama
6/18 Honduras
9/6 at Costa Rica
9/10 Mexico
10/11 Jamaica
10/15 at Panama
(all times Pacific)
posted by D$ at 9:00 AM
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