It’s been a long while since we had a North American update – this is my fault as I had it in my head that there were only two groups in this stage. Anyway, there are actually three, and this is how the eighteen teams (6 Round 1 winners, 12 seeds) are drawn:
Today we follow Group A, where Mexico (North America’s top seeds) will start strongly expected to walk this group. Of the remaining sides, both Honduras and El Salvador were part of Central America’s 2017 Draft World Cup side, and will probably be favourites for 2nd space here. Panama have famously qualified for the actual World Cup, and a couple of that side play domestically and so are in their squad here. Nicaragua and Grenada won their Round 1 groups, but this may well be a step too far.
The two Round 1 victors faced each other in the opening match, presenting an ideal chance to get off the mark. Grenada took the lead through an excellent Garth Thomas volley, but Nicaragua fought back to level just before the break. In the final 10 minutes Nicaragua had a penalty, taken by Juan Uribe. His low shot was saved, but he was there to knock in the rebound and secure a 2-1 win. Another key clash occurred when Honduras travelled to El Salvador, and the match was settled by an Escober own goal to give El Salvador a narrow 1-0 win. Elsewhere, Mexico thoroughly outclassed Peru, two goals each for Dorlan Pabon and Andre-Pierre Gignac giving them a 4-0 victory.
The two Round 1 victors faced each other in the opening match, presenting an ideal chance to get off the mark. Grenada took the lead through an excellent Garth Thomas volley, but Nicaragua fought back to level just before the break. In the final 10 minutes Nicaragua had a penalty, taken by Juan Uribe. His low shot was saved, but he was there to knock in the rebound and secure a 2-1 win. Another key clash occurred when Honduras travelled to El Salvador, and the match was settled by an Escober own goal to give El Salvador a narrow 1-0 win. Elsewhere, Mexico thoroughly outclassed Peru, two goals each for Dorlan Pabon and Andre-Pierre Gignac giving them a 4-0 victory.
Mexico were given a much tougher examination by El Salvador, but they managed to earn a 1-0 win through Carlos Izquierdoz’s header from a corner. Nicaragua put up a game fight in Honduras, but went down 2-0 thanks to a penalty and an own goal. Grenada had a shocker against Panama. At 8-0 down, with 20 minutes left, Grenada went down to 10 men and anyone would expect Panama to reach double figures. However, Grenada inexplicably improved from there to prevent any more goals.
Panama seem to be involved in high-scoring games – for and against – as they followed that big win with a 4-1 defeat to El Salvador. Former Spurs hardman Wilson Palacios got the opener as Honduras eased past Grenada with a 2-0 win. Mexico travelled to Nicaragua and struggled to break the deadlock, finally doing so via Gignac’s powerful header. That appeared to be that, but in the 86th minute Samuel Wilson’s header stole a point for Nicaragua.
As side that is led by Wilson Palacios is unlikely to be a tame one, but no-one expected how combative Honduras would be against Mexico. Honduras lost Quejada to a straight red card in the 20th minute, before losing two more players to second yellows just after the break. Mexico then joined in with a red card of their own. By injury time, it looked like there would be no goals, but Mexico broke the hearts of Honduras’ eight men when Enner Valencia hit home a low volley. The other matches were also quite dramatic, as El Salvador scored twice in the final 15 minutes to come back for a 2-1 win over poor Grenada, whilst Panama needed an 89th-minute equaliser against Nicaragua for a 1-1 draw.
Grenada had had a couple of unlucky results, but they could have no such thoughts after Mexico ran through them to win 7-1, Gignac picked up a hat-trick. El Salvador earned their fourth win in five with a fairly straightforward 3-1 win over Nicaragua, and Honduras’ 1-1 draw with Panama opened a decent gap between the top two and the rest.
Panama seem to be involved in high-scoring games – for and against – as they followed that big win with a 4-1 defeat to El Salvador. Former Spurs hardman Wilson Palacios got the opener as Honduras eased past Grenada with a 2-0 win. Mexico travelled to Nicaragua and struggled to break the deadlock, finally doing so via Gignac’s powerful header. That appeared to be that, but in the 86th minute Samuel Wilson’s header stole a point for Nicaragua.
As side that is led by Wilson Palacios is unlikely to be a tame one, but no-one expected how combative Honduras would be against Mexico. Honduras lost Quejada to a straight red card in the 20th minute, before losing two more players to second yellows just after the break. Mexico then joined in with a red card of their own. By injury time, it looked like there would be no goals, but Mexico broke the hearts of Honduras’ eight men when Enner Valencia hit home a low volley. The other matches were also quite dramatic, as El Salvador scored twice in the final 15 minutes to come back for a 2-1 win over poor Grenada, whilst Panama needed an 89th-minute equaliser against Nicaragua for a 1-1 draw.
Grenada had had a couple of unlucky results, but they could have no such thoughts after Mexico ran through them to win 7-1, Gignac picked up a hat-trick. El Salvador earned their fourth win in five with a fairly straightforward 3-1 win over Nicaragua, and Honduras’ 1-1 draw with Panama opened a decent gap between the top two and the rest.
At this point, I normally give the halfway table, but I forgot to screenshot it before continuing. The points for each team are as follows:
The exact thing Honduras needed was a home game against El Salvador as they attempted to overturn the difference, and two early goals from Javier Estupinan earned them a 3-1 win. Grenada also had an important match, as Nicaragua at home represented their best chance of getting points. Both sides contrived to miss early penalties, before Grenada took the lead through Clive Murray. Both sides traded goals after the break and Grenada held on for a well-received 3 points. Elsewhere, Mexico once again had fun against Panama, as Gignac knocked in five goals in an 8-2 thumping.
Mexico kept this up by easing past El Salvador 3-0, virtually confirming qualification. This presented Honduras a great chance to leap into second place, but they fell to a 2-0 away defeat to Nicaragua, potentially a crucial loss. Meanwhile, Panama continued their entertaining campaign with a 3-0 win over Grenada.
- Mexico 13 pts
- El Salvador 12 pts
- Honduras 7 pts
- Panama 5 pts
- Nicaragua 5 pts
- Grenada 0 pts
The exact thing Honduras needed was a home game against El Salvador as they attempted to overturn the difference, and two early goals from Javier Estupinan earned them a 3-1 win. Grenada also had an important match, as Nicaragua at home represented their best chance of getting points. Both sides contrived to miss early penalties, before Grenada took the lead through Clive Murray. Both sides traded goals after the break and Grenada held on for a well-received 3 points. Elsewhere, Mexico once again had fun against Panama, as Gignac knocked in five goals in an 8-2 thumping.
Mexico kept this up by easing past El Salvador 3-0, virtually confirming qualification. This presented Honduras a great chance to leap into second place, but they fell to a 2-0 away defeat to Nicaragua, potentially a crucial loss. Meanwhile, Panama continued their entertaining campaign with a 3-0 win over Grenada.
A point was all Mexico needed to qualify against Nicaragua, but with the scores 1-1 in the final 20 minutes this was far from certain. Luckily for Mexico, Nicaragua’s Torres picked up a second yellow card, and almost immediately after Gignac instinctively nodded in what proved to be the winner. Panama put up a good fight against El Salvador, and earned a 1-1 draw. This gave Honduras the chance to move level in second with El Salvador, and this time they took it with a 2-0 win over Grenada.
Honduras may moved into second, but they still had Mexico to face, and they were helpless to prevent a 3-0 defeat, although they did finish with 11 men this time. Meanwhile, El Salvador had a home tie against Grenada, and they took the chance to move 3 points clear as they also won 3-0. This win had the knock-on effect of eliminating Panama, who otherwise would have closed the gap as they overcame Nicaragua 4-2.
Honduras may moved into second, but they still had Mexico to face, and they were helpless to prevent a 3-0 defeat, although they did finish with 11 men this time. Meanwhile, El Salvador had a home tie against Grenada, and they took the chance to move 3 points clear as they also won 3-0. This win had the knock-on effect of eliminating Panama, who otherwise would have closed the gap as they overcame Nicaragua 4-2.
And so, onto the final round of fixtures with El Salvador only needing a home point against Nicaragua to progress. However, they hadn’t reckoned for Herberth Cabrera, who racked up a hat-trick as Nicaragua claimed a surprise 3-1 win. Here was Honduras’ chance, but they had to win away to Panama. The hosts dominated the game, and took the lead through Humberto Mendoza’s spot kick at the start of the second half. Honduras’ sheer lack of creative midfielders told as they could only get two shots away all match, as they fell to a 1-0 defeat, putting El Salvador through. They will join Mexico in the final stage, who wrapped an almost-perfect group performance with a 3-0 win over Grenada, who suffered two red cards.
Final standings
Final standings
Top scorers: Andre-Pierre Gignac (MEX) 15 goals; Cabrera (NIC) 6 goals; Barahona, Mendoza, Garces (PAN), Wilson (NIC), Aquino (MEX) 5 goals
Highest average ratings: Mati Fernandez (MEX) 7.98; Aquino (MEX) 7.82; Gignac (MEX) 7.73
Next time
Mexico and El Salvador progress to the final round of North American qualifying, with Mexico looking very dangerous. We’ll be travelling over the Panama border to South America next time, with a bumper update from the marathon qualifying stage there.
Highest average ratings: Mati Fernandez (MEX) 7.98; Aquino (MEX) 7.82; Gignac (MEX) 7.73
Next time
Mexico and El Salvador progress to the final round of North American qualifying, with Mexico looking very dangerous. We’ll be travelling over the Panama border to South America next time, with a bumper update from the marathon qualifying stage there.