We’re rattling through qualifying now, with 18 of 32 teams already qualified. However, if we look at the map of where those qualifiers come from, we can see a bit of a geographic disparity:
The bulk of sides already in the finals come from Europe, whilst there are a smattering of teams from Africa and Asia. Starkly, there are no sides from the Americas qualified. That changes today, as we see the final round of qualifying in North America pan out. The six sides who made it through Round 2 face each other in one big group. This is how the previous round went:
Satisfyingly, two Central American sides made it through Group A, two North American sides made it through Group B, and two Caribbean sides made it through Group C. The top three in this group will automatically qualify for the DWC finals, whilst the fourth-placed side go into the Intercontinental play-off, where Ghana and Italy currently wait.
It’s hard to look past Mexico and USA in this group, as the two heavyweights made the last 16 in the 2017 DWC. The other four sides appear to be quite evenly-matched. Trinidad & Tobago are the other group winners from the previous round, whilst Canada put in a hugely impressive performance to push USA in their group. El Salvador and Jamaica also showed moments of quality, so all six sides could realistically qualify here.
Enjoyably, the first round of fixtures sees each team play the side they were in the same Round 2 group as. Mexico won the battle of Group A with a 1-0 win away to El Salvador, thanks to Dorlan Pabon’s goal. Sebastian Giovinco was outstanding in Group B in the previous round, and he scored both goals as USA beat Canada 2-1. That was also the score in the ex-Group C clash, but this time it was the group runners-up Jamaica who beat their rivals Trinidad & Tobago, thanks to Craig Foster’s two penalties.
After a slightly slow start, the two favourites for qualification turned up the heat. USA strolled to a 3-0 win over Jamaica whilst Mexico battered Canada 7-2. I get the feeling that matches involving neither Mexico nor USA will be crucial, and Trinidad & Tobago make up for their loss to Jamaica by beating El Salvador 1-0.
It’s hard to look past Mexico and USA in this group, as the two heavyweights made the last 16 in the 2017 DWC. The other four sides appear to be quite evenly-matched. Trinidad & Tobago are the other group winners from the previous round, whilst Canada put in a hugely impressive performance to push USA in their group. El Salvador and Jamaica also showed moments of quality, so all six sides could realistically qualify here.
Enjoyably, the first round of fixtures sees each team play the side they were in the same Round 2 group as. Mexico won the battle of Group A with a 1-0 win away to El Salvador, thanks to Dorlan Pabon’s goal. Sebastian Giovinco was outstanding in Group B in the previous round, and he scored both goals as USA beat Canada 2-1. That was also the score in the ex-Group C clash, but this time it was the group runners-up Jamaica who beat their rivals Trinidad & Tobago, thanks to Craig Foster’s two penalties.
After a slightly slow start, the two favourites for qualification turned up the heat. USA strolled to a 3-0 win over Jamaica whilst Mexico battered Canada 7-2. I get the feeling that matches involving neither Mexico nor USA will be crucial, and Trinidad & Tobago make up for their loss to Jamaica by beating El Salvador 1-0.
Jamaica suffer another 3-0 defeat, this time to Mexico, partly aided by Jamaica’s loss of two players to red cards. In the battle of the two sides yet to win, El Salvador got off the mark with a 3-0 win over a hapless Canada. Meanwhile, USA dropped their first points as they and Trinidad & Tobago shared a goalless draw.
Trinidad & Tobago were rewarded for that good result with a home tie against Canada, but they made hard work of it. The crucial moment came in the 70th minute when Canada’s Simeunovic was penalised in the box, receiving a second yellow. Yohance Marshall bravely stepped up and converted, earning Trinidad & Tobago a 1-0 win. USA, meanwhile, travelled Mexico for the juiciest tie of the group. The sides both scored early on, and they each scored twice just before the break to make the score 3-3 at half time. USA went ahead through David Villa’s low finish, and Mexico couldn’t reply, hindered by Aquino’s red card. Elsewhere, El Salvador made it two wins on the spin with a 2-1 victory at home to Jamaica.
This meant Jamaica had lost three in a row since their opening-day win, so a 3-1 win over Canada was just the remedy to get them back into contention. USA continued their serene progress as a Giovinco hat-trick helped them to a 5-1 win over El Salvador, and this extended their lead at the top of the table to 3 points as Mexico were held to a 1-1 draw away to Trinidad & Tobago.
This meant Jamaica had lost three in a row since their opening-day win, so a 3-1 win over Canada was just the remedy to get them back into contention. USA continued their serene progress as a Giovinco hat-trick helped them to a 5-1 win over El Salvador, and this extended their lead at the top of the table to 3 points as Mexico were held to a 1-1 draw away to Trinidad & Tobago.
At this point I normally share the halfway table, but I forgot to screenshot it before going on with the next load of matches. So this is how it did look:
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So, the USA are sitting pretty, whilst Mexico are just about doing enough and Canada are pretty much out of it. The remaining three sides each beat Canada and picked up another win, so it’s just Trinidad & Tobago’s draws against the top two which are keeping them ahead of the pack.
To kick of the second half of the group, the top three sides all recorded easy victories over their Round 2 group rivals. Trinidad & Tobago avenged their only defeat so far by beating Jamaica 3-0, whilst Villa scored both goals as USA beat Canada 2-0. Meanwhile, Mexico thumped El Salvador 5-0, each goal by a different scorer.
As the chasm between the top 3 and the rest widened, it meant that the USA only needed a win against Jamaica to become the first side from North America qualified for the DWC finals, and they did so with a 2-0 victory. A Rundell Winchester volley was the only goal as Trinidad & Tobago beat El Salvador 1-0 away from home, and this meant Mexico just had to beat Canada to follow USA in qualifying. They were made to work for it, though, as two goals from Marc-Olivier Kouo just wasn’t quite enough for Canada, 3-2 the final score.
With Trinidad & Tobago inches from qualification as well, this really meant that it was a battle for fourth spot now, and a place in the Intercontinental play-off. Jamaica and El Salvador both picked up points in the next round, but they were of contrasting quality – Jamaica will be delighted to have drawn 0-0 away to Mexico, whilst El Salvador’s 1-1 draw at home to Canada can only be seen as two points dropped. This did indeed confirm Trinidad & Tobago’s qualification, and they celebrated this with a second 0-0 draw against USA.
Whilst that was an impressive result, Trinidad & Tobago will be more disappointed with their subsequent 0-0 draw, as they were held by 10-man Canada. Mexico had a chance to usurp USA in the table as they met in Dallas. Carlos Izquierdoz’s tap-in appeared to be enough for Mexico, but in the 89th minute USA were bailed out by the indestructible Bastian Schweinsteiger (Eng: Bastian Pigfarmer), who fired home to keep his side top of the table. But the big match was in Kingston as Jamaica hosted El Salvador with the two sides level on points. Wolry Wolfe and Foster put Jamaica two up, but Jorge Moran’s penalty reduced this to one. Wolfe added another goal late on to seal a 3-1 win which should be enough to secure play-off football for Jamaica.
To kick of the second half of the group, the top three sides all recorded easy victories over their Round 2 group rivals. Trinidad & Tobago avenged their only defeat so far by beating Jamaica 3-0, whilst Villa scored both goals as USA beat Canada 2-0. Meanwhile, Mexico thumped El Salvador 5-0, each goal by a different scorer.
As the chasm between the top 3 and the rest widened, it meant that the USA only needed a win against Jamaica to become the first side from North America qualified for the DWC finals, and they did so with a 2-0 victory. A Rundell Winchester volley was the only goal as Trinidad & Tobago beat El Salvador 1-0 away from home, and this meant Mexico just had to beat Canada to follow USA in qualifying. They were made to work for it, though, as two goals from Marc-Olivier Kouo just wasn’t quite enough for Canada, 3-2 the final score.
With Trinidad & Tobago inches from qualification as well, this really meant that it was a battle for fourth spot now, and a place in the Intercontinental play-off. Jamaica and El Salvador both picked up points in the next round, but they were of contrasting quality – Jamaica will be delighted to have drawn 0-0 away to Mexico, whilst El Salvador’s 1-1 draw at home to Canada can only be seen as two points dropped. This did indeed confirm Trinidad & Tobago’s qualification, and they celebrated this with a second 0-0 draw against USA.
Whilst that was an impressive result, Trinidad & Tobago will be more disappointed with their subsequent 0-0 draw, as they were held by 10-man Canada. Mexico had a chance to usurp USA in the table as they met in Dallas. Carlos Izquierdoz’s tap-in appeared to be enough for Mexico, but in the 89th minute USA were bailed out by the indestructible Bastian Schweinsteiger (Eng: Bastian Pigfarmer), who fired home to keep his side top of the table. But the big match was in Kingston as Jamaica hosted El Salvador with the two sides level on points. Wolry Wolfe and Foster put Jamaica two up, but Jorge Moran’s penalty reduced this to one. Wolfe added another goal late on to seal a 3-1 win which should be enough to secure play-off football for Jamaica.
So with one round of games to go, here is the table:
The order of the top three doesn’t really matter, so the real focus is on that battle for fourth. El Salvador will have to beat the USA and hope that Jamaica lose to Canada – both unlikely events. Meanwhile, Trinidad & Tobago will try and steal second place from their trip to Mexico.
Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico haven’t really been at their best in this group, but they have been easily good enough to secure a qualification spot, and will hope to at least match their 2017 exploits. Trinidad & Tobago, meanwhile, have looked to be in the same class as Mexico & USA at times and won’t be planning to just make up the numbers in the finals. However, they don’t finish very strongly, as they go down 4-0 partly thanks to a Javier Aquino brace.
Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico haven’t really been at their best in this group, but they have been easily good enough to secure a qualification spot, and will hope to at least match their 2017 exploits. Trinidad & Tobago, meanwhile, have looked to be in the same class as Mexico & USA at times and won’t be planning to just make up the numbers in the finals. However, they don’t finish very strongly, as they go down 4-0 partly thanks to a Javier Aquino brace.
Canada vs. Jamaica
Jamaica just need a point against the win-less Canada to secure a place in the Intercontinental play-off. Canada, meanwhile, will wonder where their excellent Round 2 performances disappeared to, as they cannot avoid finishing bottom of the group.
Neither side make any changes to their sides, with the under-performing players on both sides being understudied by players who also haven’t impressed.
Jamaica just need a point against the win-less Canada to secure a place in the Intercontinental play-off. Canada, meanwhile, will wonder where their excellent Round 2 performances disappeared to, as they cannot avoid finishing bottom of the group.
Neither side make any changes to their sides, with the under-performing players on both sides being understudied by players who also haven’t impressed.
Incredibly, Canada strike in the first 18 seconds, Aleksandar Stojilikovic volleying home. Jamaica respond and look the better side after this, but aren’t creating the chances they need. Jamaica then lose Harriott to injury, and with no more chances before half time it looks like there’s still a job to do.
Jamaica respond by bringing Jermaine Johnson on for Taylor, and when the substitute is tackled the ball breaks free for Foster to run onto. He should score, but his shot is wild and well wide. A few minutes later and Foster does get a shot on target, but Monsalve does well to push it onto the woodwork. Foster is eventually taken off, but Jamaica can create no more chances, and they fall to a highly disappointing 1-0 defeat, just when qualification seemed certain. Will the USA rescue them?
El Salvador vs. USA
I have to confess, I didn’t expect that Canada win, so much so that I haven’t set this match up for full coverage. Luckily for me, the USA ensure that there is no dramatic finale to the group by cruising to a 4-1 win to eliminate El Salvador. The key moment where El Salvador’s chances of qualification slipped away was when goalkeeper Garcia spilled a high ball, allowing Giovanni dos Santos to put USA 2-1 up, from which they pulled away.
El Salvador vs. USA
I have to confess, I didn’t expect that Canada win, so much so that I haven’t set this match up for full coverage. Luckily for me, the USA ensure that there is no dramatic finale to the group by cruising to a 4-1 win to eliminate El Salvador. The key moment where El Salvador’s chances of qualification slipped away was when goalkeeper Garcia spilled a high ball, allowing Giovanni dos Santos to put USA 2-1 up, from which they pulled away.
Final standings
Top scorers: David Villa (USA) 8 goals; Giovinco (USA), Gignac (MEX) 7 goals
Highest average ratings: Mati Fernandez (MEX) 8.09; Gignac (MEX) 7.83; Izquierdoz (MEX) 7.78
Next time
So, in summary: USA, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago will be playing in the DWC finals, whilst Jamaica must go through the Intercontinental play-offs to qualify. It’s been a long while since we had an update from South America, but we finally will see how the final three rounds of games go.
Highest average ratings: Mati Fernandez (MEX) 8.09; Gignac (MEX) 7.83; Izquierdoz (MEX) 7.78
Next time
So, in summary: USA, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago will be playing in the DWC finals, whilst Jamaica must go through the Intercontinental play-offs to qualify. It’s been a long while since we had an update from South America, but we finally will see how the final three rounds of games go.