Friday 14 September 2012

WC Qualifiers: Mexico reign supreme in CONCACAF

Mexico having defeated Costa Rica twice in the last five days have sealed their spot. Perfect on twelve points from four outings, El Tri has clinched the first of six spots on offer for next year's hexagonal which is the final round of qualifiers. 

The other five spots in the region's final round remain up for grabs. Determining which nations will claim them is anyone's guess, with only Cuba mathematically eliminated among the twelve participating teams. 

For the rest, it will all come down to a pressure-packed week in mid-October, when matchdays 5 and 6 will see games take place in all twelve of the semifinalist nations. 

Mexico may have run away and hid from Group B, but that hasn't made the foursome any less interesting for the other nations involved. With El Tri through to the hexagonal, there's still one more spot available for the best among Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guyana. 

The Golden Jaguars, however, may well have seen off their best chance by failing to get points from an electric match at home on Tuesday. After a brilliant away draw to El Salvador on Friday, the host saw La Selecta snatch all three points in a dramatic, come-from-behind 3-2 win at Providence Stadium. 

That means only a highly unlikely series of events could put the Guyanese through, so the second spot from Group B will likely come down to regional rivals Costa Rica and El Salvador. 

After securing an important tie on the road against the Ticos on matchday 1, El Salvador, on five points, holds a narrow one-point lead over Costa Rica. 

But with a visit to the Azteca on the docket for the final semifinal round game, the Salvadorans will be anxious to sew up a hexagonal spot at home when Costa Rica visits on matchday 5. 

Anything less than a win on October 12 - in what's sure to be a rocking Estadio Cuscatlan - could prove fatal to El Salvador's ambitions of returning to the hexagonal 

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