1st leg is pretty much in the books.

I was pleased that Netherland Antilles had a draw against Haiti in Haiti. I wish it was a win but, now the Netherlands Antilles are hosting. It's in beautiful Curacao. I've been there. Return leg on home turf should do the trick. Glad I was incorrect on this one. I think Netherland Antilles will win the next leg. I had originally picked Haiti to win but I think it will be tough in Curacao. If Netherland Antilles plays up to their potential, they can do it. Go Netherland Antilles. Gooool Netherland Antilles. I am cheering you on.

USA vs. Barbados: Finally US scores some goals. Well, it is against a weaker Barbados team.

No surprise between Panama vs. El Salvador as Panama is a team on the rise.

Jamaica vs. Bahamas: Ouch! Tough obstacle to overcome.

Costa Rica vs. Grenada: I hope Costa Rica can win the next one, I think they should. It will be at Saprissa's Stadium. Between the home crown, the heat from the fans will left Costa Rica to victory.

Guatemala vs. St. Lucia: Guatemala should continue to roll.

Looking forward to the next round.

I got some insight on the Netherland Antilles Team. A comment posted on oleole.com (This blog is imported to oleole.com) stated Netherland Antilles is in the rise. FIFA.com and CONCACAF's website states the same thing. The comment continued "he would be surprised if Netherland Antilles pulls a a win from the Caribbean Super Power Haiti. Netherland Antilles relies on many foreign players mostly from the Netherlands". I also checked Haiti has been on a decline. Good news for Netherland Antilles. The Netherland Antilles is made up with several islands in the Caribbean, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Saint Maarten and St. Eustatius.
Netherland Antilles lost by one goal in a friendly to Venezuela.
See FIFA's article below.
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=719831.html#the+antilles+serious

I can't wait until Sunday to see the match between Haiti and Netherland Antilles.
I will also tape the Euro2008 to view later, I am really enjoying the Euro2008.
Especially the Netherlands winning like they did yesterday against France and earlier vs. Italy.
Most importantly, I need to cheer the US team when they play Barbados.

I thought I would have some fun and make my picks for CONCACAF. I will include some Caribbean Island Teams as well. Time for a tropical drink, sit back and enjoy the game.
Some games are easy to make based on the books, it appears to be a mismatch. Those can be the dangerous and embarrassing games too.

Grenada vs. Costa Rica: Costa Rica should win this match. They have some nice talent on their squad. I am concerned they may not qualify for World Cup but time will tell. I would love to see them qualify. Costa Rica qualified for World Cup 2006 but did not produce results. Grenada is a small island in the Southern Caribbean.

Guatemala vs. St. Lucia: I have been in St. Lucia, along with Cricket they really enjoy their football. As we say in the US, Soccer. Guatemala has a good squad who could qualify for World Cup. They are a rising team in Central America.  Guatemala has played US tough recently.

Puerto Rico vs. Honduras: Puerto Rico is better known for it's baseball and Honduras has some good Futbol Clubs. I pick Honduras to win this match.

USA vs. Barbados: USA better win this one. Much better team than this beautiful island nation. Some heat is on the US to produce better results. This should be a mismatch but US better never take any team lightly. It appears we are still hurting in some positions but should still win this match.  It's great that US defends the goal but needs to attack more.  Too wimpy on the attacks.  USA drew againts #1 rank Argentina.  US should have attacked even in that match.  Stop being afraid even againts highly rated teams.  I have some issue with Bradley on his coaching.  He has done some things well, but there are a couple of players I think should get more playing time so we can attack the goal.

Haiti vs. Netherland Antilles: Aruba has their own squad but I have visited the ABC islands twice. Very nice places to visit. There are other islands that make the Netherland Antilles. Anyway back to Soccer. Netherland Antilles love their football but with only a series of small Islands, it is hard to get a decent squad.  They love the Netherlands National Team.  Anyway back to this game.  Haiti is a much higher rated team.  I am going on the limb and pick Netherland Antilles to lose to Haiti. I hope I am wrong since I am part Dutch. Would love to see Netherland Antilles win this one.  Haiti has a better club.

Jamaica vs. Bahamas: Based on much higher ranking, I will pick Jamaica to win this one.  I have not seen either teaml play.

Belize vs. Mexico: I guess Mexico has to play Belize.  It's a mismatch. This should be a easy one for Mexico to win under their new Coach.

Panama vs. El Salvador: Many people are saying Panama is a rising ball club. El Salvador has some decent ball clubs.  El Salvador is ranked much lower than Panama. I pixk Panama to beat El Salvador.

This is why I love the CONCACAF. So much variety. You have large countries like US, Mexico and Canada competing You have great Soccer Countries like Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. Then you have small Caribbean Nations like Jamaica, Barbados, Belize and many others competing. It maybe a mismatch but every Country deserves a chance to compete for World Cup Qualifying. No matter how big or how
small.
I love Soccer at all levels too. From Big Ball Clubs in Europe to various ball clubs (larger & small) in Central America to the ball clubs in South America. This weekend I am looking forward to watching some Caribbean Nations play for their nation. Two CONCACAF matches are on GOL TV. Haiti vs. Netherland Antilles and Jamaica vs. Bahamas. I can't wait. I will sit back, have a fruit smoothy and enjoy the games.  Don't laugh about the smoothy, trying to stay healthy and it is good.

This may sound strainge but I am really looking forward to next weeks UNCAF Interclub next week.  Best teams in Central America playing for the title.  Puntrarenas FC won it last year, which I hope they win this year.  As much as I love the big clubs in Europe, I also love the small clubs in Central America.  It is more of a small community event.  You know they play it for the love of the game, they do not earn big salaries as they do in Europe.