March 29, 2024, 06:00:21 AM

Author Topic: Historic times for CONCACAF  (Read 742 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Themanfriday

  • That's who I am, a real
  • Hero Warrior
  • *****
  • Posts: 3035
  • CHILD of GOD
    • View Profile
    • Dexter B. Friday
Historic times for CONCACAF
« on: December 08, 2005, 11:34:31 AM »
News
 Historic times for CONCACAF
8 December 2005
by FIFAworldcup.com



Enlarge Photo
Photo Gallery
North and Central America and the Caribbean is in celebratory mood. Germany 2006 will represent a historic occasion for the confederation, which, for the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup™, will have four representatives, a source of enormous satisfaction for all of its members.
Moreover, for the first time in the history of the competition, one of the eight seeds will come from the region, with Mexico being the first CONCACAF representative, other than host countries, to achieve this historic feat. The Mexicans themselves, in 1970 and 1986, and the United States, in 1994, have already had the honour of being seeded in world football's showpiece event, but this was purely down to their being hosts.

Fully merited
The region has never before had four representatives at a FIFA World Cup finals, and its achievement is fully merited. For some years now, the countries which make up CONCACAF have proven their worth at the world's most prestigious tournaments.

One revealing fact quite clearly shows the progress made by these nations: since Mexico 1986, at least one representative from the North, Central American and Caribbean region has progressed to the second round of a FIFA World Cup, which represents the longest unbroken sequence outside South America and Europe.

At Mexico 1986, it was the host nation that achieved this feat. Four years later, it was the turn of Costa Rica to progress beyond the first round, while at USA 1994 both the hosts and Mexico did so. At France 1998, the Mexicans emulated their achievements of 1986 and 1994, while at Korea/Japan 2002, Mexico came up against the USA in the round of sixteen.

Clearly, the region's ample representation at Germany 2006 is entirely merited. Jack A. Warner, the CONCACAF President and Vice-president of FIFA, is perhaps the person who has derived most satisfaction from this progress. "I have a real sense of achievement, because it means that the entire region has progressed at every level. We have gone from having one, then two, then three and, finally, four representatives, and that is something that we have achieved collectively."

It so happens that the fourth representative is Trinidad and Tobago, Warner's country of birth, something which fills him with immense pride and happiness. "The smallest country (in terms of population) to take part in a FIFA World Cup is from the CONCACAF region. Just wait until you see the impression they make on everyone both on and off the pitch, with their style of play, but also their inherent joy, colourful attire and their dancing. This shows the ability of the teams from this region and it's an achievement to be really proud of."

Mexico seeded
The other great piece of news for CONCACAF, of course, is that Mexico have been named among the seeds. Again, this achievement is entirely merited. Based on the formula applied, whereby performances at France 98 and Korea/Japan 2002 and the FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking were taken into account, the Tricolor finished in a highly commendable fifth place, ahead of such traditional powers as Argentina, Italy and France.

Furthermore, Mexico have made significant progress in recent years. They are only one of four countries (along with Brazil, Italy and Germany) to have qualified for the second round at each of the last three FIFA World Cups. They also performed admirably against the major nations at the FIFA Confederations Cup Germany 2005 and were never once behind after the 90 minutes of normal time.

It came as no surprise to Warner that Mexico were named as one of the seeds. "If one country epitomises the progress made by countries within the CONCACAF region, it is Mexico. They have consistently occupied one of the top places in the FIFA World Ranking, and let's not forget that they are the current FIFA U-17 world champions. This is no coincidence and I think they fully deserve to be among the seeded countries."

However, Mexico were not the only team from the region to come to the fore on Tuesday when the seeds were announced. The United States also played a leading role, with Bruce Arena's men missing out by a whisker on being named among the eight seeded teams. If the current seeding formula is retained and they perform well in Germany, they could well be among the seeds for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

The CONCACAF President praised the achievements of the USA and, as a parting comment, predicted a dazzling future for the North, Central American and Caribbean region. "The United States almost achieved it and it would have been an historical feat because we would have had two seeds. But this is only the beginning. I am convinced our teams will perform very well and at least advance to the second round, where they will take each game as it comes."

www.fifaworldcup.com
Born in SanDo
Raised in Marabella and Gasparillo
Lived in Philly
Join the US Army
Moved to Oklahoma
Deployed to Bosnia
Stayed in Hungary
Retired In Germany
Was at the WC
Cheering for Latapy
Deployed to Kosovo
Y? I don't know
Moved back to America
To live in Virginia
Retired age 44
This is my life

 

1]; } ?>