5️⃣ Jamaica's job, Saint Lucia's shock + more: Five thoughts from Concacaf's September window

You know the drill. Let's look back at the FIFA dates that were.

Schedules are not my strength, but on this I am consistent. Before the international break, I give you five things to watch. After the international break, I give you five observations ranging from League A to League C.

The next few days, I’ll have a few bigger-picture features, having spoken with players, managers or fans involved in the most interesting moments.

Premium subscribers get extra, especially on Mexico and the other North American squads.

Let’s get into it:

🇯🇲 McClaren’s Jamaica debut better than meets the eye

It would’ve been easy to look at the result of Steve McClaren’s first match as Jamaica manager and come to the conclusion that the former England manager fell short.

And, well, he did in that the Reggae Boyz managed just a point in a 0-0 draw against visiting Cuba.

But a look at the highlights and even just the stats shows it was a masterclass from Cuba goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena, making seven saves as Jamaica not only found the target seven times but sent in 21 shots and maintained nearly three-fourths of possession.¹

Jamaica then went to Tegucigalpa and was able to get a 2-1 victory over Honduras in a hostile environment. The Caribbean side forced an own goal in the 49th minute that David Ruiz answered immediately, but Michail Antonio made the difference as Jamaica moved atop Group 2 of League A.

Remember the top two teams from each group will move into the CNL quarterfinals, where a home-and-home series with Mexico, Canada, the U.S. or Panama awaits.

“Against Cuba we had a lot of opportunities we didn’t take,” Antonio said after. “Today we scored, managed to get the win. Obviously, we want to finish top of the table. All the chances we missed in the first half, we’re happy to get the win today.”

“They were magnificent in every aspect,” McClaren said. “The first 30 minutes, I thought we were controlling the game, we were very brave in possession, we built from the back and I was so impressed. It’s difficult to go away and play football like that.

“We were always dangerous in the transition … I credit my players for the work. They were hard to beat.”

They could be even tougher to beat as the tournament goes on. Even with Leon Bailey’s hamstring injury likely keeping him out for the October and November windows, McClaren already is working on bringing new faces into the fold.

The Reggae Boyz’ path back to the CNL quarterfinals includes another trip to Central America, this time meeting Nicaragua, and then a home contest with Honduras that could decide who tops the group. Jamaica has won its last six matches against Los Catrachos and will be favored to extend that unbeaten run in The Office.

While McLaren would’ve preferred six points, the away win shows the team still is in position to become a top-four team in Concacaf - and they can show it by getting back to the CNL Final Four.

🇨🇺 Frustration on frustration for Cuba, but Leones not out of the hunt

Click play on the highlight below and it should start right in the fifth minute of an announced six minutes of stoppage time. Nicaragua wins possession, drives down the right side and substitute Widman Talavera settles a ball into the box, shoots and scores.

It was a crushing late equalizer for a Cuba team that had been protecting a lead since the 42nd minute - and looked destined for all three points.

Instead, it closes the window out with two points from two matches.

All is not lost for the Leones del Caribe, who thanks to the Swiss format now have a pair of games against Trinidad and Tobago. The Soca Warriors let coach Angus Eve go, but he didn’t look to be the issue as they fell 4-0 to Honduras and battled French Guiana to a scoreless draw.

It’s Concacaf, so everything probably will be lit on fire the moment the October games start. For now, though, the Group A picture looks relatively clear: Costa Rica & Guatemala need to get all three points from their opening games before playing each other once again after this window’s passionate but goalless draw.

In Group B, there’s a high chance for chaos, even if Jamaica seals the top spot.

🇱🇨 Saint Lucia shocks with six-point window

Saint Lucia was the only team in the region that didn’t even bother trying to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Federation officials made the controversial decision to withdraw in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, denying the players the chance to get matches in the cycle.

Since then, things have gotten much, much more serious. Stern John was brought in as manager and, together with his team, a recruitment push started to bring in players who could push the locally based squad.

Two players who debuted in September scored in the window, with England-born Arkell Jude-Boyd scoring in a 2-1 stunner against Curacao and Bolton center back Chris Forino-Joseph

Still, this is not a team without deep roots in Saint Lucia. As local reporter Terry Finisterre noted, nine of the starting XI to face Curacao were born on the island.

The path is there for any team that took six points from a possible six to win their group, but Saint Lucia can generate some real momentum toward making its first-ever Gold Cup ahead of the final matchday.

They’re the host for the October matches in the group and have a double bill against Saint Martin, the only team yet to register a point.

🪀 Yo-yo teams in League C?

Each of the three League C groups is topped by a team that was relegated from League B but started life in League C with a pair of victories.

Barbados in Group A, Belize in Group B, and St. Kitts and Nevis in Group C all lead and are setting themselves up not only for a return to League B but also a ticket to November’s play-in round with a ticket to Gold Cup qualification on the line.

It’s not getting ahead of themselves to start thinking about that. Even their goal difference ended up similar, with Belize and SKN on +5 and Barbados at +4.

Perhaps the one disappointment from the countries that dropped to League C is the Bahamas. They conceded three goals in each of their matches, settling for a draw with the U.S. Virgin Islands and a loss to Barbados. A return to League B now looks unlikely, though they still could finish as the best second-place team and aim for the Gold Cup qualification round.

🌿 Hubba, hubba!

A few stray thoughts on the ‘hub site’ system rolled out for League B and League C. First of all … look, y’all know me. You’ve probably read at least one or two other things I’ve written. I’ve been covering this region for a decade and watching it even longer.

I’ve seen pitches that look like cow patches. I’ve seen dogs on the field. I’ve seen a 60something sitting Vice President of an independent nation put himself into an official match and then give the opposing team cash in the locker after the game (I’ve only seen that one once.)

This field at the Kirani James Stadium in Grenada might be the worst-looking field I’ve ever seen.

It looks like someone was trying to practice cutting designs into the pitch and scalped the field instead. Good idea with the palm tree! Bad execution. They redid the track earlier this year, but it doesn’t seem like the field it surrounds got much love.

And, yes, there did end up being dogs, too, though they stayed on that track instead of getting on the field.

The fact that, thanks to the hub model, it hosted a full four games in the international window didn’t make it play any better.

It’s clear what you lose when you go to the hub model. There are fewer local games for each team. The tradeoff for the teams is that players don’t have to travel as often, a big plus. They’re then playing, generally, in front of sterile atmospheres.

So what do fans in the region get? In theory, games with a little better quality (tough to judge off one window), and better broadcasts since teams don’t have to spread out all over the region.

Instead, the product on offer was worse. Audio didn’t work for a full 20 minutes of the Dominican Republic-Dominica game, Barbados-U.S. Virgin Islands totally cut out toward the end of the game, and while some of the new graphic elements were welcomed there were a fair number of errors in said graphics.

This is not an easy undertaking, but the hub model is supposed to make it easier to manage the Nations League. So far, the strengths haven’t been strong enough to overcome the weaknesses.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch a YouTube mowing tutorial. I’m going to make Grenada an offer they can’t refuse.

1. Which is nine-tenths of the law