Meet the final entrants into the octagonal
Plus: The Euro 2020 Concacaf XI
Welcome to Getting CONCACAFed. If you’re not subscribed to the premium edition, you missed the Conca-catch-up including thoughts on Costa Rica & Trinidad and Tobago plus the latest news and my opinion on Rogelio Funes Mori suiting up for the Mexico national team. Upgrade to the premium edition for an extra newsletter each week & to support this project by clicking below:
You can use that same link to sign up for the free list! Today we meet the teams in the final round of World Cup qualification and, in the second half of the newsletter, look at Concacaf ties at the Euros.
The final round of World Cup qualification in the Concacaf region is set! The top teams in the region by FIFA ranking, Mexico, the U.S., Costa Rica, Honduras and Jamaica, were given byes into the last round with three teams joining them from the first two rounds of qualification.
After a pretty entertaining first round, the second round was a bit of a dud, but let’s take a look at the teams that emerged, what to expect from them and a few players who will be worth keeping track of at the Gold Cup and in the club season to know exactly what the big boys will be facing when the final round begins September 2.
Remember, the top three teams after the round robin qualify automatically, while the fourth-place finisher goes to the intercontinental playoff.
🇨🇦 Canada
How they got here: Canada ripped through the first round of qualification, going perfect and finishing with 27 goals for and one goal against (the goal was conceded in a 5-1 win over Bermuda).
They then mostly ripped through the second round. While Haiti put up more of a fight than Suriname in the final match of the first round, Cyla Larin scored in both legs and an unfortunate own goal by Haiti’s back-up goalkeeper Josue Duverger plus Junior Hoilett putting a bow on the win meant Canada moved through 4-0 on aggregate without ever truly feeling like they ever were going to be eliminated from qualification.
What to know: You probably already know about Canada. They’ve got Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. They’re getting really good. Some guy told you this in September of 2018.
Manager John Herdman moved over from coaching the Canada women’s national team and has done well, with the biggest stain on Canada’s resume a collapse against Haiti at the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
This is an ambitious team with designs to make it to Qatar, and, judging by recent form, it’s going to be a contender to do just that.
Player to watch before September: Scott Kennedy
We know Canada’s attack is going to be fine. If Davies and David aren’t connecting, Cyle Larin or Lucas Cavallini or Theo Corbeanu or Tajon Buchanan can make something happen.
The issues have been in defense, and Kennedy’s insertion into the starting lineup against Suriname and keeping his place at center for both legs against Haiti shows that Herdman thinks he’s a potential solution there.
Defense isn’t exactly a calling card of many Concacaf teams, but how Kennedy grows into his role with the national team and also at club level will be big for Canada. Can a team starting a center back in the German second division qualify to the World Cup from Concacaf? Sure, and Herdman said there were moments during the club season when he felt Kennedy would raise his game with better players around him and when facing stronger competition. The Gold Cup and his start to the year will help us find out how true that is.
🇵🇦 Panama
How they got here: After a 2-1 win in the first leg against Curacao, Panama kept a clean sheet in the second leg and move back into the final round of qualification.
Panama looked like they could be shaky in March, needing a late goal to get all three points against Dominica but rolled Anguilla and eased past the Dominican Republic to get into the second round and then played a pretty impressive tie against a team with lots of Europe-based players who have been together for around five years now.
What to know: Panama was at the World Cup in 2018, but most of the key figures from that inaugural group have moved on or are playing reserve roles. Panama’s strength may be in defense, with most of their back line based abroad. Harold Cummings and Andres Andrade have formed a center-back pairing with good understanding of each other, and fullbacks Michael Murillo and Eric Davis defend and get forward well.
Up top, Panama still is looking for the right mix of players. There is talent but not consistency.
Player to watch before September: Gabriel Torres
Torres is a player who has stood out for Panama in fits and starts. He rediscovered his goal-scoring form in South America, where he helped Independiente del Valle lift the Copa Sudamericana but now is at Pumas in Mexico. He scored just one league goal in a dozen matches, and Colorado Rapids fans will tell you it’s not the first time Torres has disappointed in one of Concacaf’s top leagues.
Jose Farjado started up top for Torres in the second leg against Curacao, but if the veteran forward runs off goals in Liga MX, Panama boss Thomas Christiansen may once again look to Torres as the best choice at forward.
🇸🇻 El Salvador
How they got here: El Salvador slipped up in the first round of qualification, drawing with Montserrat (a team that is not a rival but who El Salvador hilariously keeps getting drawn against). That led the federation to give Carlos de los Cobos the pink slip and move Hugo Perez up from U-23 manager.
The switch worked well, with El Salvador playing its best soccer in quite some time and earning big wins against the U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda and then smashing St. Kitts and Nevis 4-0 away and 2-0 at home to book a place in the final round.
What to know: El Salvador feels like a team we know well in the Concacaf region, but their last match in the final round of World Cup qualification came in 2009. After two cycles not arriving to this point (with a match manipulation scandal in the middle that demanded a total restart), La Selecta are back.
A number of players with U.S. ties are in part behind the reboot, with Josh Perez, Eriq Zavaleta and Gerson Mayen all performing well in the first two rounds of qualification. It isn’t just the new faces, though. Alianza midfielder Marvin Monterrosa and Xelajú left back Alexander Larín also put in top performances to get El Salvador to this point.
Player to watch before September: Josh Perez
The attacker made his debut with the senior national team this month but quickly made clear it wasn’t preferential treatment from his uncle that earned him the call. Perez scored in his debut against the USVI and followed that up with goals in both legs of the series with St. Kitts and Nevis.
In the same vein as Kennedy, it’s rare to see a player in his league make a true difference in qualification. With Perez it’s even more true. He doesn’t have it bad, playing in Ibiza, but the level of the Spanish second division is lower than that of most of the players he’ll face in the Octagonal. As mentioned above, there are other attacking players El Salvador can call upon, but none have the dynamism Perez does. If he can stay in good form, he may be a player the U.S. has to take into account in the teams’ qualification opener.
Concacaf power at the Euros!
What would a team made up of Concacaf-eligible players look like?
Is your productivity down during the first half of every day so far this week? If so, you, like me, probably have been enjoying the Euros.
I often write that our region in general should stop looking to Europe so often and either forge its own path or partner with confederations like the Asian Football Confederation to solve similar challenges (the regions have worked together before on officiating issues). But the tournament already has been a lot of fun (barring one terrifying incident and the way the governing body handled the resumption of the match after said incident.)
A fair number of players on European Championship rosters would be eligible to represent Concacaf national teams were it not for, you know, them representing entirely different national teams at a major competition. I decided to make a starting lineup of players who, in an alternate world, would be resting up for the Gold Cup rather than fighting to get to the final in London.
GK: Mike Maignan, France - Being born in French Guiana obviously makes France’s third goalkeeper eligible for a Concacaf nation (which is good because we needed a goalkeeper), and he also has a parent of Haitian descent, something he shares with fellow Lille championship winner (and actual Concacaf international) Jonathan David!
D: Tyrone Mings, England - Seeing Mings put in a superb performance for England in a tournament-opening win over Croatia is a reminder of just how close (at least it seemed) Mings was to representing Barbados. Here he is at a Concacaf Next Play event in 2019 with current Barbados international Nick Blackman:
Russell Latapy, the Barbados manager, recruited him but the process ended when he got his first England call in summer of 2019. As a left-footed center back, he’s perfect for that side of our back three.
D: Raphael Varane, France - Not a bad piece to have in your defense either. The Real Madrid fixture could’ve turned down the chance at World Cup glory to seek Gold Cup glory instead by suiting up for Martinique, the country of his father.
Like Mings, Varane traveled in 2019 to give back to the island of his relatives and who knows maybe will pull on the Martinique shirt for the 2031 Gold Cup.
D: Jurriën Timber, Netherlands - The Timber brothers always ended up on those lists of ‘other players who could get called up for Curacao,’ but at age 19 and on the Dutch radar, it never seemed too realistic that Jurriën would take a call, even from Guus Hiddink.
Even before Curacao’s elimination from World Cup qualification, the Ajax defender was cap tied. His brother Quinten remains eligible for Curacao (and Aruba) and after being cut from the Netherlands Euro squad defender Jeremiah St. Juste is still eligible for St. Kitts and Nevis!
Wingback: Denzel Dumfries, Netherlands - The only player on our list who has scored a Concacaf goal, Dumfries also already scored in the Euros. You probably saw that, though, so here’s his goal in a friendly for Aruba against Guam in 2014. The goal is at 1:02 but he makes a play to set up the corner kick as well.
Wingback: Loïc Négo, Hungary - Born in Paris, playing for Hungary, (previously) eligible for Guadelopue! Originally I had U.S.-born Finland defender Niko Hämäläinen in this slot, but Concacaf OG Arch Bell was researching Nego during Hungary’s match with Portugal and found the connection.
Though he seems to be better on the right, I think he adds more attacking quality to our team and is familiar with the wingback role.
Midfielder: Georginio Wijnaldum, Netherlands - Wijnaldum, the Netherlands captain and ex-Liverpool and future PSG midfielder, is the latest in a history of Dutch greats who have Surinamese heritage.
![James Nalton on Twitter: "Georginio Wijnaldum with the cup and a Netherlands/Suriname flag. Both he and Virgil van Dijk have Surinamese roots 🇳🇱🇸🇷🏆… https://t.co/UIAxTDAbeE"](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb7d8dad6-73de-4a20-8980-a002a4c79487_696x464.jpeg "James Nalton on Twitter: "Georginio Wijnaldum with the cup and a Netherlands/Suriname flag. Both he and Virgil van Dijk have Surinamese roots 🇳🇱🇸🇷🏆… https://t.co/UIAxTDAbeE"")
Like most of those players, he hasn’t kept his affinity for Suriname a secret, celebrating the Champions League with the Dutch and Surinamese flags, putting the flag on his boots and even helping the Suriname national team conduct a training camp in the Netherlands a few years back. He’s also involved in charity efforts in Suriname.
He’ll have a lot of work to do in our team because the other midfielder is…
Midfielder: Thomas Lemar, France - So, Lemar is an attack-minded player, but he can do a bit of anything. We’re putting him next to Wijnaldum.
Lemar is one of the few players in this team actually born in the Concacaf region, having been born in Baie-Mahault, Guadeloupe and not leaving until he was a teenager.
Teammate Marcus Thuram also would be eligible for Guadeloupe with his father Lilian born on the archipelago.
Winger: Kingsley Coman, France - So too is our final inclusion from Guadeloupe, Kingsley Coman. (Thierry Henry, assisting Belgium, also has Guadeloupe heritage and can be our manager)
Coman was born in Paris but both his parents are from Guadeloupe. After missing the World Cup in 2018, he’ll be eager to do everything possible to lift a trophy with his current national team.
Winger: Raheem Sterling, England - Another player who already has a goal at this tournament, Sterling has a stronger tie to Jamaica than some of the players now joining up with the Reggae Boyz: Sterling was born in Kingston.
Things were difficult for Sterling’s mom, with his father murdered when he was a child, and after a brief time living with relatives in Jamaica, Sterling joined his mom in England where he was able to fight through the adversity and suit up for the Three Lions.
Forward: Marcus Rashford, England - Rashford is Manchester through and through and is a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire thanks to his work to protect vulnerable children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also would be eligible for Saint Kitts and Nevis thanks to having a grandmother born on one of the islands, and one of his initial forays into using philanthropy to fight child hunger involved sending food to a home for kids in the country. Oh, he also can score a lot of goals, another reason to want him in our team.
As you can see from our fun exercise, there is lots of talent linked to the region, just not all of it is actively playing here at the moment.