CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying – Match Recaps – 12 October 2012
The United States, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica all won while Honduras held Panama in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying on October 12, 2012.
Antigua & Barbuda 1-2 United States
The USA barely escaped an embarassing result as Eddie Johnson headed in the match winner just before the final whistle. It was very difficult conditions in Antigua (rough pitch and very narrow field) but still a disappointing performance from the Americans. They are now in great position to advance and could advance with a draw or win against Guatemala.
| 20′ | 0 – 1 | Eddie Johnson | |
| 25′ | Dexter Blackstock | 1 – 1 | |
| 90′ | 1 – 2 | Eddie Johnson |
Guatemela 2-1 Jamaica
Jamaica’s hopes of winning Group 1 took a ended as Carlos Ruiz scored an 85th minute goal to give Guatemala the three points. Both teams can still advance to the next round and it could come down to tiebreakers as Gautemala are at the USA and Jamaica host Antigua & Barbuda.
| 16′ | Carlos Figueroa | 1 – 0 | |
| 61′ | 1 – 1 | Luton Shelton (pen) | |
| 85′ | Carlos Ruiz | 2 – 1 |
Guyana 0-5 Mexico
A dominating and one sided match in which Mexico wore down their opponents and scored five goals in an eight minute span. Mexico have had little trouble in this qualifying round and will be the clear favorites to be on top of the next (hexagonal) round.
| 77′ | 0 – 1 | Andrés Guardado | |
| 79′ | 0 – 2 | Oribe Peralta Morones | |
| 81′ | 0 – 3 | Charles Pollard (og) | |
| 84′ | 0 – 4 | Javier Hernández | |
| 85′ | 0 – 5 | Angel Reyna Martinez |
El Salvador 0-1 Costa Rica
A crucial win for Costa Rica who dramatically improve their chances of moving onto the next round. Costa Rica will face Guyana on the last matchday while El Salvador needs a win at Mexico to have any chance of advancing.
| 31′ | 0 – 1 | Jose Cubero | |
| 86′ | Eliseo Quintanilla (red card) | ||
| 90′ +1′ | Alfredo Pacheco (red card) |
Canada 3-0 Cuba
A solid victory for Canada who have aspirations of qualifying for their first World Cup in decades. Cuba have lost all their qualifying matches and have not scored a single goal in this round of qualifying.
| 14′ | Tosaint Ricketts | 1 – 0 | |
| 70′ | Roberto Linares (red card) | ||
| 72′ | Will Johnson | 2 – 0 | |
| 72′ | Olivier Occean (red card) | ||
| 78′ | David Edgar | 3 – 0 |
Panama 0-0 Honduras
A scoreless draw which sets up an interesting final day of matches. Panama are in the driver’s seat with a match against Cuba while Honduras will need to beat Canada to advance.
