Gold Cup Qualification Semi-Finals Notebook

FORT LAUDERDALE – A series of lop-sided games opened the Concacaf Gold Cup qualification at DRV PNK Stadium on Friday night. Haiti, Bermuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, and Guatemala all advance after large wins to go through to one-off matches to qualify for the tournament proper.

Haiti 6 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1

Photo courtesy Concacaf

Depleted by the refusal of the United States to fulfill its obligations as a host nation and ensure visas for competitors Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were always going to struggle and that proved to be the case against Haiti ending their hopes of heading the continent’s most prestigious tournament.

Duckens Nazon scored a brace in the 6-1 rout by Haiti. He scored his first in the 26th minute to open the scoring. From there the flood gates were opened. Frantzdy Pierrot made it two in the 33rd minute before Derrick Etienne Jr. added another four minutes later. Haiti pulled a goal back thanks to Kyle Edwards three minutes before the break.

Just before the hour, Nazon made it 4-1 before Jahvin Sutherland’s own goal put Haiti four goals ahead. The final result was sealed in stoppage time through Carnejy Antoine’s stoppage-time goal.

Bermuda 8 Barbados 1

Nahki Wells scored a hat-trick as Bermuda put Barbados to the sword. It started in the very first minute, scoring his second in the 14th minute and completing the trio in the 87th minute which was also the last goal of the match.

Reggie Lambe added a goal in the 29th minute before Dante Leverock ten minutes later to make it 4-0. Barbados pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time through Hadan Halloran.

The second own goal of the tournament well and truly took it away from Barbados as Krystian Pearce put it into his own net. Two more goals followed in the next six minutes with Kane Crichlow scoring in the 66th minute and Zeiko Lewis scoring one minute later.

These two results mean that Haiti will play Bermuda on Tuesday for a place in the Gold Cup.

Trinidad and Tobago 6 Montserrat 1

Photo courtesy Concacaf

It took 21 minutes for Trinidad and Tobago to get going but when they did they really got going managing a 6-1 win over Montserrat.

Kevin Molino scored that opener before Marcus Joseph scored 14 minutes later to really give Trinidad and Tobago control of the match and Ryan Telfer made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time.

Montserrat actually scored the first goal of the second half through Lyle Taylor in the 55th minute to give his team a real chance. Two minutes later that hope disappeared as Judah Garcia scored to make it 4-1.

The match was sealed by a Reon Moore brace thanks to his goals in the 68th and 82nd minutes.

Guadeloupe 2 Bahamas 0

Photo courtesy Concacaf

The closest match of this stage of the tournament saw six minutes matter as Guadeloupe used two quick goals to overcome Bahamas 2-0.

It was a tight match but in the 61st minute, Matthias Phaeton scored the goal that would open up the match. Just six minutes later the lead was doubled as Raphael Mirval found the second goal of the match.

From there the Bahamas went on the attack, only 90 minutes away from home the conditions were favorable but for all their hard work they couldn’t get the goal.

Cuba 0 French Guyana 3

Yet again the United States has failed as a host, refusing to give the Cuban team visas to make the match forcing them to forfeit this match allowing French Guyana a walk-through. With a strong Cuban community in the Miami area, the fans were left disappointed. The United States refusing to fulfill its obligation should have Concacaf stripping the USA of hosting rights for future tournaments, which would leave Canada as the most viable host going forward. That two matches already in this tournament were impacted by visa issues should also give FIFA pause before the 2026 World Cup is hosted in the United States, especially with Iran a probable team to qualify.

French Guyana will play Trinidad and Tobago for a place in the Gold Cup on Tuesday.

Guatemala 4 Guyana 0

Photo courtesy Concacaf

An own goal took things away from Guyana and then a second-half onslaught saw Guatemala take the final spot in the preliminary rounds.

The own goal was from Reiss Greenridge in the 21st minute and Guyana fought back for the rest of the half but in the second half, Guatemala showed their superiority.

Nine minutes into the second-half Luis Martinez doubled the lead. Guyana fought back hard to try and get back into the match but in the 71st minute Darwin Lom took away the match before Jose Martinez sealed the 4-0 win ten minutes from time.

Guatemala will play Guadeloupe for the final place in the tournament on Tuesday night.

Photo courtesy Concacaf

Guenzatti celebrates century with game-winning goal

ST. PETERSBURG – In his 100th match for the Tampa Bay Rowdies Sebastian Guenzatti had the honor of scoring the winning goal with a 68th-minute penalty at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night.

The goal came after a foolish foul from Leland Archer who stuck his leg back to take down Jordan Adebayo-Smith, who was seemingly struggling to hold possession anyway. That allowed the man of the moment to step up and send the keeper the wrong way.

The hosts started the match well and if not for some good goalkeeping Guenzatti could have opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes. He got on the end of a good cross from Leo Fernandes but his effort was saved for a corner.

In the 23rd minute, The Charleston attack lost a big outlet as Stavros Zarokostas had to leave the field due to an injury.

Scrambling defense cut down the space for the Rowdies and that was evident in the 28th minute when chances from Dayonn Harris and Fernandes were prevented thanks to that space being choked.

In the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, Joe Kuzminsky was at his best again, denying Zach Steinberger’s header into the ground to keep it scoreless at the break.

The Rowdies’ possession domination continued in the second half, but they also continued to have no luck beating Kuzminsky. For most of the half, the Battery were playing 10 men behind the ball which made it difficult for Tampa Bay to break them down and find the needed goal.

After going behind the Charleston offense woke up but without Zarokostas that finishing touch just wasn’t there, and they just never looked in the match as the Rowdies cruised to the victory.

Photo Tom Denham Twitter

Depleted Rowdies back on track with Hartford win

HARTFORD, Conn. – Sebastian Guenzatti scored a first-half goal to get the Tampa Bay Rowdies back in the winner’s circle with a 1-0 win over Hartford Athletic at Dillon Stadium on Saturday night.

The captain scored the lone goal of the match in the 33rd minute, cleaning up Leo Fernandes’ rebound. Sebastian Dalgaard had sent the ball in for Fernandes who hit an impressive volley that only found the post, the Athletic defense couldn’t deal with it and Guenzatti popped up to stab it home.

Highlights – Hartford Athletic v Tampa Bay Rowdies – USL Championship – June 26 2021

Things could have been different if Hartford took advantage of its early chances. 11 minutes in Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. was given space but denied by a good save from Evan Louro. That continued a worrying trend recently for the Rowdies where the defense has struggled early.

A back pass nearly put the hosts in front as Forrest Lasso misjudged his ball back to Louro forcing his keeper to rush back to clear the ball off the line.

Zach Steinberger thought he gave his side the lead just moments before the actual winner. He headed home Lewis Hilton’s cross but got the space and height by committing a foul at the far post.

“The players really stood up to be counted,” said Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “We only had four outfield players on the bench tonight as well. Hats off to the lads. I don’t know if I’ve ever been prouder of the players. And I’m proud of them pretty much 95 percent of the time. Tonight was just a lot of heart, a lot of character.”

It could have been a brace for Guenzatti four minutes after the break. A perfectly floated cross found the captain whose header was on target but right at the keeper.

A clumsy challenge from Aaron Guillen allowed Hartford back into the match as it allowed Obregon to take a penalty but he launched it well over the bar.

In the 66th minute, Dayon Harris thought he had scored his first Rowdies goal after a perfect ball from Leo Fernandes. But that goal was disallowed for offside after Harris’ run was just too quick.

Honestly, the Rowdies were rarely troubled and despite the tight score leading to the tension, they cruised to the much-needed win.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

Saint Petersburg Mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon sees benefits in a shared stadium

ST. PETERSBURG – The Tampa Bay Rays stadium situation is a central issue in the Saint Petersburg Mayoral race and as the Rays own the Tampa Bay Rowdies this has tied in the soccer team as well.

Mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon spoke exclusively with Florida Soccer Report to explain why he supports a shared stadium for Saint Petersburg’s two professional sporting clubs.

The issue around the stadium all stems from the Rays’ ownership decision to announce that they would look to play at least partial seasons in Montreal without a better stadium deal from the city government. Blackmon currently serves in City Council and had some thoughts about how that has proceeded.

“Where we’re headed with the Mayor is that he has shut off all negotiations with the ownership and executive team. Since he said, ‘I’m not going to give away 50 acres.’”

That’s where Blackmon feels he have an advantage. Having an already established relationship with the Rays and Rowdies ownership he believes he can get a better deal for Saint Petersburg, and come alongside the owners.

“He tried to slap in the face, and of course I wanted to hear more so I reached out. I said fill me in on this, they said okay here’s the thing he told us he was going to work with us on this plan to keep it under wraps.”

Of course, that’s not what happened, which meant not only did the city lose any leverage it could have with the owners it also lost their cooperation.

With that now lost Blackmon set about discovering what kind of deal would be done for the city, his belief is you have to work out what the worst is you’re willing to settle for and negotiate with that in mind, not just flat out not negotiating. So with the worst scenario being the split season, he set about determining how the missing games (and thus money) would be made up to the city.

“They want to stay at the Tropicana field site with a split season, and I said okay well how do we make up this split season I point-blank asked, would you be willing to commit the Rowdies to a new multipurpose stadium, the answer was yes.”

While Rowdies fans won’t like the idea of a shared stadium with a baseball team, Blackmon did push for something that soccer fans will likely be happy to hear. With a now much larger stadium than what USL would need he’d like to see the owners push for Major League Soccer again.

“I said would you commit to bringing the Rowdies to MLS? They said we’re not going to make that absolute commitment, right now, but we would certainly make our very best efforts.”

One concern that supporters have is how an atmosphere could be created in a stadium that is shared with a baseball team. But Blackmon thinks that is something that can be dealt with in a well-designed facility.

“You look at Al Lang, that wasn’t built for soccer but the Rowdies have made it work. If we develop the stadium with this in mind there’s no reason we can’t make everyone happy.”

READ MORE: Saint Petersburg Mayoral Candidate Pete Boland proposes Rays and Rowdies split venue

Blackmon believes his relationship with the team can restore the owner’s relationship with the city.

“I have a great relationship with the ownership I don’t know why that would change at all. I already deal with them all the time, and we do very frequently.”

There is one benefit for the city about a shared stadium that isn’t much talked about, and that’s that it would free up the land that Al Lang is on for development. That hasn’t been lost at Blackmon.

“It’s waterfront so anything would have to be up for a referendum but this move would open up that site. We can do anything. We already have a spectacular waterfront park, which we could add to our world-class museums. It would actually take this redevelopment to almost 100 acres and could make our city the crown jewel of the southeast.”

The mayoral election is on August 24th. If no candidate can secure a majority there will be a run-off for the position.

Photo Courtesy City of Saint Petersburg

Counters stun Rowdies

ST. PETERSBURG – The Tampa Bay Rowdies have lost their first home match of the season as two counter-attacks saw Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC claim a 2-1 win at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night.

A perfect counter-attack gave the Riverhounds the lead in the 21st minute. After swarming to block a Sebastian Guenzatti shot the side quickly switched play and ran up the field. That had the Rowdies scrambling and allowed Danny Griffin to finish it off with a simple tap-in.

10 minutes into the second half the Riverhounds doubled their lead. Again it was a counter-attack, this time finished with a perfectly placed shot from Russell Cicerone. 

The Rowdies pulled back a consolation goal in stoppage time, a great run from Dayonn Harris allowed him to play the ball back for Guenzatti who calmly tapped it home, but it was too little too late.

Only desperate defense kept the Rowdies out in the ninth minute as Sebastian Guenzatti’s ball found Jordan Adebayo-Smith. Three Riverhounds defenders converged to block the shot which fell to Laurence Wyke whose shot was also blocked before Pittsburgh finally cleared.

Evan Louro continued to show why he is a leading goalkeeper in the league, rushing out just after the half-hour to pressure Albert Dikwa in a one-on-one situation making the save and getting the ball out for the corner.

The Rowdies went agonizingly close two minutes before the break as Leo Fernandes corralled an overhit cross and launched a shot that had Danny Vitello scrambling. Unfortunately, it could only find the side netting, leaving his side trailing at half-time.

Louro was at his best in the 69th minute to deny a wide-open Dikwa before making two saves on the rebound to again send it out for a corner.

A third nearly came in the 73rd minute when Alex Dixon was able to get through one-on-one with Louro but his chip went just wide of goal to give Tampa Bay a sniff of a chance.

It was a frustrating night for Tampa Bay, with overhit crosses being more common than clear-cut chances, despite having more of the ball the Rowdies never really looked like scoring.

Photo courtesy Christopher Hockman

Tampa Bay Rowdies v Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC statistical preview

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds return to Al Lang Stadium on Saturday and will be hoping some lessons were learned from their earlier defeat when the Tampa Bay Rowdies were clinical winning 3-0.

Since that match, the Hounds have improved their battles in the air, winning that statistic against Miami last weekend, compared to being heavily beaten there when they last played the Rowdies. One thing that has remained the same is their ability to pinch possession back, the match-up earlier in the season was marked with 23 interceptions, something that will likely continue at Al Lang this week.

Passing accuracy was much better for Pittsburgh last week than in their match against Tampa Bay earlier that statistic has improved by 14 percent. That suggests the Rowdies will have to work harder to get the ball back, the matches getting more competitive as the season goes on.

Riverhounds heat map against the Rowdies
Riverhounds heat map against Miami

On a negative note for the visitors their crossing has got worse, being cut in half by Miami last week. This suggests a change in style after the matches in the very early stages of the season weren’t going the way they wanted. This is confirmed when comparing the heat maps, we can see that against Miami they had more of the ball in the center compared to almost exclusively using the wings in the first match in St. Petersburg.

The shooting accuracy has increased a lot, this may have come in part thanks to the change in style. Against the Rowdies last time out they managed just one shot out of seven on target. Last week the Riverhounds managed a 30% shooting accuracy. What has been more significant has been how the change in style has led to better shot selection, managing seven shots inside the box compared to just four.

Bob Lilley has always coached his sides to be strong defensively so it’s no surprise that their tackling success rate is high and has only got better as the season has worn on.

This match should be much more competitive than the first match but Pittsburgh may not have improved quite enough to overcome that deficit.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

Sergio Ramos leaves Madrid rumors swirl around Miami

MADRID – On Wednesday Sergio Ramos announced he would be departing Real Madrid which has prompted the wild rumors that always follow this sort of news among the oddest is that Inter Miami CF could be in the race for his signature.

That rumor comes from an old article on AS.com in 2020 suggesting that the Spanish player wanted to reunite with David Beckham in Miami and get to join the team. The original plan was this would take place after the 2022 World Cup.

The pair are good friends from Beckham’s time at Real Madrid and there’s a desire for Ramos to rejoin his friend on the beach.

The AS story came before the Miami salary cap cheating scandal, which not only left the club well and truly without space for a player of Ramos’ caliber but also with a lessened budget of allocation money to bring in talent.

Chelsea has also popped up on the list of teams that could attract Ramos, and with a bigger budget, no salary cap to worry about, and being close to home that may be a more realistic place for Ramos to go until the World Cup.

It seems that any major player in their mid-30s is automatically linked to the Herons but with a complicated roster, especially in light of the scandal from last season, it’s doubtful that Miami could add any one of them. Notably, these rumors always tend to come up from non-American sources who may be less familiar with the complexities of Major League Soccer.

MLS harder than Gonzalo Higuain expected

MIAMI – With the international break allowing players some time to relax, Inter Miami CF’s Gonzalo Higuain took a break by joining Italian legend Christian Vieri on his Twitch channel this week.

Among the discussions the two former Serie A players had was a discussion about Higuain’s move to Major League Soccer and how he thought about the league.

Initially, Higuain was expecting an easy life in Miami, thinking of MLS as a retirement league where he could kick up his feet and do well. The Miami man joked that he thought he’d be able to play with a cigar in his mouth, such was his perception of the quality in America.

He discovered that the league was quite difficult and went on to say how tough he found the league.

“It is a tough league. I learned that it is similar to Italian football. In Spain and England it is easier to do well, while in Italy if you do not know the league, you suffer.”

While he’s not saying that MLS is easier than La Liga and the English Premier League what he’s saying is there are some differences in MLS than the rest of the world which makes it a difficult league for newcomers.

In 2020 he surprised the soccer world by joining Miami from Juventus and in the Twitch gave more insight into the decision. He credited the decision to legend of the game Gianluigi Buffon.

“A great friend of mine like Buffon told me: ‘If you no longer feel that fire inside in training, if you no longer feel the determination to be at high levels, you have to go’.”

He seems to be enjoying his time in Miami speaking about how much he has enjoyed the city and is enjoying his football again. He’ll have a tough rest of the season with lots for Miami to do from here to make the Playoffs.

Photo courtesy Inter Miami CF/Major League Soccer

Thomas Williams signs Homegrown contract with Orlando City

ORLANDO – Orlando City SC has made history, signing the youngest player in club history as they signed Thomas Williams to a homegrown contract on Tuesday.

Williams is 16 years and 10 months old setting a new mark for the team on signing age. His contract is guaranteed through to the 2024 season and includes a club option for 2025 should things go well.

Orlando has now signed 11 homegrown players through the Major League Soccer history of the club with three this season, Wilfredo Rivera and Raul Aguillera being the other two players.

He’s been a key part of the reserve team, Orlando City B this season making 13 appearances, 10 of them starts. The defender joined the Lions’ academy six years ago and has firmly established himself in the fabric of the club.

“We are really excited to get Thomas signed with the Club,” said EVP of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi. “Now our youngest player in Club history, he’s trained with the First Team in the last two preseasons starting from when he was just 15. A left-footed defender that has great skill on the ball and untold potential, we believe Thomas will be an important addition to the Club for a long time to come.”

The Titusville native becomes the eighth homegrown player on the OCSC 2021 roster, with Michael Halliday, Mason Stajduhar, Jordan Bender, David Loera, and Benji Michel being the five that had come in before this season.

His potential is notable with the youngster already having a taste of international soccer with the USA Under 17s side that played at the UEFA Development Tournament last year.

Graphic: Orlando City SC

Dike reportedly wanted by Watford

ORLANDO – After scoring his first international goal the interest in Orlando City’s Daryl Dike has only increased with English Premier League side Watford has joined the list of suitors.

Interest in Dike was already high after his impressive loan to Barnsley of the English Championship when he scored nine goals. As Barnsley failed to achieve promotion they opted to not make Dike’s move permanent meaning he has now returned to Orlando for the immediate future.

That has led to Orlando raising the asking price for their striker, with reports surfacing that the Lions are looking for $20 million to part with him. That may have priced many teams out with no offer currently on the table at Orlando’s offices.

The Athletic reported on Monday that Watford has joined the list of interested parties in the 20-year-old for the 2021-22 English Premier League season. The Hornets beat Barnsley to promotion this year and have an opening up front after Stipe Perica will be taking Dike’s spot in Barnsley.

Watford isn’t the only team on the list, with Chelsea and Everton also apparently interested in adding him to their squads but the Hornets may be the best fit. There’ll be less competition for Dike in Watford, but the money may be a big ask for Watford to part with for someone who has only had 19 matches in the second division of English football but has proven he has kept that form going.

Additionally, Watford will have lower expectations than clubs like Chelsea or Everton, although in Chelsea he would have a US National Teammate in Christian Pulisic.

It’s clear Dike is bound to leave for Europe in the coming weeks or months, the main question is where.

Photo courtesy Orlando City SC/MLS

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