2012 CONCACAF FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP

GAME NOTES - MATCH DAY 1

by Steven Torres - CONCACAF Director of Information Services

Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA; Domo Polideportivo - 02.07.2012

GROUP B

MEXICO – COSTA RICA
Costa Rica has won nine of 11 encounters against Mexico, including the last seven … The Ticos have also won all three CONCACAF tournament games against the Tricolores, while outscoring them 19:7 … The last meeting at the Confederation event, Yefrid Ruiz led the host Costa Rica with four goals in the 12:5 victory in the 2004 tournament third-place match in Heredia … Both recently met earlier this year in Heredia with the Ticos sweeping a two-game friendly series (4:0, 6:0) … Since taking over the helm for Costa Rica this year, former player now head coach Diego Solis has won six of eight matches, including a perfect 6-0-0 record against CONCACAF teams … Meanwhile, Mexico’s Ramon Raya, who also doubles as head coach of its Beach Soccer Team, has been in charge of the Futsal squad since 2008 … The Tricolores are unbeaten in CONCACAF tournament matches under the direction of Raya.


MEXICO – COSTA RICA’s Last Meeting
Friendly
02.03.2012: San José, COSTA RICA; Gimnasio Nacional
COSTA RICA – MEXICO 6:0 (3:0)
Jose GUEVARA 14’; Edwin CUBILLO 16’, 28’; Alejandro PANIAGUA 17’; Jorge ARIAS 31’; Erick BRENES 35’ dp
CRC: Justin Wallace - Aarón Jeréz, Edwin Cubillo, Jorge Arias, Alejandro Paniagua.
Subs: José Guevara, Yefrid Ruiz, Daniel Carrera, Diego Zúñiga. Booked: Carrera, Ruiz, Sent offs: Paniagua
TD: Diego SOLIS
MEX: Jesús González - Ángel David Rodríguez, Francisco Cati, Miguel Angel Alvarado, Giovani López.
Subs: Edgar Ramirez, Bardo Isaac Fierros, Carlos Refugio Pichardo, Benjamin Jesus Mosco, Gonzalo Cesar Pichardo, Diego Estanislao. Booked: Fierros, Pichardo, Mosco, Sent offs: Cati, Fierros
TD: Ramon RAYA
R1: Hector MESEN (CRC), R2: Luis Gerardo MORA (CRC)

MEXICO – COSTA RICA’s Last CONCACAF Tournament Meeting
2004 CONCACAF Championship Third Place
31.07.2004: Heredia, COSTA RICA; Palacio de los Deportes
COSTA RICA – MEXICO 12:5 (6:0)
Junior RODRIGUEZ 4’, 11’, 18’; Carlos CHAVES 12’, 13’; Jefrid RUIZ 19’, 24’, 34’, 35’; Yanan MONTOYA 21’;
Adonai VINDAS 33’, 38’ – Arturo LOPEZ 22’; Victor HUERTA 23’; Miguel Angel OLVERA 27’, 31’; Carlos RAMIREZ 36’
CRC: Javier Alfaro – Jason Arce, Carlos Chaves, Johnny Rodriguez, Junior Rodriguez.
Subs: Justin Wallace – Adonai Vindas, Henry Valverde, Jefrid Ruiz, Yanan Montoya, Michael Barrantes. Booked: Barrantes 14’, Junior Rodriguez 25’
TD: Carlos QUIROS
MEX: Amado Pablo Torres – Carlos Ramirez, Victor Huerta, Arturo Lopez, Francisco Ramirez.
Subs: Alberto Montiel, Miguel Angel Olvera. Booked: C. Ramirez 25’, Sent offs: F. Ramirez 17’, Montiel 19’, Lopez 28’
TD: Josúe RODRIGUEZ
R1: Ricardo DIAZ (PAN), R2: Donald CAMPOS (NCA)


ST. KITTS & NEVIS - CUBA
First meeting between the two Caribbean nations … Cuba is the only team to compete in all CONCACAF Championship Final Matches and have qualified to the FIFA Futsal World Cups from 1996-2008 … The Leones del Caribe have won all three of its previous tournament games against Caribbean sides, while outscoring them 32:9 … After serving as assistant coach in the 2008 event, Clemente Reynoso returns to the helm of Cuba where he’s currently tied (with Trinidad & Tobago’s Clayton Morris) in third-place in the Tournament’s All-Time Coaching Victories Lists with eight … Meanwhile, St. Kitts & Nevis are playing their first futsal match and have Jeffrey Hazel as the head coach.


GROUP A

USA - PANAMA
This is the third consecutive tournament both teams are facing off, with the USA holding a 1-0-2 edge …
In their last encounter, three goals by midfielder Matthew Stewart led the Stars & Stripes to a 7:1 triumph over the Canaleros in the 2008 event’s third-place match in Ciudad de Guatemala … The victory also secured the USA the last berth to the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil later that year … Keith Tozer, who is the All-Time Leader in Tournament Victories with 15, has coached the Stars & Stripes in all the CONCACAF competitions since 1996 … However, the USA is currently on a 11-game (overall) losing streak and last year dropped all their matches at the annual Grand Prix de Futsal in Brazil … Meanwhile, Panama is coming off a three-game friendly series against Cuba in La Habana last month … After holding the host to consecutive draws (4:4, 2:2) in the first two matches, the Canaleros lost the third encounter by a score of 4:2 … Former Cuban Assistant Coach Agustin Campuzano is at the helm for Panama.

USA – PANAMA’s Last Meeting
2008 CONCACAF Championship - Third Place
08.06.2008: Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA; Domo Polideportivo (A: 2581)
USA – PANAMA 7:1 (2:0)
Pat MORRIS 5’, 39’ pen; Andrew ROSENBAND 18’; Matthew STEWART 23’, 28’, 38’; Jamar BEASLEY 36’ – Alfredo PHILLIPS 38’
USA: Jeff Richey – Jamar Beasley, Denison Cabral, Pat Morris, Matthew Stewart.
Subs: Michael Apple, Andrew Rosenband, Carlos Farias, Sandre Naumoski. Booked: Beasley 17’, Apple 23’, Sent offs: Rosenband 36’
TD: Keith TOZER
PAN: Oscar McFarlane – Augusto Harrison, Alfredo Phillips, Juan Murillo, Apolinar Galvez.
Subs: Chaimyr Toyloy, Oscar Hinks, Gilberto Rangel, Miguel Lasso, Alquis Alvarado. Booked: McFarlane 33’, Toyloy 34’, Sent offs: Assistant Coach-Alex Del Rosario 26’, McFarlane 39’
TD: Porfirio REBOLLEDO
R1: Carlos DEL CID (GUA), R2: Antonio ALVAREZ (CUB)


GUATEMALA – CANADA
This is the second time these two teams see each other on a futsal court, but first in a CONCACAF tournament … In the last meeting, which took place almost nine years ago, Chris Sarantopoulos scored twice to lead Canada to a 5:3 victory over Guatemala on the final day of a four-team round-robin friendly tournament (included Mexico and host USA) in Anaheim, California … With former futsal and beach soccer player Sipho Sibiya at the helm, Canada is competing in their first CONCACAF Final Round after eliminating El Salvador a two-game qualifying playoff, 7:6 on aggregate, prior to the 2012 tournament … The Maple Leafs are also one of only two CONCACAF teams (other Cuba) that have not lost a game in regulation to Guatemala … Meanwhile, the defending champion Chapines, who had staged the FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2000, are hosting their second consecutive and third overall CONCACAF tournament … Carlos Eduardo Estrada, who’s also looking to become the second coach to win his second Confederation crown (other USA’s Keith Tozer) in the 2012 tournament, coached Guatemala to its second appearance at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil 2008, posting a 2-2-0 record in group play, but was unable to progress to the next round … The two Chapines’ victories were the most by a Central American nation at the FIFA event … Since then, Guatemala has also made three consecutive appearances at the annual Grand Prix de Futsal in Brazil (2009-2011) with its best finished coming in 2011 (fifth-place).

GUATEMALA – CANADA’s Last Meeting
2003 Futsal Goal Cup
07.12.2003: Anaheim, California USA; Anaheim Convention Center (A: 325)
CANADA – GUATEMALA 5:3 (1:0)
Kyriakos SELAIDOPOULOS 1’; Chris SARANTOPOULOS 21’, 33’; Alfredo VALENTE 28’; Geordie LYALL 37’ – Erick ACEVEDO 25’, 40’; Marlon NOJ 40’
CAN: Bradley Daviss – Geordie Lyall, Patrick Leduc, Kyriakos Selaidopoulos, Chris Sarantopoulos.
Subs: Glen Gehlert – William DeSilva, Alfredo Valente, Kurt Bosch, Steffan Holdt, Tiarnan King, Sean Fraser, Jason Jordan, Nico Craveiro. Booked: Valente 26’, King 32’, Sent offs: Jordan 32’
TD: Ross ONGARO
GUA: Carlos Merida – Jaime Estuardo De León, Reinaldo Rosales Acevedo, Marlon Noj, Erick Acevedo.
Subs: Omar Castillo, Carlos Eduardo Estrada Ramirez. Booked: Castillo 13’, Noj 32’, Sent offs: Estrada Ramírez 32’
TD: Carlos Eduardo ESTRADA
R1: Emilio DONGU (MEX), R2: Carlos PALOMINO (USA)


THAILAND AWAITS
The four semifinalists of the CONCACAF Tournament will earn the final qualifying berths to the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup that will place in Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand from 1-18 November … The CONCACAF Representatives will join the following qualified nations to complete the 24-team field: Host - Thailand; Africa (CAF) – Egypt, Libya, Morocco; Asia (AFC) – Australia, Iran, Japan, Kuwait; Europe (UEFA) – Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine; South America (CONMEBOL) – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay; Oceania (OFC) – Soloman Islands.

CONCACAF FUTSAL HISTORY
CONCACAF has staged four previous futsal qualifying competitions for FIFA tournament … The USA was crowned confederation champion twice (1996, 2004), while Costa Rica (2000) and Guatemala (2008) won single titles … Cuba has finished as runner-up on each of the four occasions.

Did You Know?
Of all the teams’ eight head coaches at the 2012 CONCACAF Futsal Championship, only Costa Rica’s Diego Solis has captured the Confederation crown as a player in 2000 … Solis played all tournament matches and was second on the event’s goalscorers list with seven on the way to the host Ticos 5-0-0 record … Costa Rica’s perfect ledger at the 2000 tournament has not been match by the other CONCACAF winners (1996: USA 3-1-0, 2004: USA 3-0-2; 2008: Guatemala 2-0-3) … Solis also competed with the Ticos in two FIFA Futsal World Cups (Hong Kong 1992, Guatemala 2000).

Since winning its first CONCACAF title four years ago, Guatemala had played the most international matches by any Confederation team (38) leading up this tournament … Costa Rica is second with 33 encounters.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com