Post by mrpmosh on Apr 3, 2011 16:12:40 GMT 8
As I see this subforum has no threads I'll try to post and update about CONCACAF & CONMEBOL nations, I'll start with a little review:
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) is the governing body for soccer (football) in this region, and one of six continental authorities that administer the game along with FIFA, the world governing body.
Formed in 1961 from the merger of the Football Confederation of Central America and the Caribbean (CCCF ) and the North American Football Confederation NAFC), CONCACAF has 40 member associations, including Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana on the South American continent.
Of the 40 members, five are associate members: Dutch territory Sint Maarten as well French Guyana and its fellow French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint-Martin. Their status permits them to play in CONCACAF events but not those of FIFA.
As the administrative body for the region, CONCACAF organizes competitions, offers training courses in technical and administrative aspects of the game, and helps to build football throughout the region.
CONCACAF organizes tournaments on a four-year cycle for clubs and national teams throughout the region. This includes qualifying tournaments (also the regional championships) for the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA tournaments at under-17, under-20 and under-23 youth levels as well as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Two additional regional entities support CONCACAF specifically the CFU (Caribbean Football Union) and UNCAF (Union Centromericana de Fútbol "Central America") organize regional and qualification events for men's and women's national sides as well as club teams to different CONCACAF tournaments.
Powerhouses:
Mexico
The only CONCACAF's powerhouse for a long time, Mexico's one of the strongest and most recognizable teams in this zone.
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (FMF), the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre. The team is currently ranked 27th in the FIFA World Rankings and 12th in the World Football Elo Ratings.
Mexico has qualified for fourteen World Cups and has qualified consecutively since 1994. Mexico's best progression was reaching the Quarterfinals in both the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, both of which were staged on Mexican soil.
Mexico are historically the most successful national team in the CONCACAF region, as they are the only team from the region to win an official FIFA recognized title. They hold one FIFA Confederations Cup, eight CONCACAF championships including five CONCACAF Gold Cups, one North American Nations Cup and two NAFC Championships. Although Mexico is under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF, the national football team has been regularly invited to compete in the Copa América since Ecuador 1993 finishing as runner-up twice and obtaining the third place medal on three occasions.
Honours:
FIFA Confederations Cup: 1 (1999)
Copa América: Runner-Up (1993, 2001)
CONCACAF Championship (discontinued) : 3 (1965, 1971, 1977)
CONCACAF Gold Cup: 5 (1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009)
NAFC Championship (discontinued): 2 (1947, 1949)
North American Nations Cup (discontinued): 1 (1991)
Central American and Caribbean Games Gold Medals: 6 (1935, 1938, 1959, 1962, 1966, 1990)
Pan Am Games Gold Medals: 3 (1967, 1975, 1999)
CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament Gold Medals: 5 (1964, 1972, 1976, 1996, 2004)
FIFA U-17 World Cup: 1 (2005)
Current most important players:
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez (Manchester United, 22 years old, striker)
Carlos Salcido (Fulham, 31 years old, defender)
Giovani Dos Santos (Racing Santander -on loan from Tottenham Hotspurs-, 21 years old, striker)
Carlos Vela (West Bromwich -on loan from Arsenal-, 22 years old, striker)
Héctor Moreno (AZ Alkmaar, 23 years old, defender)
USA
Along with Mexico, the "top tiers" of the CONCACAF zone.
The United States men's national association football team represents the United States in international association football (soccer) competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and compete in CONCACAF.
The team is, according to the FIFA World Rankings, ranked 19th in the world and first in CONCACAF, and is also ranked 25th in the World Football ELO Ratings. It has appeared in the last six FIFA World Cups, and hosted the 1994 edition.
The team's best finish in the FIFA World Cup came in the inaugural 1930 tournament where it finished third. More recently, it finished fourth in the 1995 Copa América, reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, and took second place in the 2009 Confederations Cup. The United States has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup four times in ten tournaments, one short of Mexico's five. U.S soccer teams also took silver and bronze in the 1904 Olympic Games.
Honours:
FIFA World Cup: Third place (1930)
FIFA Confederations Cup: Runner-Up (2009)
CONCACAF Gold Cup: 4 (1991, 2002, 2005, 2007)
Pan Am Games Gold Medals: 1 (1991)
Current most important players:
Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy, 29 years old, striker)
Clint Dempsey (Fulham, 28 years old, midfielder)
Tim Howard (Everton, 32 years old, goalkeeper)
Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor, 21 years old, striker)
Michael Bradley (Aston Villa, 23 years old, midfielder)
Costa Rica
Along with Honduras, the 2nd tiers of the zone.
The Costa Rica national football team, nicknamed La Sele, is the national team of Costa Rica and is controlled by the Federación Costarricense de Fútbol. Costa Rica is the third most successful team in CONCACAF after Mexico and the United States, and the most successful team in Central America having qualified for three World Cups, reaching the last sixteen on their debut in Italy 1990 and putting up a solid showing in 2002 where they had the misfortune to be drawn in the same group as eventual champions Brazil and third-place finishing Turkey. In 2006, Los Ticos qualified for the World Cup in Germany, with their worst World Cup finish ever, finishing 31st out of 32 teams.
Costa Rica have been CONCACAF champions three times (1963, 1969, 1989) and have won the UNCAF Nations Cup six times. The nation has also participated in three Copa América tournaments, making the quarterfinals on their last two visits.
Honours:
CONCACAF Championship (discontinued): 3 (1963, 1969, 1989)
CCCF Championship (discontinued): 9 (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1961)
UNCAF Nations Cup: 6 (1991, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)
Current most important players:
Bryan Ruiz (Twente, 25 years old, striker)
Christian Bolaños (København, 26 years old, midfielder)
Celso Borges (Fredrikstad, 22 years old, midfielder)
Gilberto Martinez (Sampdoria, 31 years old, defender)
Keylor Navas (Albacete, 24 years old, goalkeeper)
Honduras
The Honduran national football team, nicknamed Los Catrachos, La Bicolor or La H, is the national team of Honduras and is controlled by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras (FENAFUTH). They are a rising team in CONCACAF, an ascent that started with their third place finish in the 2001 Copa América, where they were a late invitee, due to a withdrawal by Argentina one day prior to kickoff. In October 2009, they confirmed qualification to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was their first appearance in the competition since 1982.
Honours:
CONCACAF Championship (discontinued): 1 (1981)
UNCAF Nations Cup: 3 (1993, 1995, 2011)
Current most important players:
Wilson Palacios (Tottenham Hotspur, 26 years old, midfielder)
Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic, 24 years old, defender)
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan Athletic, 27 years old, defender)
Julio César de León (Shandong Luneng, 31 years old, midfielder)
David Suazo (Internazionalle, 31 years old, striker)
CONCACAF 3rd tiers
El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) is the governing body for soccer (football) in this region, and one of six continental authorities that administer the game along with FIFA, the world governing body.
Formed in 1961 from the merger of the Football Confederation of Central America and the Caribbean (CCCF ) and the North American Football Confederation NAFC), CONCACAF has 40 member associations, including Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana on the South American continent.
Of the 40 members, five are associate members: Dutch territory Sint Maarten as well French Guyana and its fellow French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint-Martin. Their status permits them to play in CONCACAF events but not those of FIFA.
As the administrative body for the region, CONCACAF organizes competitions, offers training courses in technical and administrative aspects of the game, and helps to build football throughout the region.
CONCACAF organizes tournaments on a four-year cycle for clubs and national teams throughout the region. This includes qualifying tournaments (also the regional championships) for the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA tournaments at under-17, under-20 and under-23 youth levels as well as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Two additional regional entities support CONCACAF specifically the CFU (Caribbean Football Union) and UNCAF (Union Centromericana de Fútbol "Central America") organize regional and qualification events for men's and women's national sides as well as club teams to different CONCACAF tournaments.
Powerhouses:
Mexico
The only CONCACAF's powerhouse for a long time, Mexico's one of the strongest and most recognizable teams in this zone.
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (FMF), the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre. The team is currently ranked 27th in the FIFA World Rankings and 12th in the World Football Elo Ratings.
Mexico has qualified for fourteen World Cups and has qualified consecutively since 1994. Mexico's best progression was reaching the Quarterfinals in both the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, both of which were staged on Mexican soil.
Mexico are historically the most successful national team in the CONCACAF region, as they are the only team from the region to win an official FIFA recognized title. They hold one FIFA Confederations Cup, eight CONCACAF championships including five CONCACAF Gold Cups, one North American Nations Cup and two NAFC Championships. Although Mexico is under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF, the national football team has been regularly invited to compete in the Copa América since Ecuador 1993 finishing as runner-up twice and obtaining the third place medal on three occasions.
Honours:
FIFA Confederations Cup: 1 (1999)
Copa América: Runner-Up (1993, 2001)
CONCACAF Championship (discontinued) : 3 (1965, 1971, 1977)
CONCACAF Gold Cup: 5 (1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009)
NAFC Championship (discontinued): 2 (1947, 1949)
North American Nations Cup (discontinued): 1 (1991)
Central American and Caribbean Games Gold Medals: 6 (1935, 1938, 1959, 1962, 1966, 1990)
Pan Am Games Gold Medals: 3 (1967, 1975, 1999)
CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament Gold Medals: 5 (1964, 1972, 1976, 1996, 2004)
FIFA U-17 World Cup: 1 (2005)
Current most important players:
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez (Manchester United, 22 years old, striker)
Carlos Salcido (Fulham, 31 years old, defender)
Giovani Dos Santos (Racing Santander -on loan from Tottenham Hotspurs-, 21 years old, striker)
Carlos Vela (West Bromwich -on loan from Arsenal-, 22 years old, striker)
Héctor Moreno (AZ Alkmaar, 23 years old, defender)
USA
Along with Mexico, the "top tiers" of the CONCACAF zone.
The United States men's national association football team represents the United States in international association football (soccer) competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and compete in CONCACAF.
The team is, according to the FIFA World Rankings, ranked 19th in the world and first in CONCACAF, and is also ranked 25th in the World Football ELO Ratings. It has appeared in the last six FIFA World Cups, and hosted the 1994 edition.
The team's best finish in the FIFA World Cup came in the inaugural 1930 tournament where it finished third. More recently, it finished fourth in the 1995 Copa América, reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, and took second place in the 2009 Confederations Cup. The United States has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup four times in ten tournaments, one short of Mexico's five. U.S soccer teams also took silver and bronze in the 1904 Olympic Games.
Honours:
FIFA World Cup: Third place (1930)
FIFA Confederations Cup: Runner-Up (2009)
CONCACAF Gold Cup: 4 (1991, 2002, 2005, 2007)
Pan Am Games Gold Medals: 1 (1991)
Current most important players:
Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy, 29 years old, striker)
Clint Dempsey (Fulham, 28 years old, midfielder)
Tim Howard (Everton, 32 years old, goalkeeper)
Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor, 21 years old, striker)
Michael Bradley (Aston Villa, 23 years old, midfielder)
Costa Rica
Along with Honduras, the 2nd tiers of the zone.
The Costa Rica national football team, nicknamed La Sele, is the national team of Costa Rica and is controlled by the Federación Costarricense de Fútbol. Costa Rica is the third most successful team in CONCACAF after Mexico and the United States, and the most successful team in Central America having qualified for three World Cups, reaching the last sixteen on their debut in Italy 1990 and putting up a solid showing in 2002 where they had the misfortune to be drawn in the same group as eventual champions Brazil and third-place finishing Turkey. In 2006, Los Ticos qualified for the World Cup in Germany, with their worst World Cup finish ever, finishing 31st out of 32 teams.
Costa Rica have been CONCACAF champions three times (1963, 1969, 1989) and have won the UNCAF Nations Cup six times. The nation has also participated in three Copa América tournaments, making the quarterfinals on their last two visits.
Honours:
CONCACAF Championship (discontinued): 3 (1963, 1969, 1989)
CCCF Championship (discontinued): 9 (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1961)
UNCAF Nations Cup: 6 (1991, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)
Current most important players:
Bryan Ruiz (Twente, 25 years old, striker)
Christian Bolaños (København, 26 years old, midfielder)
Celso Borges (Fredrikstad, 22 years old, midfielder)
Gilberto Martinez (Sampdoria, 31 years old, defender)
Keylor Navas (Albacete, 24 years old, goalkeeper)
Honduras
The Honduran national football team, nicknamed Los Catrachos, La Bicolor or La H, is the national team of Honduras and is controlled by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras (FENAFUTH). They are a rising team in CONCACAF, an ascent that started with their third place finish in the 2001 Copa América, where they were a late invitee, due to a withdrawal by Argentina one day prior to kickoff. In October 2009, they confirmed qualification to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was their first appearance in the competition since 1982.
Honours:
CONCACAF Championship (discontinued): 1 (1981)
UNCAF Nations Cup: 3 (1993, 1995, 2011)
Current most important players:
Wilson Palacios (Tottenham Hotspur, 26 years old, midfielder)
Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic, 24 years old, defender)
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan Athletic, 27 years old, defender)
Julio César de León (Shandong Luneng, 31 years old, midfielder)
David Suazo (Internazionalle, 31 years old, striker)
CONCACAF 3rd tiers
El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama