CONCACAF First Round Qualifying Results

These are the results for the first round of CONCACAF qualifying, which took place during June and July. The 10 worst ranked teams in the region took part in this round, with the winners joining the teams ranked seventh through 25th in the second round. Here are the aggregate results

Belize 8
Montserrat 3

This tie was the most intriguing of the five, but for reasons not on the field. The first leg, held in Trinidad and Tobago due to their being no facility capable of hosting in Montserrat finished 5-2 to Belize. Deon McCaulay put the visitors ahead in the 24th minute, scoring the first of three for him in the game. Jaylee Hodgson scored both goals for Montserrat, an equalizer in the 44th minute and a late consolation after four unanswered second half goals from Belize (highlights).

Two days before the scheduled second leg, FIFA suspended Belize for severe government interference in football. If the Belize federation did not resolve the conflict by July 10th, Monsterrat would have advanced, but on July 7th FIFA reinstated the federation and the second leg was played July 17th in Honduras.

Belize secured their passage to the next round with a comfortable 3-1 victory. Belize took a first half lead only for Hodgson to equalize in the second half, but Belize answered with two goals in three minutes to complete the scoring (highlights).

Bahamas 10
Turks and Caicos Islands 0

Bahamas had a real comfortable time in their match up, winning easily in both legs. In the away leg, they won 4-0 with two goals from Nesley Jean leading the way (highlights). The second leg saw Bahamas run rampant with a 6-0 win, including five goals from Lesly St. Fleur (highlights).

Dominican Republic 6
Anguilla 0

The Dominicans also had no problem with their opposition, advancing with ease. Both legs were held in the Dominican Republic, due to Anguilla not having a stadium up to international standards. The first leg was a 2-0 victory for the DR, with goals from Domingo Peralta and Puerto Rico Islander's striker Jonathan Faña (highlights). The second leg was a 4-0 triumph for the Dominicans, with Inoel Navarro on target twice (highlights). For the Dominicans, they improve on their qualifying progress from the 2010 cycle, where they fell in the first round to Puerto Rico.

U.S. Virgin Islands 4
British Virgin Islands 1

In this derby battle between the chaste islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands picked up their first two wins in World Cup qualifying history to advance to the second round. Alderman Lesmond and Reid Klopp were the scorers in the 2-0 home win in the first leg. Dwayne Thomas clinched the tie with a first minute goal in the second leg. Trevor Peters scored the lone goal in the tie for the British Virgin Islands while Klopp secured a 2-1 leg victory for the USVI in the 93rd minute. Sadly there are no highlights available from either leg to my knowledge.

Saint Lucia 6
Aruba 6
(Saint Lucia advances on PKs 5-4)

This tie brought a bunch of drama and goals, as Aruba almost pulled off the upset. In the first leg, Aruba picked up a 4-2 win, with goals from Frederick Gomez and David Abdul breaking a late 2-2 tie. Saint Lucia fought back in the second leg thanks to a hat-trick from Jamal Joseph and a 73rd minute shot from Kurt Frederick appeared to put the side into the second round. However, Gomez made the score 4-2 just two minutes later and that's how the tie would stay for the end of normal time. Extra time could not separate the sides as well, forcing the two teams to go to penalty kicks. Neither side would miss until the fifth shooter for Aruba, Jelano Cruden, failed to convert, sending his side crashing out. No highlights could be found for this match up as well

Coming up in the next few weeks, we will take an in depth look at the groups for the second round of CONCACAF qualifying and the third round of AFC qualifying, both of which begin on Sept. 2.