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<H1>Up, up and away for Caribbean trio
(FIFA.com) 16 Nov 2006
<TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px; BORDER-TOP: 1px; BORDER-LEFT: 1px; WIDTH: 30%; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right summary=""><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>
Malcolm Marshall of Barbados battles for the ball as his side take wing.
(AFP) MAURICIO DUENAS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The largely unknown and wholly unfancied Caribbean trio of Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados have burst in among the big boys of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking Top 100 thanks to some fine recent performances in the Caribbean Cup. </H1>
Despite hitting the headlines most often for political matters, the French-speaking island nation of Haiti has often produced talented footballers. The nation's proudest footballing moment since its FA's foundation in 1904 came in 1973 when they were crowned CONCACAF champions. As a result they qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup™ finals in Germany FR, becoming only the second side from the Caribbean to do so. Though they returned home with zero points and 14 goals conceded, their status as powers in the tropical sub-region was assured.
Though their fortunes have fallen off a bit in the intervening years, some strong recent performances in the first round of the Caribbean Cup (which acts as one of the qualifying tournaments for next year's CONCACAF Gold Cup) have the colourful Haitians aiming high once again.
Finishing in first place in the competition's Group D helped them climb a full 35 spots in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world ranking hitting the impressive mark of 83rd. A 4-0 win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines in late September was followed by a 7-1 victory over St. Lucia and only saw a spanner thrown in the works when they lost out 0-2 to regional powers Jamaica.
Led by the scoring exploits of Jean Baptiste Fritzon and Jean Jacques Jamil, the side coached by Carlos Marcellin now find themselves in the second round of the Caribbean Cup and set to face off later this month against Cuba, Martinique and Surinam, hoping to secure a spot at next year's CONCACAF Gold Cup - the regional showpiece event staged in the USA.<TABLE id=IMGTAB1 style="WIDTH: 30%; HEIGHT: 150px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR id=TRCAP><TD vAlign=bottom align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Brenford Joseph is one of St. Vincent and the Grenadines shining lights. </SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRSOURCE><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(AFP)</SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRAUTHOR><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Just behind Haiti in the rankings - in 85th spot - are the largely unknown St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They finished tangled on six points with both the Haitians and Jamaica in Group D and can count themselves mighty proud to have beaten the mighty Jamaicans on 9 September by a 2-1 scoreline after losing out 0-4 to Haiti in their opener. An 8-0 win against St. Lucia rounded off their first-round campaign and booked their passage to the next stage.
The side will be looking to bank on the continued output of Shandel Samuel - who scored no fewer than five goals against St. Lucia - as the competition progresses to the second round, where they will meet Bermuda, Barbados and the Bahamas.
Also just cracking the top 100 is Barbados (100th place) - who will meet fellow climbers St. Vincent in the Grenadines in round two.
(FIFA.com) 16 Nov 2006
<TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px; BORDER-TOP: 1px; BORDER-LEFT: 1px; WIDTH: 30%; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right summary=""><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>
Malcolm Marshall of Barbados battles for the ball as his side take wing.(AFP) MAURICIO DUENAS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The largely unknown and wholly unfancied Caribbean trio of Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados have burst in among the big boys of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking Top 100 thanks to some fine recent performances in the Caribbean Cup. </H1>
Despite hitting the headlines most often for political matters, the French-speaking island nation of Haiti has often produced talented footballers. The nation's proudest footballing moment since its FA's foundation in 1904 came in 1973 when they were crowned CONCACAF champions. As a result they qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup™ finals in Germany FR, becoming only the second side from the Caribbean to do so. Though they returned home with zero points and 14 goals conceded, their status as powers in the tropical sub-region was assured.
Though their fortunes have fallen off a bit in the intervening years, some strong recent performances in the first round of the Caribbean Cup (which acts as one of the qualifying tournaments for next year's CONCACAF Gold Cup) have the colourful Haitians aiming high once again.
Finishing in first place in the competition's Group D helped them climb a full 35 spots in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world ranking hitting the impressive mark of 83rd. A 4-0 win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines in late September was followed by a 7-1 victory over St. Lucia and only saw a spanner thrown in the works when they lost out 0-2 to regional powers Jamaica.
Led by the scoring exploits of Jean Baptiste Fritzon and Jean Jacques Jamil, the side coached by Carlos Marcellin now find themselves in the second round of the Caribbean Cup and set to face off later this month against Cuba, Martinique and Surinam, hoping to secure a spot at next year's CONCACAF Gold Cup - the regional showpiece event staged in the USA.<TABLE id=IMGTAB1 style="WIDTH: 30%; HEIGHT: 150px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR id=TRCAP><TD vAlign=bottom align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Brenford Joseph is one of St. Vincent and the Grenadines shining lights. </SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRSOURCE><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(AFP)</SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRAUTHOR><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Just behind Haiti in the rankings - in 85th spot - are the largely unknown St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They finished tangled on six points with both the Haitians and Jamaica in Group D and can count themselves mighty proud to have beaten the mighty Jamaicans on 9 September by a 2-1 scoreline after losing out 0-4 to Haiti in their opener. An 8-0 win against St. Lucia rounded off their first-round campaign and booked their passage to the next stage. The side will be looking to bank on the continued output of Shandel Samuel - who scored no fewer than five goals against St. Lucia - as the competition progresses to the second round, where they will meet Bermuda, Barbados and the Bahamas.
Also just cracking the top 100 is Barbados (100th place) - who will meet fellow climbers St. Vincent in the Grenadines in round two.
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