Here’s what we know after 2 matches played by all teams:
- Cuba with several professionals playing in Europe on their roster appears to be a notch or two above the remaining five teams. While they are inconsistent at times they are likely to finish first with an unblemished record.
- Mexico, Canada and the U.S. appear to be roughly on the same level. As Canada and Mexico played to a 26-26 draw last night few should argue with that assessment. The U.S. had a solid 32-26 win over the Dominican Republic, not unlike Mexico’s 33-28 victory over the same side on day 1.
- The Dominican Republic and perhaps, Puerto Rico are a slight notch below Mexico, Canada and the U.S. The Dominican Republic has not lost to both the U.S. and Mexico so they clearly have an uphill climb toward qualification. Puerto Rico played Canada close and lost to Cuba, but their next 3 matches are all winnable so they are still in the hunt. Either side, for sure is capable of beating any team other than Cuba.
Here’s what it means going forward:
- With Cuba likely finishing first, the remaining teams are fighting for the 2nd and 3rd positions and qualification to the Pan American Championships.
- The Mexico-Canada draw means that it’s less likely there will be a 3 way tie in the standings with the U.S., Mexico and Canada all level on points. This means that the matches both of those teams play against the U.S. could be pivotal in terms of qualification for the Pan American Championships. A win against the U.S. will likely put Mexico and/or Canada in 2nd place.
- The U.S. is all but guaranteed qualification with wins over both Mexico and Canada (A likely 2nd place finish)
- The U.S. will likely qualify with a win over either Canada or Mexico. (A likely third place finish)
- A big caveat: the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are clearly capable of beating the U.S., Mexico or Canada. And a slip up there by any of those sides will render the above math inaccurate.
- Puerto Rico is still in the mix, but they will likely need to run the table with 3 straight wins over the Dominican Republic, U.S. and Mexico. (Something they surely think they are capable of.)
Results and Remaining Schedule
All times Local or Central Time, USA
Tuesday April 3
Puerto Rico 27×31 Canada
United States 30×41 Cuba
Mexico 33×28 Dominican Republic
Wednesday April 4
Cuba 36×23 Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic 26×32 United States
Canada 26×26 Mexico
Thursday April 5
2:00 p.m. Puerto Rico vs Dominican Republic
4:00 p.m. Canada vs Cuba
6:00 p.m. Mexico vs the United States
Friday April 6
Rest day
Saturday April 7
2:00 p.m. United States vs. Puerto Rico
4:00 p.m. Dominican Republic vs Canada
6:00 p.m. Mexico vs. Cuba
Sunday April 8
12:00 p.m. United States vs. Canada
2:00 p.m. Dominican Republic vs Cuba
4:00 p.m. Mexico vs. Puerto Rico
Streaming Link: Link
(Note: A new streaming link for the upcoming match usually appears about 15 minutes before each match. The link also has on demand video of previously played matches.)
Worth checking out: The last five minutes of the Mexico-Canada match. In particular, the would be last goal that was apparently just a fraction of a second too late: Link