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Hex Foes Abroad

Chaos in Jamaica's Camp; Honduras Battle in Scotland

The Reggae Boyz are struggling to prepare for their upcoming match against the United States, while the rest of CONCACAF's contingent abroad returns home for final tuneups before qualifying.
BY Jon Arnold Posted
May 29, 2013
10:23 AM
The five national teams the U.S. faces during the Hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying include players who play outside CONCACAF. You know how the Americans fared abroad each week, but what about the players they’ll be facing? We’ll keep you updated on their progress each week. Also, don’t forget to check out our section dedicated to all things Hex.

We’ll focus first on the United States’ next Hex opponents:

Jamaica
Things in the Jamaica camp are pretty strange at the moment. The team is back home after a trip to The Bahamas was cut short and had a training session Sunday with just nine players present. Theo Whitmore, who was not at the small training, dropped Luton Shelton, the all-time leading scorer for the Reggae Boyz. For real, mon.

Jermaine Taylor wasn’t called in because of a shoulder injury and Demar Phillips has pulled a hamstring and won’t be available. Dane Richards as well has come up with an injury.

Lloyd Doyley didn’t get called in to this camp, and his Watford team didn’t make it to the Premier League, losing the Championship playoff to Crystal Palace.

Panama
Gabriel Torres’ and Rolando Escobar’s teams played the second leg of the final in Venezuela before the two joined up with Julio Dely Valdés’ Panama team. It’s Torres who lifted the silverware, thanks to a 2-1 victory Román Torres and Millonarios got a 2-1 win against Tolima in a match that saw three players sent off, two for Tolima and one for Millonarios. Fredy Montero scored a penalty for Millonarios.

Gabriel Gomez’s Junior and La Equidad played a 0-0 match Sunday.

Luis Henríquez played the full 90 for Lech Poznan and got a yellow card in a 2-0 loss to Podbeskidzie.

Armando Cooper was an unused substitute for Godoy Cruz, which drew 1-1 with Racing.

Honduras
The Scottish Cup final saw dueling Hondurans. Emilio Izaguirre will have bragging rights when he joins up with the national team in Florida, where they’re training ahead of a pre-WCQ friendly against Israel in New York on Sunday.

Joining Honduras in Florida is Jonathan Mejía, a Spanish-born forward with a Honduran father. In April, Mejíia said he’d like to play with the Catrachos. He’ll be with the team through the friendly.

Roger Espinoza used the trip to the States to visit his former teammates in Kansas City and tossed the coin at the start of the 1-1 draw.

Osman Chavez conceded a penalty in the 2nd minute, but made up for it by redirecting a shot for a goal in Wisla Krakow’s 1-1 draw
Costa Rica
Keylor Navas made four saves and kept a clean sheet for Levante in a 1-0 win against Athletic Bilbao. Navas seems to have the starting job locked up for subsequent seasons as well, with Munua on the way out.

Joel Campbell’s slump in form finally saw him sent to the bench. He came on in the 76th minute for Real Betis, already ahead 4-0 against Zaragoza.

Michael Barrantes scored, but it wasn’t enough for Aalesund. It lost 2-1 to Stromsgodset. That and other goals scored by Ticos can be seen here: Celso Borges went all of AIK’s 1-1 draw against Djurgaarden last week.

Giancarlo Gonzalez and Diego Calvo went the full 90, but Mix Diskerud and Rosenborg beat the club 2-1.

The season is over for Bryan Ruiz, Christian Bolaños and Bryan Oviedo.

Mexico
Valencia moved Andres Guardado back to left back for 1-0 defeat of Granada. Guardado has been switching between left back and left midfield the past few weeks.

Hector Moreno was hoping to return from an abductor injury in time for Espanyol’s derby match with Barcelona, but he wasn’t able to play. His club lost 2-0 to the Spanish champions.

Carlos Vela missed Real Sociedad’s 3-3 draw with Real Madrid because of yellow card accumulation.

Gio dos Santos and Mallorca drew with Atletico Madrid. He went the full 90 in the scoreless contest.

Guillermo Ochoa ended the season on a down note with Ajaccio losing 2-0 to Nice.

Javier Aquino started but went only 41 minutes for Villarreal in a loss to Xerez. The Yelllow Submarine still remains in an automatic promotion spot, looking to return to La Liga.

Chicharito’s season is over.

Whose performance strikes the most fear in your heart? Have we missed any players who you think should be in the U.S.’ game tape rotation? Any information you’d like to see in future editions? Let us know in the comments section!

Jon Arnold (@ArnoldcommaJon) is a writer based in Arizona and is ASN's CONCACAF correspondent.

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