El Tri: Francisco 'Maza' Rodriguez Shoots the Bird

While Mexico did not lose in its opening match of The Hex, a 0-0 draw against Jamaica at the Estudio Azteca in Mexico City was not the way that El Tri wanted to start the last stage of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil. But not only were the Mexican players frustrated by the Reggae Boyz on the pitch, but they were frustrated by the boos emanating from the Mexican fans filling up the stadium.

It seems that the frustration took the better of Mexico's captain Francisco 'Maza' Rodriguez, who shot the bird at a live television camera as he left the pitch after the match. Today Maza is trying to claim the gesture was a result of a "finger injury," well I call bullshit on that. Was that scowl also a result of an injury, huh Maza? I don't mind when athletes let their emotions get away from them and they make an obscene gesture or hurtle some foul language, but I do hate when they try to cover it up with lies. Be a man Maza, admit you were pissed off and you weren't thinking straight.

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The United States Drops It's First Hex Match to Honduras, 2-1

The Hex, the last stage of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, began on Tuesday February 6th, and the United States got off to a bad start with a 2-1 loss to Honduras at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Due to the fact that I don't have beIN Sport on my provider and the fact that the match occurred while I was at my day job, I was not able to watch the match. I did listen to the radio feed out of Honduras, but my Spanish is far from adequate to fully understand what was going on. But, based on the comments and accounts of people who did watch the match, here is my impressions:

- The United States played like a team made up of players who played for their clubs over the weekend; flew to Miami; then flew to Honduras on Tuesday; barely had time to train and bond; and underestimated their opponent.

- The United States is striker deficient and Jurgen Klinsmann should have played Herculez Gomez.

- The existence of MLS has helped develop soccer talent across the CONCACAF region.

I did see a fair share of knee-jerk the sky is falling the US isn't going to qualify tweets yesterday, but let's be realistic here, this was the first match of the Hex, odds are the US was going to lose a couple road games. The hopes of reaching the World Cup finals in Brazil are not dashed for the US, there's plenty of time and matches left in this process.

Before some video from and after the match, here's the other CONCACAF results:

Panama 2 - 2 Costa Rica

Mexico 0 - 0 Jamaica

Highlights from the match:

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U.S. National Team Picks Up Win Over Jamaica in World Cup Qualifying

After the United States National Team lost to Jamaica, 2-1, in Kingston, Jamaica in a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier on Friday, the US fan base went into full on Chicken Little - "The Sky is Falling!" - hysteria mode, fretting that the US would not make it to the Hexagonal Stage of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.

Last night in Columbus, Ohio, the US got a chance to redeem itself against Jamaica, which they did with a 1-0 win against a Jamaica side that came into the match clearly hoping for a 0-0 draw. Jamaica's "park the bus" approach to the match gave the US numerous shots on goal early in the first half, many of which were denied by the woodwork.

The winning goal finally came for the US in the 55th minute when Herculez Gomez got the ball by Jamaica's keeper on a gorgeous free kick. After the US goal, Jamaica finally turned up the heat offensively, but it was too little, too late as the US picked up the 3 points.

The US is now tied at the top of Group A with Guatemala and Jamaica on 7 points, but the US and Guatemala lead on goal differential. This stage of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying wraps up next month when the US heads to Antigua to play Antigua & Barbuda on October 12th and then hosts Guatemala in Kansas City, Kansas on October 16th.

One thing that has become increasingly evident in recent years is that CONCACAF is a much tougher Federation to play in as more players from the smaller countries, such as Jamaica, have gained valuable experience and development in leagues such as MLS. Last night's match was a reflection of this since Jamaica started 5 MLS players while the US only started 1 MLS player. This is a reality that fans of the US, and fans of Mexico, need to start accepting and coming to terms with.

The CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying structure is still weighted in favor of Mexico and the US, but said teams and their fans need to stop underestimating the other CONCACAF teams. That's a lesson the US learned this past Friday.

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup - Quarterfinals Night Two: US & Panama Get a Rematch

Sunday afternoon at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, the United States hosted Jamaica and Panama played El Salvador to determine which teams would advance to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on Wednesday night.

It was US hoping to get past Jamaica in the matinee match, and get by Jamaica they did thank to goals from Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey. Coming into Sunday's match, Jamaica had scored multiple goals while keeping clean sheets in all of its group stage matches. Despite looking dangerous from time to time, Jamaica was unable to score and its keeper, Donovan Ricketts, managed numerous saves, but couldn't stop them all.

RFK Stadium was packed with fans of El Salvador hoping to see their team beat Panama and advance to the semifinals. It was El Salvador that scored first, when Rodolfo Zelaya put the ball in the net in the 77th minute, but it only took 12 minutes for Panama's Luis Tejada to respond with a goal of his own. The match was tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation time, forcing it to be decided on penalty kicks. Panama ends up advancing to the semifinals after beating El Salvador 5-3 on penalty kicks.

Sunday's results mean that the United States and Panama will face each other in a rematch on Wednesday night at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Jermaine Jones & Clint Dempsey Propel United States to CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinals

It might have been unsaid by Soccer House, but Bob Bradley's job as coach of the US Men's National Team was on the line heading into today's CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals match against Jamaica. Thanks to the following two goals from Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey, Bradley has received a stay of execution as USMNT advances to the semifinals in Houston on Wednesday.

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup - Night Eight: Another Shutout for Jamaica

Group B action wrapped up in Harrison, New Jersey on Monday night as Guatemala played Grenada and Honduras faced Jamaica.

Grenada has been giving Cuba a run for its money as the whipping boy for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and Monday was no different as they gave up 4 goals to Guatemala while being unable to score a goal of their own. Guatemala's goals came from Jose Del Aguila in the 15th minute, Marco Pappa in the 21st minute, Carlos Ruiz in the 53rd minute, and Carlos Gallardo in the 58th minute. With its win, Guatemala advance to the quarterfinals.

The second night of the match, Jamaica v. Honduras, only saw one goal scored, but that's the only goal Jamaica needed to maintain its winning streak and advance to the quarterfinals. The goal came in the goal came in the 35th minute and there is some disagreement as to whether the goal was scored by Jamaica's Ryan Johnson, who plays for the San Jose Earthquakes in MLS, or whether it was an own goal off of Noel Valladares.

The Gold Cup's group stage ends Tuesday night in Kansas City as Canada faces a dangerous Panama and the United States seeks redemption against Guadeloupe.

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup - Night Five: Lucky Seven for Honduras

Friday night's gold cup action featured Group B action with Jamaica facing Guatemala and Grenada playing Honduras in Miami.

In the night's first match, Jamaica picked up a 2-0 victory against Guatemala thanks to a Demar Phillips brace in the second half. With two wins in its first two matches of the tournament, Jamaica has qualified for the quarterfinals and is proving to be the best Caribbean side in the 2011 Gold Cup.

Grenada, another Caribbean team, didn't fair well at all as they lost to Honduras, 7-1. Although Clive Murray picked up a goal for Grenada in the 18th minute, the "Spice Boys" never really had a chance, giving up three goals to Honduras in the first half and another four goals in the second half. Carlos Costly picked up a hat trick for Honduras with other goals coming from Jerry Bengtson, who picked up two, Walter Julián Martínez Ramos, and Alfredo Antonio Mejía Escobar.

Tonight's Gold Cup action takes place in Tampa and features Canada playing Guadeloupe and the United States facing Panama.

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup - Night Two: The Reggae Boyz Rule

Tuesday night in the 2011 Gold Cup saw two Caribbean teams, Jamaica and Grenada, and two Central American teams, Honduras and Guatemala, play each other in Group B action at the Home Depot Center in Southern California.

The night's opening match between Jamaica and Grenada continued the one sided, multi goal scoring match that started the tournament in Arlington, Texas on Sunday night. Jamaica managed to keep a clean sheet while scoring four goals, two in each half. Jamaica's goals came from Luton Shelton, Ryan Johnson, Demar Phillips, and Keammer Daley.

The second match in Monday's doubleheader ended in a 0-0 draw between Honduras and Guatemala.

Tonight Panama will play Guadeloupe and the United States will play Canada in Group C action at Ford Field in Detroit.