How can the Jaguars advance to the next round?

Belizeans here and abroad were tuned in this past Saturday as the Belize Jaguars took on Costa Rica in their second outing in the 2013 Gold Cup. And after losing to Costa Rica in an auto goal, the Belize Jaguars are now in Hartford, Connecticut where they will be playing the Cuban selection. Now, Cuba like Belize has lost to the United States and Costa Rica. But Belize will have to beat Cuba by at least four goals. We’ll have full coverage of Saturday’s game in tonight’s newscast, but going forward, here is what the standings look like for Belize to survive and make it to the second round of the Gold Cup.

James Adderley, Reporting

Most Belizeans are holding on to the hope that Belize will come up with a win over Cuba tomorrow at the Rentscher Field in East Hartford, Connecticut and we’ll make it to the next round of play. Here are the hard facts:

In Group C, the United States and Costa Rica, who play each other tomorrow, show six points each and have already clinched. Belize and Cuba have no points to show going into their final group match tomorrow and both teams show a minus six goal difference.

In Group A, which has concluded play, Panama and Mexico are moving on. Panama is the group winner with seven points and Mexico has six points. Martinique with three points and a goal difference of minus three is already ahead of Belize to qualify while Canada is out with one point.

Meanwhile, Honduras has emerged the winner in Group B with six points and a plus three goal who have one point and a minus two goal difference. Haiti, who show three points and a zero goal difference, is in second place and will take on El Salvador who come in today at Houston with one point and a goal difference of minus one. Only Honduras is assured of sudden death play at this juncture.

The numbers tells us that Belize needs a four goal win over Cuba to get past Martinique while Trinidad and Tobago must lose or draw to Honduras and El Salvador must lose or draw to Haiti for us to have a shot.There are only eight spots in the quarterfinals and the top two from each group will qualify. The other two berths will be filled by the remaining teams with the best record. If there is a tie in points, then the goal difference becomes the decider. While it is not impossible for Belize to advance, it appears to us as very unlikely.