Opening game challenge for Jaguars

Belize face a formidable task in the opening game of January's Central American Cup when they play tournament hosts, Panama. Here are the goals from Panama's impressive 2-0 friendly victory over Honduras last week: Luis Tejada and Aramis Haywood were the scorers.

Panama vs Honduras goals

The latest round of matches in the Caribbean Motors Cup were postponed after San Pedro Sea Dogs withdrew from the league. All teams who were still due to play the Sea Dogs will be awarded three points.

Belize look forward to World Cup boost

Belize has dropped one place to 175th in the latest FIFA World rankings. Crucially, however, the Jaguars remain 27th out of the 35 teams in the CONCACAF region, this position being crucial to their 2014 World Cup qualifying hopes. Back in May of this year, CONCACAF proposed changes to the region's qualifying format for the next World Cup in Brazil, with the bottom six-ranked teams playing a preliminary round to decide who makes the round of 32. In their current ranking position, Belize would play in a World Cup qualifying group for the very first time, guaranteeing them at least six matches - the last 32 being split into eight groups of four, competing for places in the final sixteen group stage. These additional internationals are vital to the development of the Belizean national team which has undoubtedly suffered from a lack of competitive matches in the past. Belize's participation in the last 32 looks secure given that none of the teams ranked below them are likely to have the opportunity to play many fixtures in the next eight months, by which time the World Cup seedings will have been decided. Jose de la Paz Herrera's men do, of course, have a fantastic opportunity to shoot up the rankings with a good showing in January's Central American Cup

Hosts of that competition and Belize's opening game opponents, Panama, are fast becoming tournament favourites after an impressive 2-0 home victory over World Cup finalists Honduras on Wednesday. Elsewhere, Guatemala had an equally impressive 3-0 win against Caribbean Cup qualifiers Guyana, whilst Costa Rica drew 0-0 with Jamaica.

Belize Defence Force strengthened their position as leaders in the Caribbean Motors Cup with a 7-0 crushing of the luckless San Pedro Sea Dogs. FC Belize maintained their place in second with a 2-0 triumph over Hankook Verdes, Christian Okonkwo scoring the opening goal to make him the league's leading goalscorer with six.

International break for Belize

Four of the seven competing nations at the forthcoming Central American Cup will be in international friendly action next week, but there will be no game for Belize. Competition hosts Panama play at home to Honduras (with a return match in La Ceiba next month), whilst Costa Rica and Guatemala face Caribbean opposition in the form of Jamaica and Guyana respectively. Unfortunately, Jose de la Paz Herrera's Jaguars do not now have another fixture before his first major tournament as coach, although the same can also be said of group rivals El Salvador and Nicaragua. Whether just two internationals in the past twelve months is enough preparation for the Belizean team, remains to be seen.

In the latest round of matches in the Caribbean Motors Cup, defending champions and league leaders Belize Defence Force were held at home to a 0-0 draw by third-placed Griga United. This allowed FC Belize to narrow the gap at the top to three points following their comfortable 4-1 victory over bottom-of-the-table San Pedro Sea Dogs.
FCB's Christian Okonkwo and Deris Benavides of San Felipe Barcelona are now the league's joint top goalscorers on five apiece. This weekend sees the league's top two play host to the bottom two, with BDF and FC Belize up against San Pedro and Hankook Verdes respectively.

Dominant Force begin their defence

The Belizean Premier League (Caribbean Motors Cup) table has a familiar look to it as the opening (Apertura) season reaches it's halfway point, with double-reigning champions Belize Defence Force five points clear at the top. In the most recent series of games (delayed for one week by Hurricane Richard) Daniel Jimenez's 93rd minute goal gave BDF a crucial 2-1 victory over their nearest challengers, FC Belize. Belizean international defender Everal Trapp had given BDF the lead on the half-hour, only for Christian Okwonko to equalise with ten minutes remaining. Okwonko currently shares in a five-way tie at the top of the goalscoring charts on four goals, alongside teammate Jarrett Davis, the aforementioned Jimenez, Deris Benavides (San Felipe Barcelona) and Leon Jones (Belmopan Blaze). San Pedro Sea Dogs currently lie bottom of the table having lost all seven of their games so far, scoring only six goals and conceding twenty in the process.

In the Honduran Primera Division, two Belizean interantionals were on the scoresheet as Deportes Savio defeated Platense, 3-1. Deon McCauley opened the scoring for Deportes, with Harrison Roches grabbing a late consolation for Platense.