There are some who view Group C as a foregone conclusion, fancying Costa Rica to have little trouble with their group-mates and expecting Caribbean Cup champions Haiti to triumph over the surprise qualifiers, Suriname and El Salvador. However, with the group’s two top teams struggling with bouts of under-performance and the so-called minnows making yearly gains on their regional counterparts, Group C could be the setting for some big upsets and intriguing action. Costa Rica: In years past, Costa Rica’s semifinal draw would have been deemed a gift. These days, the Central American power will need to bring an attitude of utmost focus to Group C if they are to advance unscathed. With a recent history of success in CONCACAF, and an ever-positive Head Coach, Hernan Medford, the Ticos will be a favored to run the table, but in order to do so they will have to improve on recent performances that even Medford has had to describe with phrases such as, “not a disaster.” Unlike years past, Costa Rica lacks any true international star to call upon in trickier matches, so if Medford is to guide his team to their fourth FIFA World Cup™ in 2010 he will have to continue to build his men into a cohesive unit. And there have been positive signs for the Ticos of late; in their Stage 2 triumph over Grenada they showed grit in rescuing a 2:2 away draw in leg-one, before securing advancement by beating the island nation 3:0 at home. In so doing, the Ticos finally broke a mentally taxing 12-match winless streak and received goals from five different players. A relieved Medford will hope this is a sign of things to come. El Salvador: “I am relaxed and satisfied since we still have another 90-minutes to play, and we are a very good team at home.” These were the words of Carlos De Los Cobos, the Head Coach of El Salvador after his team’s 1:0 defeat at the hands of Panama in the first-leg of Stage 2. Though peculiar words from a losing manager, they proved to be prophetic as the Cuscatlecos were able to turn the highly favored Canaleros over in the second-leg, thereby advancing to the semi-finals. After the nation’s poor performance in the run-up to Germany 2006, De Los Cobos was appointed to resurrect Salvadorian soccer and bring the nation back to World Cup caliber. Salvadorian soccer officials will be happy to see the early signs of success, as the Cuscatlecos have scored 19-goals during their current qualification campaign and boast recent defeats of European power Denmark and CONCACAF rival, Trinidad & Tobago. A return to the World Cup could still prove to be a dream for the future, but with a superb manager and the always-intimidating Cuscatlán Stadium working in their favor, the Salvadorians could surprise their Group 3 counterparts. In search of triumph, any Salvadorian success will likely be inspired by their three top marksmen in Rudis Corrales, Ronald Cerritos and Eliseo Quintanilla, who have combined for 13 of the team’s 19-goals in qualifying. Haiti: It has been a tumultuous year for Haiti, crowned “Kings of the Caribbean” after a miraculous ascension from last-to-qualify to tournament champions in last year’s Digicel Caribbean Cup, Les Bicolores have fallen on hard times. After a string of loses in pre-qualifying friendlies and a 47-spot plummet in the FIFA world rankings to #113, the Francophone islanders must be left scratching their collective head,wondering where the results have gone. The qualification campaign hasn’t proven much easier for Wagneau Eloi’s men. Given a #9 seed and an improving, but still lowly Netherlands Antilles as their Stage 2 opponent, many expected Haiti to glide into the semi-finals. But even this was achieved by the narrowest of margins, as it took a 1st minute own-goal from Eugene Marta in the second-leg of their series to save Haiti from a possible early exit. Despite the recent run of poor form, the Haitians will still likely be considered the favorites to claim one of two finals tickets out of the group. Indeed, if Les Bicolores can manage to live up to their former selves, it would be an important step towards the nation’s second FIFA World Cup™ appearance and the resurgence of international football in the country. Suriname: Suriname has the distinction of being the only South American-based team remaining in CONCACAF qualification. They, along with Guyana and French Guyana, are the three teams from South America who interestingly belong to the CONCACAF Confederation. In fact, Suriname was able to defeat their much-fancied continental neighbors, Guyana, one of CONCACAF’s 12-seeded teams in Stage 2, to take their place in the semifinals. A former Dutch colony and birth nation of Dutch superstars, Edgar Davids and newly appointed LA Galaxy Manager Ruud Gullit, the Surinamese will look to continue building on a platform of recent national soccer success begun by a respectable performance in qualification for Germany 2006 and a second phase debut in last year’s Digicel Caribbean Cup. Leading the charge for Suriname will be domestic star Clifton Sandvliet, scorer of two goals in their series with Guyana.