2007 Caribbean Cup

2007 Caribbean Cup

Digicel Caribbean Cup 2007
Tournament details
Host country	Trinidad and Tobago
Dates	2 September 2006 – 9 January 2007 (qualifiers) 12 January 2007 – 23 January 2007 (finals)
Teams	25 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	12 (in 10 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Haiti (1st title)
Runners-up	Trinidad and Tobago
Third place	Cuba
Fourth place	Guadeloupe
Tournament statistics
Matches played	72
Goals scored	251 (3.49 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Nigel Codrington (11 goals)

The 2007 Caribbean Cup (known as the Digicel Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the fourteenth edition of the biennial Caribbean Cup, the finals of which were contested in Trinidad and Tobago between 12 January and 23 January 2007. The four semifinalists (Cuba, Guadeloupe, Haiti, and hosts Trinidad and Tobago) qualified for the 2007 edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. In all, 24 of the eligible countries participated (5 did not enter and 1 withdrew).

Haiti eventually won the tournament despite having to qualify for the finals through a play-off of third-place teams from the second round and finishing second in its final-round group. Haiti beat eight-time champion and host Trinidad and Tobago in the final, although Trinidad and Tobago was missing overseas players that had helped the them qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Guadeloupe were the surprise of the tournament, as former French international Jocelyn Angloma came out of retirement to help the team advance to the semifinals, qualifying for its first Gold Cup in the process. Cuba continued its development in the region by finishing in third place.

Prize money

•  Haiti, as the winner, received US$120,000 (UK£64,022).
•  Trinidad and Tobago, as the runner up, received US$70,000 (UK £37,350).
•  Cuba, as the third-place team, received US$50,000 (UK £26,680).
•  Guadeloupe, as the fourth-place team, received US$30,000 (UK £16,009).
• Each of the ten host countries received a subsistence package of US$20,000 (UK £10,673). Additionally, the host of the Digicel Caribbean Cup Final received US$150,000 (UK £80,047) to compensate for the increased costs of holding the final round of the competition.

(UK £ values calculated on 28 September 2006)

First Qualifying Round

 Trinidad and Tobago receive bye to final round.  Aruba,  French Guiana,  Montserrat,  Puerto Rico and  Sint Maarten did not enter.

Summary

The first round produced some notable upsets. Guyana surprised many by dominating Group A, and Surinam qualified for the second round as well. Group host Netherlands Antilles finished last by capturing a lone draw. Group B did not go to form, either; though Barbados fulfilled widely held expectations by winning, host Antigua & Barbuda produced a minor shock by also making it out of the group at the expense of St. Kitts & Nevis. St. Kitts had a late penalty kick to be taken by Atiba Harris that if made would have eliminated Antigua & Barbuda in the group's final game, but the Antiguan goalkeeper saved the penalty. Group C went to form, save only that the British Virgin Islands withdrew before group play started. Bermuda expectedly dominated the group. The shocker of the round, though occurred in Group D, where host Jamaica, widely considered the best national footballing side in the Caribbean, did not advance to the second round. Jamaica lost their second game to St. Vincent & Grenadines 2–1. Playing in the final game on the group's last day knowing they had to defeat Haiti by 3 goals to qualify, Jamaica could only muster a 2–0 victory, meaning that St. Vincent & Grenadines pulled the upset and advanced to the second round based on goals scored. Despite their loss to Jamaica, Haiti won the group based on goal differential. Host Cuba won Group E, with the Bahamas advancing as well by defeating a surprisingly competitive Turks & Caicos team. In Group F, the French departments of Martinique and host Guadeloupe carried on easily, with the host winning the group.

Group A

Played in Netherlands Antilles at Stadion Ergilio Hato.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Guyana	3	3	0	0	11	0	+11	9
Suriname	3	2	0	1	2	5	−3	6
Grenada	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1
Netherlands Antilles	3	0	1	2	1	7	−6	1

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Group B

Played in Antigua and Barbuda at Antigua Recreation Ground.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Barbados	3	2	1	0	11	3	+8	7
Antigua and Barbuda	3	2	0	1	7	6	+1	6
Saint Kitts and Nevis	3	1	1	1	7	3	+4	4
Anguilla	3	0	0	3	5	18	−13	0

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Group C

Played in United States Virgin Islands at Lionel Roberts Park.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Bermuda	3	3	0	0	12	1	+11	9
Dominican Republic	3	2	0	1	10	4	+6	6
U.S. Virgin Islands	3	1	0	2	4	12	−8	3
British Virgin Islands	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	0

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¹  British Virgin Islands withdrew; their opponents were awarded their matches on forfeit.

Group D

Played in Jamaica at Independence Park.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Haiti	3	2	0	1	11	3	+8	6
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	2	0	1	10	5	+5	6
Jamaica	3	2	0	1	7	2	+5	6
Saint Lucia	3	0	0	3	1	19	−18	0

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Group E

Played in Cuba.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Cuba	3	3	0	0	19	0	+19	9
Bahamas	3	2	0	1	6	9	−3	6
Turks and Caicos Islands	3	1	0	2	4	9	−5	3
Cayman Islands	3	0	0	3	1	12	−11	0

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Group F

Played in Guadeloupe at Stade René Serge Nabajoth.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Guadeloupe	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	9
Martinique	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	6
Saint-Martin	3	0	1	2	0	2	−2	1
Dominica	3	0	1	2	0	5	−5	1

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Second Qualifying Round

The top two teams from each first-stage group qualified for the second stage of the competition. Those teams were split into three groups of four teams, called Groups G, H and I. The top two teams in each of these three groups qualified for the finals with  Trinidad and Tobago, making seven teams. The best third-place team from Groups G, H, and I qualified as the eighth team in the final competition. This was to have been determined by a single round-robin playoff between the three teams, to be called Group J; however, when Dominican Republic withdrew, the remaining two teams played a two-game series for the right to move on.

Summary

All three groups went largely to form. It was a wonderful round for host teams, with all three advancing and two winning their group. Host Barbados advanced easily out of Group G, only a tie with Bermuda marring their group performance. They were accompanied by St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Guyana proved perfect as hosts of Group H, and Guadeloupe also did well enough to advance. Finally, Cuba and host Martinique smashed the other two teams in Group I to move forward, with Cuba winning the group based on goal differential. The third-place teams (Bermuda, Dominican Republic, and Haiti) were to have been drawn together in Group J. However, Dominican Republic withdrew, leaving Bermuda and Haiti to contest a two-game set. After achieving a 2–0 win in the first match, Haiti were overwhelming favourites in the second match. With Haiti leading by two goals in stoppage time of the second half, a thrilling goal by Éliphène Cadet (to add to his goal in the first match) gave Haiti a 3–0 victory, a 5–0 aggreagte win, and with it the final spot in the final stage.

Group G

Played in Barbados at Barbados National Stadium.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Barbados	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	7
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	6
Bermuda	3	1	1	1	5	4	+1	4
Bahamas	3	0	0	3	3	9	−6	0

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Group H

Played in Guyana at Bourda Cricket Ground.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Guyana	3	3	0	0	13	2	11	9
Guadeloupe	3	2	0	1	8	4	4	6
Dominican Republic	3	1	0	2	2	7	-5	3
Antigua and Barbuda	3	0	0	3	1	11	-10	0

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Group I

Played in Martinique at Stade d'Honneur de Dillon.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Cuba	3	2	1	0	5	2	3	7
Martinique	3	2	1	0	2	0	2	7
Haiti	3	0	1	2	2	4	-2	1
Suriname	3	0	1	2	2	5	-3	1

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Playoff

With the withdrawal of  Dominican Republic,  Haiti and  Bermuda played each other twice.  Haiti, as the winner of the series, advanced to the finals. The matches were played at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad & Tobago.

Final tournament

First round

 Trinidad and Tobago qualified as host.  Barbados and  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines qualified from Group G.  Guyana and  Guadeloupe qualified from Group H.  Cuba and  Martinique qualified from Group I.  Haiti qualified from the Playoff.

The groups were named after two former Trinidad and Tobago players.^[1]

Sedley Joseph Group

Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Trinidad and Tobago	3	2	1	0	9	3	+6	7
Haiti	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
Martinique	3	1	0	2	4	8	−4	3
Barbados	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1

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Bobby Sookram Group

Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Guadeloupe	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	6
Cuba	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	4
Guyana	3	1	1	1	4	5	−1	4
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	1	0	2	2	4	−2	3

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Semi finals

Third Place Playoff

Final

Result

2007 Caribbean Cup Winner
Haiti First title

Qualifiers for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup

•  Haiti
•  Trinidad and Tobago
•  Cuba
•  Guadeloupe

Top scorers

Name		Goals
1.	Nigel Codrington	11
2.	Shandel Samuel	10
3.	Reinier Alcántara	7
4.	Paul Ifill	6
	Dominique Mocka	6
	Gary Glasgow	6
7.	Gregory Richardson	5
	Jonathan Faña	5
	Randolph Jerome	5

References

External links

• Digicel Caribbean Cup 2007 Official Site
• Caribbean Cup 2007 on CONCACAF Website
• Digicel Cup 2007 at RSSSF