Courtesy: CONCACAF.com

Costa Rica, Cuba & Mexico advance to semifinals; another team to progress this week

Panama or USA will look to progress this week from Group B into the semifinals of the 2004 CONCACAF Futsal Championship that is taking place at the Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, Costa Rica.

Panama will take on Guyana at 18:00 on Wednesday, 28 July, while in the second encounter Cuba, which has already claimed a spot into the semifinals, meets the USA at 20:00, in a rematch of the 2000 CONCACAF Futsal Tournament semifinals, where the cubanos won 4:2 and eliminated the stars & stripes from a possible berth to the FIFA World Championships.

Costa Rica and Mexico, have already earned their berths to the semifinals after achieving second victories in Group A on 25 July, against Trinidad & Tobago and Surinam respectively.
The ticos and tricolores will battle for the group title on Tuesday, 27 July at 20:00. In the first Group A match of the evening on Tuesday, Trinidad & Tobago faces Surinam at 18:00.

Group B began first round action on 24 July, with Cuba beating Guyana and Panama playing the USA to a CONCACAF Futsal tournament first-ever draw. The tie ended a streak of 48 consecutive CONCACAF Futsal games that had a clear-cut winner since 1996.

The 2004 CONCACAF Futsal Tournament Semifinals will take place on 30 July, with the Group B winner taking on the Group A runner-up and the Group A winner facing the runner-up from Group B.

The semifinal losers will face-off in the third-place game on 31 July, while the two finalists, who will also meet on 31 July, earn CONCACAF's two berths to the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship in Chinese Taipei from 21 November - 5 December.