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The group stage of the 2017 CONCACAF Men's U-17 Championship is into its final round of games. Two teams from each of the three four-team groups will advance to the Classification Stage, where they will be divided into two groups of three. And the top two teams from each Classification Stage group advance to the 2017 U-17 World Cup.
In Group A, each team still has a shot at qualifying for the next round, though that shot is a little better for some (Panama and Honduras) than others (Haiti and Curacao). Still, the group is technically wide open, in the sense that any of the four teams in it might make it to the Classification Stage.
In the first game of the final round of Group A, Honduras takes on Haiti. Honduras lost an end-to-end game with Panama, 4-2, and took out its frustrations on Curacao, winning that game 3-0. In both games, Los Catrachos have looked one of the more aggressively attacking sides in this competition. Given that a win against Haiti puts Honduras through, expect a similarly positive approach in this match.
Haiti needs to win, otherwise it is definitely out of the tournament. That requirement will be challenging for a team that has yet to score in this competition. Les Grenadiers had plenty of chances against Curacao, but couldn't find the net and lost, 1-0. Against Panama, a tremendous rear-guard effort secured a scoreless draw and a point. But team hasn't scored a goal and without goals it won't be possible to win this game.
Even a win doesn't guarantee Haiti a place in the next round, but with Panama the heavy favorite to beat Curacao in the other Group A game played on April 27, the Haitians will feel as though they are in the Classification Stage if they beat Honduras.
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