CONCACAF released the dates for its 2018 World Cup qualifying, reminding teams there's no easy road to the World Cup.

THE ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP



THE CONVERSATION - JAMES MARCELIN



Editor's Note: CONCACAF hipster Jon Arnold brings Goal readers stories and opinions from around the region in a weekly column.CONCACAF unveiled its qualification dates Monday and made official the rumored format to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. There's nothing jaw-dropping there, but there is a reminder that while the road to hell may be paved with good intentions, the road to the World Cup isn't paved at all.The region's lowest-rated teams in the FIFA rankings are back in action in March. The winner of home-and-series ties in the first round are back at it in early June for more do-or-die home-and-home ties and if they're fortunate enough to get through another one awaits in late summer. They'll find out their matchups at Thursday's draw in Miami.The region's highest-rated teams were probably hoping to take some time after this summer's Gold Cup to rest and reflect, cull new players, and continue to rest after the World Cup. Nope! They're back in the mix in November with qualifying games that could be critical in getting back to the grandest tournament.No one would accuse CONCACAF of being the toughest region to qualify from - Africa's format is particularly harsh and South America's grueling - but the gauntlet of home-and-away series and the games being spread out because of changes in FIFA dates and the addition of the Copa America Centenario to the fixture calendar mean there are more potential pitfalls than ever.Truthfully, this format is toughest on teams like Canada, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, which narrowly missed out on bypassing Round Two and now must face a minnow in a pair of matches in June. It's unwanted, high-pressure matches while many of these nations are preparing for the Gold Cup. They should win, but if they don't the road to the World Cup will take a long detour to 2022 at the earliest - and seven years is a long time to keep one's eyes on the road.Plenty of things get totally botched by CONCACAF or make no sense. This isn't one of them, but there are no easy paths to the showpiece, and plenty of managers are no doubt already fretting about what 2015 will bring. Fans might worry too with a premature exit possible for their nations, yet it should also be an excellent journey to watch - even if the road is bumpy.This week's CONCACAF Conversation is with Haiti international and Sporting Kansas City midfielder James Marcelin. Former Portland Timbers and FC Dallas man Marcelin returns to MLS in 2015 after spending 2013 with a woeful Antigua Barracuda side and last season with NASL runner up Fort Lauderdale. Just because he's back at the top division doesn't mean the 28-year-old is taking it easy. We chatted Friday after Marcelin completed his morning run.

Jon Arnold: First, congratulations on signing with Sporting Kansas City. What are you hoping to do this year, and what do you expect 2015 to be like with the club?

James Marcelin: Thank you so much. Sporting Kansas City has been doing great for the past few years. The stadium is really nice, so there’s that. I’m hoping to give 100 percent and be ready to be successful with the club and happy on the team.

JA: I want to talk a bit about your time with Haiti. You grew up there and play with the national team. From the outside looking in, it seems football has grown in the country during the past few years. How do you see the general state of soccer in Haiti?

JM: Yes, for the past few years Haiti has been growing up, but right now the league is not that big. A long time ago, it used to be that teams like Brazil and other countries would go to Haiti and play, but right now we don’t have that any more.



The league is not televised and we have a lot of players you can’t even see. All the players, the only way to see them is when they play for the Haiti national team. That’s it. So, that’s one of the biggest opportunities for them is whenever they play for Haiti national team so they know that other teams are looking at them, looking for players.

JA: Obviously, it’s been a little difficult in the Caribbean region to get things like that - matches on TV and finding money to develop young players. For Haiti specifically, the earthquake set the federation back. How did soccer in the country recover from the natural disaster?

JM: Right now, it’s pretty bad right now. It’s pretty bad. The way it used to be, there were a lot of good players that would come here and they’d want to go back. Right now, soccer, it’s good in Haiti but it’s not as good as it used to be because after the earthquake everything was bad, you know? After the earthquake, they tried to build everything back again, but Haiti is Haiti.

JA: What do you mean by that?

JM: Because, I don’t want to get into politics, but the way I see it even when they try to build something and then after a couple of years they kill it. For example, if they build a stadium in Haiti right now, the people will be happy, players will be happy to play, but after a couple years if the president is not doing well, they’ll try to destroy everything. They want money first. They don’t see it. Whatever the president wants to do or did for the country is for them self. They don’t see it that way.

JA: So they have more of a focus on making things better in the short term so they look good instead of actually trying to spend a long time on a project that would benefit the people?

JM: Yeah. Right now there are a lot of people looking forward to things going better. [Bill] Clinton is one ambassador in Haiti right now, so I think Haiti is going up little by little. Things are coming up, but it’s going to take time.

JA: Right. And that’s kind of what I’ve noticed with the national team. I know you were with the Strikers, but during the Caribbean Cup the team put in a good performance. You had some exciting players. I was really impressed by guys like Jeff Louis and Kervens Belfort as well.



It seems like even though it might be difficult on a logistical level, it seems that when the Haitian side is on the field, you’re still a team that’s put together even if you might not have had as much time together as other teams. Why are you guys able to perform at a high level though the infrastructure may not be as good as in other teams?

JM: Most of the players that play on the national team play outside the country and we are raising up the level. Whenever we meet to play, it’s like a family. When we were kids, we were together. Then, everybody spread out, and now we meet again. So, everybody inside the group connects. When we play together we just say, ‘OK, let’s give all of it.’



Sometimes a new player comes in. You don’t know how that player plays. It’s difficult for Haiti because they don’t have that money to call a player for a long time to train and stuff to get to know each other. That’s become difficult for Haiti because when they don’t have money to do that and they just call you a few weeks before, you have to get ready to play.

JA: And finally, what are you hoping to accomplish in the new year personally?

JM: This year I’m looking forward to having a great season since I’m back in MLS. It’s been a while, so I’m looking forward to a good performance. I’m not going to wait for them to give me the opportunity, they’ve already given it to me, so I have to take it. I’m there. I’ll have to give, like, 200 percent. Every day, I’m working out, so I’m looking forward to getting my footing back in the league.

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The CONCACAF U-20 Championship is in full swing. Some of my breakout starts from last week's CONCACAF Watch have flourished while others have wilted under the (no doubt totally considerable) weight of the pressure.Mexico looks to have another youth team juggernaut with a fearsome front line and has enough time to practice elaborate goal celebrations in its spare time. Hirving Lozano is as good or better than advertised, and after demolishing Cuba by a 9-1 scoreline, a 2-0 win against a considerably talented Canada team was even more impressive.In Group A, Panama continues to build on the success it found during Central American qualification with Ismael Diaz and Michael Murillo both standing out. Should the United States panic after getting no wins in two outings? Probably not, but it's not coming together as well as Tab Ramos would've hoped. Luckily, it should get easier, with the Caribbean teams up next.