Leading up to the end of 2012,
the Caribbean Cup continued and reached its conclusion with Cuba crowned
champions for the first time. Group 2 hosts St Lucia Hammered Curaçao 5-1 and defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines
1-0 but were eliminated on the head-to-head rule after suffering a 3-0 loss to
Guyana who had earlier lost 2-1 to St Vincent and the Grenadines the 4-0
conquerors of Curaçao. The biggest shock came when group 7 hosts Guadeloupe
lost 2-0 to Dominican Republic who finished top with a 3-1 victory over Puerto
Rico while the hosts bowed out with a 3-3 draw against Martinique. Eventual
group 6 winners Haiti, were stunned by a single French Guiana goal while group
hosts Grenada overcame Guyana 2-1 before going out 2-0 the Haitians. In group 8
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines earned 1-1 draws against group hosts Trinidad
& Tobago and eventual champions Cuba before going out to a single goal by
Suriname. In the final round, hosts Antigua and Barbuda endured a demoralising
defeat 2-1 to Dominican Republic before putting 2 past Trinidad and Tobago, but
finishing bottom of the group after a 1-0 loss to Haiti. Jamaica were
humiliated 2-1 by French Guiana and held to a goalless draw by Martinique
before losing 1-0 to Cuba. Martinique topped their group after French Guiana
surrendered 3-1 but runners-up Cuba went on to lift the cup with 1-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in the
final. Cuba end 2012 in 98th place having moved up 36th positions in the football rankings.
In November Uzbekistan upset
their Iranian hosts 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier while among friendly matches
Venezuela fell 3-1 to Nigeria in Miami and Chile lost by the same scoreline to
Serbia in Switzerland.