The USA beat Cuba 7-0, suggesting that the tournament is not really pitting the best against the best or protecting weak sides from hammerings:
https://sports.yahoo.com/the-concaca...014151733.html
However, this seems to be an anomaly. Cuba simply should not be in Tier A. They could solve it by scrapping tiers and simply having 8 divisions of 6 teams and one of 7, with promotion and relegation. OTOH that would lead to over-familiarity: how many USA v Mexico games do you need? There's also a strong argument, made in the article, that USA benefits more from friendlies against top European and South American sides than endless games v Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and Canada, whom they would not meet in a World Cup finals tournament due to seeding.
https://sports.yahoo.com/the-concaca...014151733.html
However, this seems to be an anomaly. Cuba simply should not be in Tier A. They could solve it by scrapping tiers and simply having 8 divisions of 6 teams and one of 7, with promotion and relegation. OTOH that would lead to over-familiarity: how many USA v Mexico games do you need? There's also a strong argument, made in the article, that USA benefits more from friendlies against top European and South American sides than endless games v Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and Canada, whom they would not meet in a World Cup finals tournament due to seeding.
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