Could Copa Centenario matches be fixed? Yes they can!

The football world is abuzz with excitement over the Copa Centenario event held in the United States, a footballing minnow trying to learn the game. 

One thing U.S. fans do know is how corrupt the sport is and the organizers of the Copa have proved once again why the betting public will be curiously watching the proceedings this summer. That's because the schedule has been released with the kick-off times and it hasn't gone unnoticed that the final group-stage games are NOT being played simultaneously - like they are in most major tournaments.

It's well known that many shenanigans took place when final group stage games are not played at the same time.  Well now the Copa could face some of those same shenanigans thanks to this schedule:

All times Eastern for our blogging public ...

June 11 - Group A

7:00 p.m. — United States vs. Paraguay, at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.
9:00 p.m. — Colombia vs. Costa Rica, at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

June 12 - Group B

6:30 p.m. — Ecuador vs. Haiti, at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
8:30 p.m. — Brazil vs. Peru, at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

June 13 - Group C

8:00 p.m. — Mexico vs. Venezuela, at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
10:00 p.m. — Uruguay vs. Jamaica, at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

June 14  - Group D

8:00 p.m. — Chile vs. Panama, at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.
10:00 p.m. — Argentina vs. Bolivia, at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Wash.

So the teams playing in the first game will only know the result they may need. But a team in the second game may be eliminated by the time the match kicks off as opposed to if they were staged simultaneously. There's also the great opportunity to fix these matches - something CONCACAF assured us doesn't happen on U.S. soil.  It adds up to a mess that only calls into question what this second-rate tournament really means anyway.