Canada MNT: Road to 2018

[Regs]

YES!!!!!!!!!!

 

[djones]

And then he scores that!

 

[Regs]

@djones - you are way off base, James is awesome!

 

[djones]

Let's see if my poor analysis on a player will turn into another goal. Let's see... That Tesh Akendele seems lost and way out of his league...

 

[Regs]

Almost gave away a PK... stop it Jonesy, it's not working anymore

 

[Regs]

Fcuking playing with fire, you knew it was coming.

Borjan MOTM so far.

 

[djones]

Stupid us expecting them to be classy and throw the ball back to us after we kicked it out for an injury which leads to the pressure that results in the goal. Crap from the Hondurans but shame on us.

 

[dezza]

DONEIL fcukING HENRY

 

[djones]

I'd really like to know why HON midfielder Mario Martinez only lasted a season with the Sounders. His left foot is like a knife carving us apart. He doesn't race around the field at 100 miles an hour but looks like quite the footballer.

 

[Regs]

So...

2-0 Canada over El Salvador
4-0 Mexico over Honduras

Doable?

De Jong pissed me off towards the end of the match... I get it you are sucking wind outta your ass but fcuk me, at least try and get back and in some sort of position to help

The ref was excellent today. Are we seeing the rewards of Big Vic calling the CONCACAF shots? Hmmm...

 

[Regs]

In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):

1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Points in matches between tied teams
5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie is only between two teams)
8. Play-off match(es) on neutral ground (if approved by FIFA Organizing Committee), with extra time and penalty shoot-out if necessary

So I think we need to score at least 4 to get past #3 tiebreaker... a 4-0 Canada win and 1-0 Mexico win I believe would force a play-off.

 

[Jigsaw]

I cannot believe that was not called a PK (CONCACAF refs and all)... maybe the footy Gods are on our side for once?

Agreed @djones - I'm on pins and needles whenever we are defending in our final third - confidence is not high and there seems to be gaps all over the shop.

I thought the referee was very kind to Canada today. There were 2 penalty decisions that went Canada's way, which is unusual in Central America.

 

[Regs]

Not to be negative or anything, but after thinking about it for a bit, that match today very easily could have been 8-1

 

[akslop]

Oh well De Vos has untill 2022 now to justify his vision.

 

[Regs]

I'm calling it now...

Mexico 6
Honduras 0

 

[freddy]

Don't worry, they've heard way worse... they sat directly behind @freddy at the Mexico game

Hey, the worst I could have done was a discrete vape. No harm, no foul.

 

[Gurps]

What a high to a terrible low....was looking forward to this game for weeks.

Hindsight is 20 20 but leaving Will Johnson out of this lineup came back to bite Canada.

Both the wife and I could not figure out on the first goal how Honduras got the ball when Milan had it in his hands and threw it out.

Now it makes sense that Honduras never threw it back. You could tell the Canadian players were surprised and it led to the first goal.

Hoilett should have been subbed off he was gassed.

A Glimmer of hope Tuesday but Canada is all but out.

 

[dezza]

Canada would have at least tied if they started Jamar Dixon (or anyone not named Doneil Henry) at RB. Discuss.

 

[Soccer Coach]

Canada would have at least tied if they started Jamar Dixon (or anyone not named Doneil Henry) at RB. Discuss.

I sincerely hope that some people in this board have come to realize that there is no need to resort to threats, violence, vandalism, spreading of rumours, insults, and character distortions when faced with different opinions.

It is very naive to think that the game was lost due to one or two player selections. It does not surprise me that some might entertain this thought process.

Honduras dominated the game almost in every relevant aspect of the game. I concur with @Regs that the game could have been more lopsided. Since the beginning of the game, Honduras created more threats. Honduras easily could have been ahead by two goals in the first 10 minutes.

The Cuban referee was suboptimal. There were two penalties and other free kicks that were not called after successful build ups. This would have put Honduras ahead.

Benito can not be blamed for the result. He did not have much talent at his disposal. It was an improvement over the 1-8.

Having said this, it is very possible that Canada could qualify to the Hex. El Salvador is already eliminated. They had a very good 1st half against Mexico and went ahead and outplayed Mexico. However, Mexican players showed individual superiority and scored two good goals. Then the American referee gave them a soft penalty. From the press conference, it was clear that the coaching staff and players were distressed with the elimination. It is very likely that they might send a younger and inexperienced squad with no tangible motivation to play in Vancouver. This means that a 3-0 or 4-0 in Vancouver is not far fetched.

Mexico did not had a good game in San Salvador. It has not recovered from the 7-0 against Chile. During the first half El Salvador even had more possession and dictated the game. However, Mexico in the second half showed some sign of recovery. The coaching staff and players are under huge pressure to win by a wide margin at the Azteca. The public and press want to avenge the last loss to Honduras in the Azteca. There are hints that a bad result (tie or close game) will result in firings before the Hex. In addition, Mexico prefers to have Canada than Honduras in the Hex. Better for Mexico to get rid of Honduras now than in the Hex.
Thus, it is very possible that Mexico could beat Honduras by 2-0 or 3-0 due to motivation and location. As a poster mentioned, it is tough to play in Mexico city.

This combination of a demoralized El Salvador and a motivated Mexico can give a double 3-0. Having said this, it would not be fair to have Canada in the Hex. Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, USA, and Honduras are clearly the top teams in Concacaf. Even Jamaica or Guatemala showed more merit.

I know that most of you in this board do not see it or agree, but Canadian players are still miles behind the rest in the area. The issue is not the lack of professional leagues. Our kids are already behind by U12. The challenge does not lie in creating a professional league. It lies in making people aware that we should change the way we see the game and train our youth. This is way more difficult than creating a professional league.

Sadly, no chance of getting into the World Cup for at least another 12 years. Central America and Mexico and USA seem to keep improving and Canada just makes modest growth.

Not wanting to create discord, but part of the problem also has to deal with the identity struggle.
What is to be Canadian today? Until we solve this quandary or most of the people who control the soccer circles come to accept the current reality of our population, we will have difficulty articulating a coherent soccer program that reflects the people that live on this land.

People play the game.

 

[Dude]

You're an asshole.

Broken heart again, IMO leaving Will Johnston out of the side was a huge mistake. He was exactly what they needed, hopefully they can bring him on for Vancouver.