Last night, after demonstrating to the world that they are in fact, unquestionably the most aesthetically pleasing U-23 playing side in the world today by dismantling the giants of the game from Cuba, our boys continue on their quest of inevitable world domination by taking our cousins from the frozen north. The Canucks put in a turgid display of kicking the ball in often unintended directions against El Salvador and relying on divine intervention to subvert the Salvadoran finishing. The Canucks will likely provide a stern test as the young Yanks march in under the pressure of knowing that one bad game will likely result in permanent blacklisting by bigsoccer fans, at least until the next game. What will happen? Tune in to find out........ TV: Universal Sports, MUN2 Online: concacaf.com, universal sports online
Judging from the El Salvador game they will be physical and tough defensively but offer little going forward.
I expect us to continue to do better. The scoreline doesn't matter, ijust want to see better play. I predict 3-0
Their best player is their Golie, had nice saves. since we don't have the benefit to know who is wearing the first 11 jerseys for this game, whom do you think will be starting. Let's see who gets the closest.
Canada's lineup from last night M. Misiewicz (GK) N. Attakora 85' D. Beckie 64' K. Bekker R. Teibert B. Alderson M. Stinson S. Saiko M. Haber E. James C. Haworth 82' http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679...ates-u23-team-not-taking-next-opponent-canada http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news/newsid=1229994.html
Hoping to see something like this: Gyau-----------Boyd--------------Adu ---------Corona-------Mix------------- ----------------Okugo---------------- Villafana---Kitchen----Opara----Williams ----------------Johnson----------------
Shea-----------Boyd--------------Gyau ---------Corona-------Mix------------- ----------------Okugo---------------- Villafana---Kitchen----Opara----Williams ----------------Hamid---------------- at half time I can see Adu come in for Corona and Taylor for Shea. Switching Gyau to left.
Sounds good with me, but to be honest, I don't really think it much matters. If the reasoning is rest, remember there are four full days off between the group stage and the semifinal. And it's not as if the goalkeepers will be that busy in any of the group stage games anyway.
Judging from the first games this qualifying group is setting up perfectly. Canada will be a tougher test than Cuba, and El Salvador will be a tougher test than the Canucks. Sets up nice to prepare for a good (most likely) Honduran side in the semis.
Its absurd to suggest Okugo over Jeffrey when the offense was steamrolling when Jeffrey was on. It was 4-0 at halftime. When Okugo came on, the midfield in the 2nd half was sluggish.
A) The lineup I am suggesting for the middle of the three group stage games is not necessarily who I think are the team's best 11. It's a good game to play around with the lineup and get a mix of different looks. B) That said, Okugo looked better than Jeffrey, and the offense was much more fluid in the second half
When Okugo came on we were up something like 4-0 and the Cubans were exhausted. The team was clearly just knocking the ball around waiting for the game to end. I thought Jeffrey had a great game but saying that when Okugo came on the midfield looked sluggish isn't really relevant. Agudelo wasn't practicing so the likelihood is that will happen.
I'd start the big boys --------Boyd Shea---Corona--Adu -------Okugo--Diskerud Valentin-Kitchen-Opara-Sarkodie ------------Hamid and then depending on how the game progresses, make these subs If we are up by a margin.... ------------Boyd Gyau-------Adu---------Taylor ----------Okugo---Stephens Valentin-Kitchen-Opara-Sarkodie ------------Hamid Boyd hasn't played yet, so he goes 90. Adu goes 90 but we get key guys off the field for some rest (Corona, Shea, Diskerud). Jeffrey takes a breather for Okugo is a fairly even trade.
This should be better than the Cuba game. I hope Corona, Mix, Shea, and Agudelo can shine again tonight.