I remember that game. they got far surprisingly...till they realised they had to travel down to Mexico.
Didn't Mexico need an Argentinian (Vuso) to tie a WC qualie game against Canada. Canada has more up-side then any team you guys have mentioned.
Exactly, and its not even close. They're the only country in CONCACAF with the potential to worry the US and Mexico over the long term.
Um...perhaps over the long-term, but I'd take a team that played in every Hex in the last decade and won one (Costa Rica), and another that beat Canada at home and away (Honduras) as more durable threats. Yes, they don't compare to Canada in terms of population, but as Uruguay continues to prove, it's not numbers but quality of "formation" of soccer players (in Costa Rica's case, check out Bryan Ruiz) and the infrastructure that maintains competitiveness over the long-term. Canada's on its way there, but Mexico and the US are much more likely to look south than north when considering potential threats to World Cup qualification.
Hence why potential is in italics and long term was used. Canada right now is probably a better team on paper than their incompetent administration and coaching allows for and they had a tough group last cycle but I agree they're still behind Honduras and Costa Rica and roughly on par with El Salvador, T&T, Panama, Guatemala, and Jamaica. What I mainly meant is they're the only other country in CONCACAF that wouldn't have to rely on golden (or silver) generations, which a phenomenon even Uruguay has had to deal with.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLc9kaGqaow"]YouTube- Jamaica we have a bobsled team[/ame] Canada we have a soccer team... The fastest of the fastest hockey players... Canada we have a soccer team...
I don't agree with this at all. Honduras is the nation that is close to the US and Mexico. All you've got to do is look at Honduras' youth teams. They qualified for the most recent Olympics, U20, and U17 World Cups.......the only team other than the US to do so. And both World Cup qualifiers between the US & Honduras could have gone either way. What is Canada doing on the youth level? They have a long, long, long way to go.
Thats irrelevant to the main point of my argument. See my response above. We need to see if that young Honduran talent pans out. Their current national team is actually quite old and 5-7 starters will either be gone by the next qualification cycle or in the twilight of their careers (around 34 or so). W. Palacios, M. Figueroa, and Hendry are a solid core to build around, but some of the peripheral talent doesn't seem to be there right now for a 2014 run.
Sure........... And Canada? Onstad, DeRosario, Serioux, Jazic, Stalteri, Bernier, Radzinski, etc. are all in their 30s. I don't see Canada making a 2014 run either. At least Honduras has youth talent good enough to win CONCACAF competitions and qualify for FIFA youth tournaments. Do we know if it will pan out? No, of course not.
Once again my main point regarding Canada wasn't really about the next cycle, or any cycle in particular.
FFS, these guys just can't get a break. Teal Bunbury, son of "legendary" Canadian striker Alex Bunbury, has accepted a call up the the USMNT. Canada has lost would potentially would have been half its starting 11 over the past few years. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/11/2422604/kc-forward-teal-bunbury-chooses.html
As long as Hoilett chooses Canada (which he most likely will over Jamaica) then this doesn't matter, because Hoilett and Jackson are both better strikers and both are really young
I think he will choose Jamaica. It's a catch-22 for Canada. They need to qualify for the world cup to stop the bleeding. They can't qualify if their best players keep joining other national teams.
Does Canada not have any nationalism? It's as if Canadians don't care for their nationality. This isn't something I just gathered because of these soccer players leaving, I just mean in general. The whole place seems incredibly dull. Can't blame them i guess. Lol
It's all wrapped up in hockey. You may have never heard of the U20 world hockey championship but every december it absolutely consumes Canada from coast to coast and takes over the airwaves. The television ratings for it are mind boggling.
Based on what? Have you been following it at all? Jamaica hasn't even been contacting him, and he hasn't said a thing about Jamaica. He stated that he wont play internationally until he settles into his club career, and he's been in contact with Stephen Hart on a regular basis for awhile now
Soccer´s an immigrant sport there, even moreso than the US. Many of the fans support their ancestry instead.
Honestly a few Canadian fans on here have really big ego's about their national team. Their constantly debating whether Canada will be a super power in CONCACAF and how it can leap frog Costa Rica and Honduras easily if they just tried a little harder. You would think that ego comes after a few WC appearances but they seem to have it because of an off year gold cup win ten years ago. I realize Canada has some economic advantages but Honduras and Costa Rica have a decent level of football Canada won't leap frog them easily if at all.
We feel the same way. Most of the population consists of first or second generation Canadians (nothing wrong with LEGAL immigration) and we didn't exactly fight a war to gain our independence. Problem with support is another catch 22: people support their home country first because Canada isn't that good but Canada's not that good because they don't have sufficient funds to run a large number of high quality camps/programs because they don't have enough private sector support/adversting because they rarely make the front page of the sports section because they're not that good *catches breath*
