In the grand scheme of things in the context of this thread... ...with people talking about how Canada is going to catch up to the likes of the USA, Costa Rica and Honduras it is just another result for me to roll my eyes at.
I'm the king of rolling my eyes at Canadian enthusiasm!!!! This, however, wasn't a bad result. By the way, we've talked about US attendance woes against non-"sexy" teams in the recent past. The announced attendance for this friendly in Montreal at Saputo Stadium was 6,026. That number makes ChivasUSA fans blush. This game was all about a fresh start under a new coach. If they'd lost this game, the naysayers and doomsday-spreaders would be out in force. But they won with a young group, and can build on that heading into the Gold Cup. They won't win this Gold Cup. Probably won't advance from the group stage if you ask me. But they're building for farther down the line than that. They have a nice collection of young players. Although, I agree with you.......................that I'd take the overall group of young players in many other CONCACAF nations ahead of theirs. At the youth levels, the US has had their struggles recently with teams like Panama. Just because folks on these boards don't know the names of the young Panamanian players like they do of the Canadian kids............................doesn't mean they aren't good.
You have to give Canada credit for getting Davies' eligibility waiver approved by FIFA before he even had citizenship (or you hope they got the waiver approved).
I am amazed Curacao managed to find 11 guys to field... Whatever said, it was not an impressive performance by Canada.
Again........................Curacao is the 7th ranked team in CONCACAF. This game was actually an upset in the eyes of FIFA. In this roster they had lots of players from the top 2 divisions in Holland. Also players in England (Everton and Villa), Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Bulgaria, etc. Although maybe Jeremy de Nooijer left Levski Sofia. In WCQing this cycle they were knocked out by El Salvador 2-0 on aggregate (1-0 in each leg). Two very close games. I know folks think of them as a CONCACAF minnow, and I guess in the grand scheme of world football they are, but they also aren't a pushover.
Maybe you right, i do not know too much about Curacao team. I will check their roster after your post... Maybe indeed this was a success for Canada...
A win is a win is a win for Canada at this point Sometimes these little CONCACAF nations can be deceiving. Canada has French Guiana in their Gold Cup group. French Guiana has players at Lens, Guingamp, Stade Brestois, Bolougne, etc. These teams aren't as amateurish as some expect. Every Gold Cup some Caribbean team like this has their moment..............whether its Guadeloupe, Martinique, or others.
Man, this Gold Cup has some crazy qualifiers from the Caribbean. Curacao, Martinique, French Guiana, with only Jamaica being a usual qualifier. No Trinidad, no Haiti, no Cuba, no PR.
Canada are well aware of this, given the number of times they've been victimized by these exact sides
In ELO, Canada is 77th and Curacao is tied for 158th. That includes the Canada vs. Curacao game, but Canada was ranked much better before that. Without checking every country, we can assume that Curacao is among the biggest difference between FIFA Ranking (70th) and ELO.
The primary reason for this is that Canada rarely wins any games that matter. They get automatic entry into the Gold Cup and win few games there. Didn't play in Copa America. In WCQing this cycle they won 4 games. Home and away to Dominca, home to Belize, home to El Salvador, and home to Honduras. They failed to beat Belize on the road in an ultimately meaningless game, but that has consequences. They failed to beat a team currently ranked 141st in an official FIFA game. They also failed to beat El Salvador on the road, who have plummeted due to sanctions. They're down to 106 in the rankings. So that's only one win against a team currently ranked in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings. People can talk about ELO rankings, but they have no meaning. The FIFA rankings are used to put teams in pots for the Gold Cup, etc. There actual consequences to terrible FIFA rankings. That's why Canada is always put into tough groups in the Gold Cup. Curacao has done well of late in Caribbean competitions, etc. against the real minnows to pad their ranking. They're better right now than Antigua & Barbuda and nations like that. A&B played the USMNT pretty tough when we played them most recently. All I'm saying by taking the conversation down this path is that a 2-1 win against Curaco isn't something to mock Canada for. Curacao ain't bad, and Canada beat them with a young team. Its a result to build on heading into the Gold Cup.
Oh Canada................... BREAKING: Orlando City Soccer forward Cyle Larin was arrested early Thursday on a DUI charge, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.— David Harris (@DavidHarris128) June 15, 2017 DUI Arrest Video Shows Insanely Dangerous Driving http://www.tmz.com/2017/06/15/cyle-larin-dui-arrest-video/ Blames horrific driving on being from Canada......................!!!
I think more important than the win is the fact they seemed to dominate the second half and play offensive soccer. Unlike under their last coach.
Nah, if you watch the video he looked to be going 50-60 on the opposite side of the road in the far right oncoming lane. Could have easily killed someone. He's an idiot.
The problem with Canada is that their players are bad and the coaching is even worse. Even Cyle Larin, who is kinda good for MLS, sucks in WCQF. And really I've seen him play, I thought he was the hope for Canada but his technique is bad and his shoots are not impressive. IMO he's just bullying MLS defenders with his strenght, but anytime he faces a decent defensive opposition he desappears. Hope I'm wrong, I want Canada to succeed (I lived there 1 year), but I don't see how, especially when Larin is the main player.
I know the ELO Ratings don't affect who teams get drawn against. My point was that just because the FIFA Rankings think Curacao is better than Canada doesn't mean every ratings will agree about which one is better.
Worse than their coaching and their players..........................the CSA (the Canadian equivalent of the USSF and FMF) is a disaster. Cyle Larin may get found out when he heads to Europe like Eddie Johnson was. We'll see.
It certainly is. But the apathy beyond the CSA is certainly a factor; there's little tradition of corporate support or philanthropy.
Curacao is better than you expect because their are about 150,000 people of Curacao decent that live in the Netherlands. Not a large number but enough to field a half way decent team of players when combined with the few that were actually born on the island. Team is almost entire born in the Netherlands, but consists of players with no chance to start for the Netherlands. Still some players on Aston Villa, Southhampton, etc. Not real different than most of Martinique players being from France. If it wasn't for players from Europe of island decent those teams would be so unbelievable bad. Like bad college team bad.
And the Netherlands team that competes in the World Baseball Classic is largely from Curaçao, so it evens out