What you say is incorrect. The team that played against Sparta at that time were only local Surinamese players.They had not yet regulated their legislation.I also followed them. Players like Diego Biseswar, Ryan Donk, Kelvin Leerdam, Miquel Nelom, Florian Josefzoon, Nigel Hasselbaink and Tjaronn Chery, they all play in the highest divisions in European / Turkish competitions and these players will soon appear on the scene. These guys will make it extremely difficult for the entire Concacaf region.
Why I say it is Jamaica: They haven't been to a FIFA World Cup since France 1998 and not to mention the past few Gold Cups they have either made the Final or Semi Final or Quarter Final...I would call that a pretty good run. Their players are playing abroad most of them and now they have their superstar, Leon Bailey who can become the new face the new poster boy of Jamaican football especially now that he is playing for Jamaica Their goalkeeper Blake is pretty good
I'd agree it could be Jamaica, or even T&T, if either team played better at home. In the 2018 WCQ, Jamaica lost at home to Nicaragua in the knockout stage and in the group stage they finished with one point from three home games. In the 2014 WCQ, they finished with 3 points from five home games in the Hex. T&T has also come up short at home in big games, the greatest example being the 1990 WCQ against the US when all they needed was a tie and probably had the better team. When these teams have defended home-field advantage, they've qualified for the World Cup. In the 1998 WCQ, 11 out of Jamaica's 14 points in the Hex came at home; in the 2006 WCQ, 10 out of T&T's 13 points came at home. Caribbean teams aren't as feared at home and can't seem to consistently make home-field advantage count the same way that Central American teams do. I don't know if that's because of the heat and humidity of Central America, the altitude in some areas, the rowdy fans, or the way the stadiums are designed. Jamaica and T&T both have tracks around their main stadiums so that blunts the effect of atmosphere and noise and lessens the fan impact.
However, what gives Jamaica more of an edge over Trinidad and Tobago as far as being a sleeping giant: Jamaica have more players playing either in Europe or playing in the MLS, but also their goalkeeper Blake is a better goalkeeper than T & T's goalkeeper. There is also a new poster boy of Jamaican football: Leon Bailey of Bayern Leverkeusen
For me 2022 it is basically USA, Mexico and Costa Rica who will qualify directly as 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Now for that 4th place playoff spot it is pretty much between Honduras, Panama, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Haiti for that 4th spot because any one of those teams could end up in 4th and go to the intercontinental playoff realistically
But at the same time we also cannot forget about Canada either as a sleeping giant. Canada is going through a golden generation of talent right now in their national team program but also Canada has not been to a FIFA World Cup since 1986 and they are also set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with USA and Mexico. At this rate, Canada is starting to pour out more talent who could potentially be world class such as Davies, David, etc Plus they have the CPL now
Agreed. It's meant to showcase Canadian players so they can move on to better leagues. In the first year, it sent three Canadians to better leagues in Europe and one to South America. Three Canadians who represent other nations to other leagues. Brought 16 Canadians home from foreign leagues to make a living playing soccer in their own country, and had a player make the step up to MLS. Forge FC won a round in continental competition. Pretty damn good showing for it's first year.
Can't forget upsetting an MLS team in the Voyageurs' Cup either I would just hate for the CanPL to go the way of the XFL.
Very unlikely Valour lost only $211k in their inaugural year while teams like Montreal impact loses millions every year. Halifax, Forge and Cavalry most likely turned a profit. FC Edmonton, York and Pacific likely lost money but I doubt it's drastically more than Valour. The teams have very rich owners backing them as I doubt a club like Atletico would bother investing if the other owners weren't serious. The league will be fine
But if Canada also was a sleeping giant they would be winning Gold Cups which they haven't done yet. Yeah sure they have made quarters but not even a semi final with this new golden generation of players. But we will see what kind of a sleeping giant they turn out to be once they go far or win a Gold Cup or even qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
But isn’t that the point they are a sleeping giant not yet shining like Jamaica. The argument might be that Jamaica has put together impressive runs lately in the gold cup but the thing about Canada is players like Davies and David are very young. They also have this brand new league so we will likely see big things from them in the next few years. It also helps that the president of CONCACAF is Canadian he saved them from missing out on World Cup qualifying. They also already qualified for the 2026 World Cup which will line up nicely with the emerging of a golden generation
Yeah that was with an old generation of Canadian players...I am talking about this current, new guard of Canadian players this new generation not the old, this new generation who has won nothing much less qualified for any World Cups hell they haven't even won a Gold Cup or come close to one since 2000
Davies started in 2017 Gold Cup under Zambrano and a very incomplete team 2019 is when David started at the Gold Cup under the Herdman era. 2021 might be a more appropriate time to judge this new generation, no?
Honestly, the new boys have until 2026 - if they haven't won a Concacaf title (Gold Cup/Nations League) by then, or qualified for Qatar 2022, only then would I entertain calling them a bust.
Yes they have until 2026 but they haven't done much or enough to inspire confidence but that is just my opinion anyway. Canada though as hosts in 2026 if we are given automatic qualification which I see no reason why we shouldn't, Canada is not going to be taking part in qualifying which means they will have more than enough time to prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as hosts. In the build up Canada is going to no doubt be playing a lot of friendly matches and the thing about being a host nation is when you become a host, the other potential countries who do qualify in 2026 are going to want to face Canada in friendlies.