I wouldn’t say Canda is #3, it hasn’t proven anything. They were not in the Hex last WCQ cycle and I haven’t seen them in the U-20 WC or the Olympics. I am guessing you are going by all the hype surrounding Davies or the propaganda the MLS pumps out for the Canada NT. I hope you’re not still riding the League of Nations win over the USMNT a few years back. What has Canada NT accomplished these past 4 years ?
For the love of God let's not rehash this again like during the Gold Cup. vancity eagle thinks Canada is #3 because of their roster and form over the last year. Everyone, literally eveyone does not agree with that because it does not take into account WCQ and getting it done when it counts, especially away. He will argue until he turns blue. It isnt going to help anyone.
This is pretty much where a I was getting at, there is no Leader on this team that can calm the nerves for these young when playing on the road.Even the older guys don’t have a whole of experience in WCQ games, it’s going to be tough.
The last cycle has no bearing on this one. What has Canada accomplished ? Since the last WC Certainly more than Honduras or any other team not named US or Mexico. Better gold cup finishes, competitive victory over the US, and a competitive away draw against the US. Your just hyping Honduras on the past and youth tournaments LOL.
If they dont qualify, who will be the new "Bradley and Altidore" that get blamed and booed at every MLS match for years afterwards? Because, people always gotta blame somebody.
Are you really going by Gold Cup finishes? And you’re still riding that League of Nations win…. Wow, you guys didn’t even make the Semi-Finals in the League of Nations. I am not hyping Honduras at all, but to come here and say Canada is #3 is delusional.
You are hyping YOUTH TOURNAMENTS. If it is delusional, to have the best tournament records and best individual results, what the heck are you basing your delusion on ?
We've been down this road before. WCQ experience. Demonstrated ability to get points on the road in Central America. Playing in the U.S during the Gold Cup is different than playing against Honduras in a jam packed stadium at 38 degrees at mid day in SPS. The U.S couldnt get a win in El Salvador, which is probably the weakest away opponent. Neither did Honduras. You have to win your home games and try to get at least a point away. We did not win our home game so far.
Bolivia being able to take advantage of their home ground to beat Argentina, does NOT make them a better team. Neither does Honduras using their intimidating home ground MAKE THEM A BETTER TEAM. We seem to be arguing different things. I'm arguing who is a better team. You seem to be arguing who has better home field advantage.
If a team in Concacaf qualifies for the world cup, are they better than the teams who didnt from that region? That is the only measure.
Duh. When the Octo is done we will have a legit ranking. Until then it isn't illogical to use CURRENT FORM and RECENT tournaments as a basis to form an opinion. Seems you'd rather use qualifying for the last world cup as a measure. So then you'd have to concede that Panama and Costa Rica are better than the US.
I've repeated myself many times. If you don't see it, you are intentionally ignoring it. 2 most recent gold cups Recent matches against top concacaf teams (win and draw vs US, plus a very even game against Mexico by a depleted Canada side) General style and effectiveness of play. But what are recent results when you can look at home crowds and youth tournaments to form opinions.
I think there is an argument that the US doesn't get enough road challenges. They don't need to qualify for the Gold Cup. They play the Gold Cup on US soil. And this past Nations League saw them draw Canada and Cuba. I don't know what the solution is, but they need something. Maybe additional friendlies in South America even if it loses us soccer some of that sweet monies.
The US also doesn't have a goal-scorer. Previous USMNTs had clear strikers who were the focal point of goal scoring opportunities...not that I'm longing for the days of Conor Casey or Brian Ching, but those guys were man's man strikers. Shoot, if we could wind back the clock on Altidore 6 years, I would gladly take that.
This vancity eagle guy is hilarious. There is absolutely nothing indicating that Canada is the third team of the confederation. Using the joke gold cup as proof is laughable. The little relevancy that tournament carried went away after the confederations cup.
The notion that Canada may indeed end up showing itself as the 3rd best side in Concacaf doesn't sound outlandish to me, partly because some of the other contenders for that positions -- teams like Costa Rica and Honduras -- seem to be in relative decline. Indeed, besides Mexico (whose chances to qualify from Concacaf appear to be better than 90%) and the US (approximately 80% chance to qualify), I don't think, individually, any of the other Concacaf sides have a better chance of grabbing Concacaf's 3rd direct spot compared to Canada. Put differently, while the chances that one of Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica or even El Salvador may end up among the top 3 in Concacaf is collectively better than Canada's chances by itself, I wouldn't bet on any of them individually having a much better chance than Canada.
To say that the USA outplayed Canada is really off. I felt Canada was the more dangerous team going forward with the better chances. At the end of the day both had exactly two shots on target. All the possession the USA had meant nothing as they failed to capitalize on that. All in all a draw looked about fair to me.
Yes. We started a bunch of jet-lagged 20 year olds from fancy clubs with no Concacaf WCQ experience vs. El Salvador, and they got ConcacaF'd. it's not surprising. I think Dest came in arrogant thinking he was going to dominate. That didn't happen. I would actually play Pulisic up top as the striker with McKinney & Aaronson on the wings and Reyna (when fit) in a central midfield roll. I'd bring Sargent or Pefok on after 75 minutes and then send Reyna out wide and put Pulisic in the middle. Playing Pulisic a bit deeper works when teams try to just hack him and then we get a free kick in a dangerous area.