Well, the V Cup Final is right before the 1/8 finals begin in the CL So maybe the CPL runner up should take their place in the CL at that point if the CPL team wins the VCup. Like a 2nd half substitution.
Just spoke to someone close to the situation and was assured that, all normal COVID-19 caveats aside, planning is underway to hold the VCup tournament immediately following the conclusion of the #CanPL season (so early fall) https://t.co/55eDNY22Vj— Duane Rollins (@24thminute) June 10, 2020
If there's a 2020 tournament: CPL and MLS teams only Atletico Ottawa added L10 Champions Masters FA and PLSQ champions AS Blainville will play in 2021 instead Winner qualifies for Champions League Canada Soccer has provided an update on the 2020 #CanChamp, which includes the inclusion of @atletiOttawa in the 2020 tournament if played 🇨🇦#CanPL l 📝: @martythompson_ https://t.co/uRewV5IWRb— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) June 16, 2020
I'm not sure exactly where to post this, but since the Canadian Championship is how Canada determines its CCl slot: https://www.mlssoccer.com/mls-is-back-tournament/tournament-structure MLS (which means the USSF) is awarding the winner of the league's return to play tournament a CCL slot "regardless of whether it is a US or Canadian club". So Canada could have two CCL slots this year by winning one from the USSF. I'm very surprised the US would offer even this possibility as there is no up side for them and they're used to having an asterisk on their CCL qualification table in case a Canadian team wins one of the qualification slots in MLS.
It's going to be a dice roll with all the teams coming in off such a long break. I'd put TFC in the group of teams with a reasonable chance of winning (teams which, if you looked at the results after the tournament was done and saw that they'd won, wouldn't seem like big surprises). Montreal could be a dark horse. Vancouver would not seem to be in the running.
I'm curious about the format. Eleven teams is an awkward number to work with. The CSA has promised Masters and Blainville slots in 2021. If there are no seasons this year for L1O and the PLSQ that's easy. If those leagues do play, I wonder if the CSA would allow four D3 teams in the Canadian Championship in 2021 so that the 2020 winners could also qualify.
Very simple format this year 2020 CPL Island Games champions vs MLS team with the most points in their Canadian matchups (until MLS figures out what to do with them) Canada Soccer announces format for 2020 Canadian Championship FinalSTORY 🍁 https://t.co/P3sG7R5gpU#CanChamp pic.twitter.com/I60fb0VdeO— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) August 13, 2020 I'm guessing that should a CPL team win, the CONCACAF League berth would go the the Island Games runner up
And this is the schedule for the three MLS teams: https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...dian-clubs-resume-regular-season-home-markets It looks like TFC's win over Montreal in the season-opening tournament won't count even though it counted as a regular season MLS game.
I don't recall seeing it stated clearly before: This article says that the final between the MSL and CPL winners will be a single game. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...ify-2021-scotiabank-concacaf-champions-league Personally, I'd have preferred the more customary home and away but I guess in this fanless covid year it doesn't make as much difference.
1 game where everything can happen! First impression on the tournament is that Forge is the team best built to upset TFC. They are very sound defensively (not sold on GK Henry though) and have a good midfield who have yet to play at their full capabilities. Choiniere, Novak and Babouli are capable upfront. Cavalry aren't being their best selves yet but I'd worry that Wheeldon would make the same mistake he did last year against Montreal trying to outplay them at midfield while he had the pieces to play the counter attack game. This is why York did so much better against Montreal than Cavalry because they had better awareness of both teams strengths and weaknesses. I just think the win against Vancouver got to their heads but if he learned from it, Wheeldon could find a way. I still see TFC as the favourite to win it all. Forge are the most capable to contain them, Cavalry could too depending on their approach (4-3-3 instead of 3-4-3 which other CPL clubs have started to figure them out.)
Without wanting to pre-suppose anything about the qualifying outcomes, I had been quietly imagining how the crowds could have been for a TFC-Hamilton two leg final in non-covid circumstances. Sigh. A single game final is a plus for the lower ranked team because it increases the chances of a quirky game resulting in an upset win. If TFC make the final, to me the only question then would be what line up TFC sends out. I don't see a plausible scenario where any CPL team challenges a full-strength TFC lineup.
TFC will be forced to start 3 Canadians so most likely Osorio, Laryea and Fraser gets the start. I don't see a scenario where TFC puts a B team against Forge or Cavalry, this could rapidly backfire on them. Montreal didn't take that chance and they were right. Had they done so, they'd be eliminated. Let's be honest, Piatti won that tournament for them. I'm not saying CPL is better than MLS but where most MLS starting XI is quality, their bench/depth aren't nearly as good. In my opinion, it's that league's biggest weakness. You sit out one or two DPs and the drop in quality is quite obvious. No wonder they have yet to win CCL because when Liga MX sides have injuries, they are still formidable and the drop is negligible for the most part.
This is definitely true and it makes sense that it will happen when DPs make millions and their backups make often less than a tenth of what they do. That said, this was TFC's bench for their last game against Montreal: goal: Bono defense: Ciman, Zavaleta midfield: Endoh, Gallardo, Fraser, Dorsey forward: DeLeon Ignoring the fact that no CPL team would sign an older, foreign player but just looking at skill, any of those guys would walk on to any CPL roster. And that's a shallow bench for TFC because several players were away so some normal bench guys were already out on the field. Personally, I think even a B-ish TFC squad would win. That's not an insult to the CPL teams, just how things are because of salary disparity. But I expect TFC to play a much more A squad team.
I would add that the salary disparity is not directly proportional to the disparity in quality. Vancouver had 10 times the salary but they were far from being 10 times better than Cavalry. Yes, the salary gives an edge to MLS teams every time but that disparity shrinks as they use more of their bench.
So in the CPL, we are down to one really interesting game in qualifying for the final. Forge and Cavalry play before Halifax and Victoria. If Hamilton win, then Halifax makes it through to the final no matter what happens in their game. (If Forge don't win then the coast vs coast game is very interesting.) In MLS, Montreal have a chance to make the final if they can beat Vancouver again. This because, for no logical reason, the CSA decided not to use head to head as the first tie breaker.
Our first finalist is TFC. Now we're just waiting for the CPL contestant to be determined on Saturday.
It's going to be a single game final, possibly at a neutral venue, so I'm not sure it matters as much. It might even be useful to go all Ontario if it's Hamilton and Toronto and they chose to play at one of their home stadia.
Since it's a one off, it would have to be in neutral ground so not at BMO or Tim Hortons. Maybe TD Place in Ottawa? Otherwise, due to the temperature Vancouver or Langford might be the better choice
As if TFC needed any kind of advantage, look at what they expect #TFCLive Pres Bill Manning on #CanChamp Final: “There was an understanding that once the MLS participant's (TFC) season is done, we can figure out a time to play the CPL winner. I’m hopeful that will be December or January… we’re going to push to host the game at BMO [Field]."— Eric Giacometti (@Eric_Giacometti) September 17, 2020 This is outrageous. There's no way that playing a CPL club that's been on hiatus for over 3 months makes any sense nor fair. If anything, MLS should move their schedule to accommodate the Championship finals before they leave for the US. If MLS can be so accommodating to move their dates to help out their teams playing in CCL, they should do it for this final.
I would add that as early as June 10, there were reports that the CSA wanted to have the finals happen right at the end of the CPL season Just spoke to someone close to the situation and was assured that, all normal COVID-19 caveats aside, planning is underway to hold the VCup tournament immediately following the conclusion of the #CanPL season (so early fall) https://t.co/55eDNY22Vj— Duane Rollins (@24thminute) June 10, 2020 In July, there were reports that CPL would have a tournament starting in August and that the CSA would have the final right after the tournament Meanwhile the three Canadian MLS teams will determine an opponent using the scheduled MLS games. The team that gets the most points in the 9 games played between the teams over next two months will play the #CanPL winner in the Cup final,— Duane Rollins (@24thminute) August 1, 2020 August 13, the CSA announce the format of the finals which will be between CPL champions and MLS winners Canada Soccer announces format for 2020 Canadian Championship FinalSTORY 🍁 https://t.co/P3sG7R5gpU#CanChamp pic.twitter.com/I60fb0VdeO— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) August 13, 2020 Today, Bill Manning said that he thought that the final would be played after the MLS season. Ladies and gentlemen...this is a lie If I'm the CSA, this is the date, show up or forfeit
You're quoting a journalist who cites sources about what might happen. I notice the CPL also didn't have an eight team knock out tournament right after the Island Games. And that the June tweet of a V-Cup tournament has been replaced by a single game. It's covid - things change. And it's not a lie if that's what he thought. It also doesn't mean that that's what's going to happen. Happily you aren't as it is clear you have an anti-MLS obsession.