2026 WC USA (et al): Worldwide Opponents Watch [all R's]

Canada 6 Honduras 0

In 2012 Honduras beat Canada 8-1 on the final matchday to knock them out of World Cup qualifying

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🇨🇦 🇭🇳 #CANMNT pic.twitter.com/3xeVkBJJWR

— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) June 18, 2025

 

Keylor Navas is clearly not the keeper he was, but it's fair to point out how thoroughly hr has owned the US over the years. With Navas in goal, Costa Rica has a record of four wins, two losses, and one tie in competitive matches against the US and a 14-6 goal advantage. The two US wins: the blizzard game in Denver in March of 2013, when the US won 1-0. and the game in 2021 when Navas had to leave at the half with an injury. (It was 1-1 at the time.)

 

I had thought Navas retired. Did he unretired because it's a short cycle? Or is my memory just crap.

 

No, your memory is right. He unretired.

Keylor Navas Set to Rejoin Costa Rican National Team for 2025 Gold Cup

 

Yep. Saw him vs Suriname.

 

In fairness, Warner Brown is not "just some kid" - that's a bit harsh on him. He is 22 and was the leading scorer in the Jamaican Premier League this season (21 goals in 31 league games). He'd scored 4 goals in 6 appearances before starting this Guatemala game. He's been abroad before (Slovenia), but didn't adapt well. He'll likely get another transfer this summer and should receive multiple solid opportunities. He is a real, legitimate prospect with the potential to be a solid long-term professional at a decent level (not expecting him to make a home at the Bernabeu or Stamford Bridge or something, but an MLS/EFL Championship type of future or close to it is very attainable for him).

That said, yes, you can typically count on Jamaica to underperform, this is nothing new. We are probably the most overrated team in the region (as much as I hate to admit it, it is not a claim I can credibly argue against after the kind of performances we've put out).

But last night wasn't about the center forward. It was a tactical mess in the midfield, and poor decision making from our staff that really led us where we ended up. Isaac Hayden got hurt, and McLaren had absolutely no viable backup plan. The plan he went with (using Damion Lowe and Joel Latibeaudiere as midfield pivots) was doomed from the start. Just poor management, all around.

We aren't in good shape at all. I wouldn't bet on us getting out of the group at this point. I sincerely and deeply hope I am proven wrong.

If we didn't receive such a favorable draw for the final round for World Cup qualifiers, I'd be much closer to panic mode right now. But the draw was favorable enough that I think, with even moderate improvement on the Guatemala prep/performance (which I think this staff might just be capable of), we can get by. That's the only thing giving me hope right now. But even then its up in the air.

 

Extremely valid concern and there's a good chance it happens.

We are better than Curacao, on paper. But they have more raw talent/quality in their side than Guatemala. There's absolutely no reason for me to believe that a Jamaica side with the kind of preparation and effort shown against Guatemala on Monday will be able to beat Curacao home and away.

My only hope is that we improve on the management level such that the team is better prepared and puts in more effort. And this is theoretically something we are capable of. But with what we've seen so far, it is far from a given that McLaren will be able to manage that. We just have to hope he does.

Jamaicans are also a wildly complacent, lackadaisical people as a whole, not just in football but most things. There is a very strong tendency to take things for granted, and take it easy when it looks easy. Getting that "easy" draw in Group B of the final round is a bit of a double edged sword - you already have most of Jamaican fans assuming this will be a cakewalk. Players and coaches are less prone to this, but they are still Jamaicans - the mentality can creep in.

And you can see it on the field - we don't have a killer instinct and tend to play down to our opposition. That's why we can go toe-to-toe with Nigeria (on paper, a significantly better side) and force penalties, but can't manage more than a 1-0 win over BVI (206th in the world) or a 1-1 draw in Saint Vincent. Its the same team (these games are all happening within a 3 month span - the BVI game was less than a week after the Nigeria match), quality doesn't explain that gap. It is a mindset.

Our rivals don't have this problem, and I'm not even talking about the big fish like MX, USA, or Canada. Guatemala and Curacao, among others, see small teams and absolutely murder them. We see a small side, and it's a chance to take a siesta. The aim is always the bare minimum.

There's a really good chance Curacao is far more motivated and energized than we are come fall. And that is where the trouble starts.

 

I very much think the US has exactly this same problem when favored as it's so hard to go from the semi bunkering and countering to having to break down another team doing to you. I image most teams do as I've seen Real Madrid struggle doing against a well drilled team in La Liga. Problem for the B & C team is if they give up a goal and have to score one they are usually toast.

 

What did he do this time

Concacaf Statement: Disciplinary investigation into the CSA and Jesse Marsch following Gold Cup incidents

 

🇨🇦 Update:

Concacaf announced that it "has initiated disciplinary proceedings to investigate the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) and its head coach, Jesse Marsch, for incidents that occurred during the 2025 Gold Cup match between Canada and Honduras on June 17, 2025." pic.twitter.com/eUHak9XaWN

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 19, 2025

 

Stay classy, Jesse.

Meanwhile Suriname held up for a half against Mexico. Better than I expected.

 

That's impressive. He's already suspended for his conduct at the Nations League, but still managed to behave so badly at the Gold Cup that they needed to open an investigation.

What's the deal with this guy?

Its like some weird Canadian version of ardido. When you're really successful but still want to go down swinging.......................

 

Tho lately we've been able to over come this tendency, we (Panama) are in the same boat. Just love to play down to lower ranked teams. Frustrating to watch at times.

 

T&T and Haiti draw 1-1. We are through with a win.

Those two teams are not good (though Haiti was playing with 10 for half the game).

 

T&T blew a couple of clear chances in the second half (including one off the outside of the post). Scrappy game but some fun moments.

 

Marsch is back to being the Chicago Fire player I hated. He seemed to chill a bit as a coach at first but seems to be ratcheting up the stupid more with each stop. Remember the stupid statement criticizing Bielsa when he first took over there? He seems the type of coach to do well for a short time and burn out (or injure?) his players fairly quickly.

 

I don't want to spoil the Marsch-bashing fun. And details are still emerging (though I thought it was telling that Canada Soccer asked what the specific allegations were and CONCACAF wouldn't tell them)... but it seems that Marsch was escorted by CONCACAF officials to the designated spot where he would be allowed to watch the match. Once the match actually began, Marsch was told by CONCACAF officials that he could not be where he was and must leave immediately. To which Marsch essentially said "WTF are you talking about? You literally walked me here." And the CONCACAF official was scandalized and reported Marsch for abusing him.

There is a separate issue that seems to be more of a Canada Soccer issue that may involve the number of coaches on the bench or something else. No one seems clear on that, even Canada Soccer at last word. It sounds this is a tempest in a teapot, but that doesn't mean they won't suspend Marsch again for using foul language at a CONCACAF suit.

 

If that's what happened it's bush league. I do think you are forgetting that Canada probably has a bad rep right now in CONCACAF because of the spying stuff. Marsch wasn't involved but probably CONCACAF hasn't gotten over it yet.

 

You think I'm forgetting that there was a drone scandal? I mean, respectfully that's like telling an American supporter that you think they forgot that they lost in Couva. No one is forgetting that. Ever. I'm not forgetting that Marsch finally lost it at the non-VAR interventions on a call that was 100% not a penalty, nor that he just recently said the Vancouver Whitecaps were poisoned in Mexico before the CONCACAF Cup Final. I understand why he is not on CONCACAF's Christmas list and why Canada Soccer is not in CONCACAF's best graces.

All of that being said, it feels like Canada has been getting royally screwed by CONCACAF for decades. We're a backwater full of gringos and we don't make CONCACAF any money. It has felt targeted at times and given what appears to have happened in Vancouver, the conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day.

So, the above has been confirmed, but the absolute cherry on top is that the CONCACAF official that complained about being abused by Marsch to CONCACAF that caused the investigation to be launched "misinformed CONCACAF ahead of the investigation"... ie they lied through their teeth to try to screw Marsch after they were playing games with him in regards to where he was supposed to be located upstairs. This would have been a he said/she said type thing which I'm sure Marsch would have lost, except... somehow, Canada Soccer had a GoPro set up and running which recorded the entire thing. All charges against Marsch were dropped. We're going to have to start wearing bodycams for every CONCACAF interaction now.

Canada Soccer was fined for “for breaching security protocols for accredited delegation officials and for failing to comply with anti-doping procedures by not providing the required representative for the halftime doping control draw.”

The first part was that a member of Canada Soccer staff was sick on the night, so a different person stepped in and did their job and that person had not had the necessary security clearance to access the areas of the facility that they did. The second part is sort of misleading... there was a Canada Soccer rep at the actual draw (where they decide who has to pee in a cup post-match), what they missed was a meeting before the draw. Which is a step that didn't take place at Copa America, so they should have known the Gold Cup procedure was different, but hardly an earth-shattering faux pas.

For me, the real stupid part is that Canada just beat Honduras 6-0 at home on national TV and there should have been buzz about the team as a co-host for next summer and instead there was days of talk about Marsch and a possible suspension and it was all total b.s.

 

Damn that All-Caribbean group looks like a pity party. All bounced out of the Gold Cup group stages in emphatic fashion, save for Bermuda, who didn't even qualify for the event.

 

DR showed some life, but yeah, pretty bad right now.

 

I'm talking about the results for the teams that make up Group B in the upcoming round 3 of World Cup Qualifying. It's the All-Caribbean group of Jamaica, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda...

They looked pretty awful at the Gold Cup.

 

Welcome to the party pal. I think you have a legitimate gripe here and we fall under the same umbrella. Most refs from these poorer countries seem to try and level the playing field by not being evenhanded. I see bad calls from every association but ours has more, gives less cards and allows constant harassment and fouling without any callas on our best player (I'm guessing similar for you).

 

I'm not sure Canada has cause to complain about the refs. They've had a LOT of red cards in their favor over the last few years, and while many were earned, most red cards in CONCACAF are let go.

Their Copa success was mostly red card driven.