There are too many question marks with personnel in key areas of the pitch for me to think that we're going to get to the Hex, let alone qualify. Like you say, this is about 2026. So we may see a number of poor performances spun into positive "learning experiences" and "culture building opportunities" where, with another manager, that gaffer would immediately be thrown under the bus. We need younger guys to emerge as consistent contributors and not just be short term flashes-in-the-pan.
This where CPL coming in next year will help have young and veteran Canadians playing keep or improving their form/fitness. In all it was a shocking move for us all and let see what Herdman does with this team. I think we have enough talent now and coming up that can help Canada make it to the hex. A WC 2022 might be a reach, but dang it they better go for it just the exposure can help bring in more players with dual or more nationalities. Either way I do want to hear some game soon under Herdman really soon.
IMO that's debatable, but we'll agree to disagree on that point. It's the younger guys coming up, making impact contributions on a consistent basis, and pushing for starting spots that will make the difference here. Larin has to prove that he's a bona fide goal scorer when wearing a Maple Leaf on his chest, ditto Cavallini. A lot of "ifs" in the program at the moment, not the least of which being the man in the coach's technical area leading the team.
And the person who NEVER even got a call or interview by the CSA, Marc Dos Santos, is now assistant coach to Bob Bradley at LAFC. Hmmm, I wonder who knows more about soccer? Bob Bradley or the CSA? I honestly think Bradley has forgotten more soccer than the CSA has in their collective total. Marc had been looking for a head coaching job in MLS but when the godfather of US soccer says "I want you to be my assistant coach" it is kind of hard to refuse. Zambrano was going to make big changes and the CSA didn't want that because they've got such great results for 20 years. Why change now? /sarc I wish Herdman well and will cheer for Canada of course but the CSA knows they can control him and he won't make waves. I thought we were past that nonsense but old habits die hard. More of the same "no changes required" from the CSA.
I'm happy that MdS is learning under Bradley. I don't see him there more than 2 years before he gets his own MLS coaching job. MdS is the most talented coach Canada has, imo, and in 10 years he'll be a no-brainer to be the CMNT coach if he wants it.
I think dos Santos is a great coach and I would've supported the decision to hire him as the MNT head coach. But what are his ambitions in the short and long term? The MNT job is always going to be there for him. There's no hurry for him to take it right. It's the other way around actually. Herdman controls the CSA more than they control him. Think about it: he's used the threat of a job offer elsewhere twice during his tenure as WNT head coach. The first time, the CSA gave him a raise and an extension. The second time, they gave him the MNT job. If they try to push him around, maybe he'll leave for good.
I'll believe that when I see him get rid of the TDs and put scouts in place. Won't happen. CSA has GIVEN him the job without even interviewing others. They want someone who they can control. I seriously doubt he will make any changes much less big ones that OZ was talking about. He will work within the existing system. We shall see but Herdman has a weak resume for the men's game. He is in a much weaker position than OZ or MDS would have been.
I agree. Even if we were only considering Canadian coaches, Dasovic, Watson, Biello and Peschisolido all have stronger resumes.
I expect we will qualify for 2022. Our team has been improving at a considerable rate. A supply of new players (from MLS and, to a lesser extend, L1O alumni who have moved on and up,) has now started to reach the NT. This supply will only improve and strengthen in the four years before 2022. To qualify, we don't need to win CONCACAF, just move up enough to snag the lowest qualifying spot. That looks very doable to me.
The problem is, our main competitors in Central America and the Caribbean have also been making big leaps forward. No matter how much progress we make it still feels like we're always playing catch up.
Have they, though? Soccer has been the top sport there forever. I don't see the improvements coming out of those countries nearly equally what Canada is enjoying the beginning of.
My claim is based on purely anecdotal observation mind you, but it seems like it. I don't see where our performances against those teams is getting better really (maybe a little). We have been getting better that's for sure, so that leaves be to believe that they are getting better as well. Again, just my own anecdotal observations. I'd welcome other views and observations that would show me as being wrong.
The central/south american soccer teams always get the best athletes. Some play baseball, some basketball but I would gather 95% of their athletes want to be soccer players first. In Canada and the USA that is starting to get there but hockey, basketball, baseball and NFL/CFL are still getting 80%+ of the best athletes. Just my SWAG at numbers but we may never catch them.
More so in Canada than the United States. Soccer is already #1 in participation without a top league, imagine when CPL starts. In the US, Soccer will never be the choice of a majority of athletes. In Canada, it will be between hockey or soccer most of the time.
If we have some young guys really emerge as consistent performers, especially in the attacking positions, then I think we can make a run. But if, two years from now, we are in the qualifying for the Hex playing with club role players and backups, we're probably going out at that stage.
Participation is mostly young kids just kicking a ball around. Good place to start but a huge gaps between U12->U23 still exist.. CPL or not it will probably be hockey, basketball then soccer. The Raptors have really energised the BBall scene in the country and especially the GTA.
I agree with this assessment. My thinking is that it has been in the last year or two that the first crop of players from the new talent pipeline has reached the national team level. So far it has produced mostly averagish sort of NT players. It's only going to increase from here, however, which will give us an ever deeper pool of acceptable NT guys and will start producing those consistent performers you mentioned. We never know in advance which ones those will be but they will come. So I think that in four years we'll be far enough along the curve to qualify.
We've always struggled to find that creative type of central mid who can manufacture the chances for our strikers. Those guys are hard to cultivate and with new and deeper allocation revenue streams coming into MLS where the Canadian clubs can buy guys from abroad for those Hollywood positions, I don't think we'll be seeing this player come from that league. I hope I'm wrong.
^ From the perspective of the Canadian NT, that's been the trouble with MLS. Toronto and Vancouver have been pretty decent about bringing in young Canadians but it has been tough for them to find first team playing time. As you point out, there's always going to be someone from elsewhere who's just a bit better at a given position.
Somehow stumbled in this thread and saw someone quoting this, wondered what kind of idiot would post such a thing happy to have eaten my words. But anyway, the weird state of the team going in to the World Cup makes a lot more sense now: https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/art...-should-have-stepped-down-ahead-of-world-cup/