I expect Vitoria and Cornelius to be the main duo as they stop the Americans in the 1st game. Henry will be there too (God no...) he was awful againt the US in the 2nd game. With Amer Didic and Dominick Zator already being called up, I'd add them first. Behind There's still a chance that Ricardo Ferreira might commit if he stays healthy. Not sold on James We might have something in Scott Kennedy. Waterman is a work in progress
An uninspiring list. If we are going to take a step up to be with the elites of Concacaf, and expect to qualify on a regular basis, our CB pairings have to be better than the names listed above. Assuming we are healthy, I like the rest of our roster to compete with anyone in CONCACAF. But you need CB's that can play error free when you are in a pressure cooker in Central America on the back foot. These guys can't do it.
Canadian news Europa League F Jonathan David played the full 90 for Lille and collected an assist in a 1-1 tie against AC Milan.1332047814356996096 is not a valid tweet id M Scott Arfield played the full 90 for Rangers and scored a goal in a 2-2 tie with Benfica. GK Milan Borjan had the start for Belgrade and had a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Gent. England LW Junior Hoilett played 59 minutes for Cardiff City in a 1-0 loss to Coventry Scotland M David Wotherspoon played 29 minutes for St. Johnstone and scored a goal in a 2-2 tie against Hibernian Belgium CF Charles-Andreas Brym played 20 minutes for Royal Excel Mouscron in a 2-1 win over Cercle Brugge Canadian Championship The CSA has announced that the Canadian Championship final will take place Q1 of 2021. CPL Champions Forge FC will face Toronto FC. While Forge could qualify to the 2021 CCL by defeating Arcahaie FC next week but beating TFC would give them the higher seed which would put them in Pot 1 instead of 2. As shown below, it's definitely worth winning this game. MLS Standouts RW Tajon Buchanon scored a nice goal for New England against Philadelphia. Hoping the 21 years old might get some interests elsewhere. Tajon Buchanan 🍁 with the 2-0 goal in the #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/La5s6amgLS— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 25, 2020 GK Dayne St. Clair had another clean sheet for Minnesota in a 3-0 win against Colorado. The future looks bright in goals for Canada... ...and at Fullback! RB Alistair Johnston had a solid 120 minutes in a 1-0 win over Toronto FC. The 22 years old is making a strong case for himself to be part of the National Team adding much depth to that position.
Canadian news Portugal Remember this name - M Stephen Eustaquio played the full 90 for Pacos de Ferreira and picked up an assist in a 2-0 tie against Famalicao. The 23 years old is our future at midfield and heir to Hutchinson. This club was flirting with the relegation zone and Eustaquio was undeniably a major reason for this club success. They are now 2 points behind the fifth place and a Europa League berth. I expect a move to a bigger club or league once his contract with Cruz Azul expires - they are about to lose him for nothing if they don't sell him this winter. 1332458839275433984 is not a valid tweet id CB Steven Vitoria played the full 90 for Moreirense and in a 2-1 loss against Sporting CP. France F Jonathan David played the final 4 minutes for Lille in a 1-1 tie against Sainte-Etienne. Interesting fact... Lille worst performances were when David didn't start. This was clearly the manager rotating his squad for the next Europa game but some of the obvious cracks are showing for Lille - mainly the decision making that's questionable and guys like Bamba and Ikone being unbelievably selfish with the ball. England LW Junior Hoilett played 76 minutes for Cardiff City in a 4-0 over Luton Turkey M Atiba Hutchinson played the full 90 and Cyle Larin collected an assist before being red card at the 50th minute for Besiktas in a 4-3 win over Fenerbahce. Besiktas are now back in 4th place in Europa League zone GOAL FOR BESIKTAS!It's an opening goal for the visitors as Vincent Aboubakar sends in a great finish for them to take the lead early on.#FBvBJK LIVE NOW ⬇️📺 beIN SPORTS💻📱CONNECT https://t.co/LRYa03w6yI pic.twitter.com/d0TAamR0Y2— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) November 29, 2020 Cyle Larin has interest from Rennes in Ligue 1 and PSV in Eredivisie PSV and Rennes are said to be interested in Larin. #CANMNT https://t.co/1nqfw71Pym— 𝕲𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘𝕮𝖎𝖙𝖞 (@GlassCityFC) November 27, 2020 Belgium CF Charles-Andreas Brym played 59 minutes for Royal Excel Mouscron in a 0-0 tie with Cercle Brugge Norway LB Sam Adekugbe played the full 90 for Valerenga in a 1-1 tie with Sarpsborg 08. At this rate, the club is projected to be in Europa next year. Serbia GK Milan Borjan adds another clean sheet for Belgrade Red Star in a 3-0 win over Rad Beograd 18 years old midfielder Stefan Mitrovic played for Radnicki Nis in a 1-0 loss to Vojvodina Canadian Premier League - news Potential Chile call up We have confirmation that the Chile did approach the 2020 MVP nominee Marco Bustos and let him know that he had watched his games in CPL. Of course, a move to a higher level would help him immensely to get in the National team picture but this reflects very well on CPL and it's level of play. Reinaldo Rueda, Chile’s manager, spoke with Bustos and “told him that he has seen his games, that he knows that he is Chilean, that he has a very high level and that hopefully he can get a better team.” #CANMNT https://t.co/VTSUGmv2g2— 𝕲𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘𝕮𝖎𝖙𝖞 (@GlassCityFC) November 28, 2020 2020 CPL Awards https://canpl.ca/awards Golden Boot : Akeem Garcia, HFX Wanderers Golden Glove : Tristan Henry, Forge FC Player of the year : Kyle Bekker, Forge FC Best Canadian U21 Player : Mo Farsi, Cavalry Coach of the year : Stephen Hart, HFX Wanderers CONCACAF League Tomorrow might be a historic night for CPL as Forge FC are 1 win away from the 2021 CCL if they defeat Arcahaie FC from Haiti in Dominican Republic MLS Tajon Buchanan is making a believer out of a lot of fans. Interestingly enough, the 21 years old has excelled as a RB which provides further depth for Canada at the fullback position although he's primarily a RW. I'd like to see a move in his future. 🇨🇦 Tajon Buchanan (21) has turned it UP a notch in the playoffs for the @NERevolution:🆚 Philly⚽️ 1 goal🚫 Clean sheet💪🏾 7 duels won🆚 Orlando⚔️ 9 tackles🥅 Won penalty💪🏾 15 duels wonThe 8 seed is one win away from the MLS Cup final and Tajon is a big reason why. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/QeS2tDKTky— Football Wonderkids (@fbwonderkids) November 30, 2020 Alistair Johnston was solid playing 106 minutes in a loss against Columbus. He's also a RB Promising 21 years old LB Zohran Bassong has signed with Montreal Impact according to sources. He played youth football in Belgium and was at Lille before Cercle Brugge where he was released. He was called up by Canada where he made a good impression.
Canada might be better served switching to a 3-in-the-back set. Move 1 or 2 of the fullbacks to wide CB positions.
Disappointment for Forge FC as they lost their CONCACAF League game against Arcahaie of Haiti on penalties. Now they can only qualify for CCL by winning the Canadian Championship final.
No, they get another shot in between the two. There's another play in game against someone in CONCACAF League and then, if they lose, they get the game against Toronto. EDIT: Next week's match is against Club Deportivo Marathón of Honduras. After the teams they beat to get here, I'm kind of surprised they lost to a Haitian team, although what do I know about Haitian pro teams?
If you go back far enough, I believe Haitian teams have won it (pre-CCL days). Violette in 1984 & Racing in 1963. Haiti topped CONCACAF in 1973.
CCL was played way differently back then. In 1984 a team from Haiti "won" because Chivas and New York couldn't agree with a date to play their games and both teams were eliminated for not agreeing. In 1973 something similar happened but it was a team from Surinam that "won" it.
Canadian news UEFA Champions League A Canadian Centre-Back made his debut in Champions League, could 2020 be any weirder? Manjrekar James played the full 90 for Midtjylland in a 1-1 tie against Atalanta. He exceeded expectations by doing well defensively and frustrating Atalanta's forwards with his speed and physical presence. Match highlights 🎥Manjrekar James 🍁 made his #UCL debut in Midtjylland's 1:1 draw with Atalanta https://t.co/nsLwJDFYAC— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) December 2, 2020 This is very good news for Canada if he can keep this up. If he proves to be a good pairing with Vitoria, we might have something there to help us get through the qualifiers to the final round What a performance 💯🔝 @ManjrekarJames pic.twitter.com/1DzfFWQgCh— FC Midtjylland (@fcmidtjylland) December 2, 2020 Europa League F Jonathan David played the full 90 for Lille in a 2-1 win over Sparta Prague. He drew both yellow cards that caused the red and served a great pass to Timothy Weah who collected his assist. Lille advance to the knockout round. David🇨🇦 ➡️ Weah🇺🇸 ➡️ Burak🇹🇷 = ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/bpw9c8zrEn— Au Stade Lillois ⚜️ (@AuStadeLillois) December 3, 2020 M Scott Arfield played 86 minutes and scored the winning goal for Rangers in a 3-2 win over Standard Liege. He’s been nothing but absolutely clinical this year and Rangers advance to the knockout round 1334609964359356416 is not a valid tweet id GK Milan Borjan adds another clean sheet for Belgrade Red Star in a 0-0 tie to Hoffenheim. With 6 saves, he’s the man of the match and helps his team advance to the knockout stage. Portugal M Stephen Eustaquio played the full 90 for Pacos de Ferreira in a 1-0 win against Moreirense. The 23 years old was the man of the match and has been so 4 times in the last 8 games. The club who was close to relegation before his arrival are now 5th in the league and in the Europa League zone. England LW Junior Hoilett made an impact from the bench at the 63rd minute and got an assist for Cardiff City in a 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town. Cardiff are 6 points behind the promotion zone to EPL. Norway LB Sam Adekugbe played 73 minutes for Valerenga in a 1-1 draw against Stabaek. They are now 3rd overall in the league and in the Europa zone. CONCACAF League Tough loss for Forge FC who lost to Arcahaie 1(4) – 1(2) in penalty shutouts after an error from keeper Tristan Henry when Forge had the lead and controlled the game. Credit to the Haitian club who were compact and very organized defensively parking the bus. It’s dumb for CONCACAF to not play extra time. Forge will face Honduras Club Deportivo Marathón with a 2021 CCL berth on the line next week on December 8. Canadian Soccer Association Alphonso Davies was name Canadian men’s player of the year while Tajon Buchanan was name youth player of the year.
Canadian News France F Jonathan David played 62 minutes and scored a goal for Lille in a 2-1 win over Monaco. Despite getting the assist, Ikoné was definitely trying to dribble his way through 4 players and shoot but lost the ball to David Lille are 2nd overall with only 2 points behind PSG. Jonathan David 🍁 has given LOSC the 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season pic.twitter.com/bty8RbFQ5s— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) December 6, 2020 Portugal M Stephen Eustaquio played the full 90 for Pacos de Ferreira in a 2-1 loss to Benfica. He is recognized in Portugal as one of the best midfielders in Liga NOS “Eustáquio returned to Portugal and returned to shine, being today one of the best midfielders of the Portuguese League.”#CANMNThttps://t.co/e4MiUGbWBL— 𝕲𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘𝕮𝖎𝖙𝖞 (@GlassCityFC) December 5, 2020 CB Steven Vitoria played the full 90 for Moreirense in a 1-1 tie with Gil Vicente Turkey M Atiba Hutchinson played the full 90 and scored a goal for Beskitas in a 3-0 win against Kasimpasa. Cyle Larin was suspended for this game. The forever-young #Atiba Hutchinson 🍁 has scored for #BesiktasIt's just a matter of time before they build his statue in İstanbul🐙 x 🦅 pic.twitter.com/wAaGjQA8oX— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) December 4, 2020 England LW Junior Hoilett played the final 20 minutes for Cardiff City in a 1-0 win over Watford. Scotland M Scott Arfield played the last 24 minutes for Rangers in a 4-0 win over Ross County. 22 years old midfielder Harry Paton played the full 90 for the losing team. M David Wotherspoon played the full 90 for St. Johnstone in a 1-1 tie to Celtic. Serbia GK Milan Borjan had the start and picked up another clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Zlatibor. Borjan made the Europa best XI this week proving that he's one of CONCACAF best keeper. Star performers from matchday 5 🔥🔥🔥@fedexeurope | #UELTOTW | #UELFPZ | #UEL— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) December 4, 2020 Germany CB Scott Kennedy played the final 22 minutes for Jahn Regensburg in a 2-1 win against Erzgebirge Aue in 2. Bundesliga Belgium F Charles-Andreas Brym played 60 minutes for Royal Excel Mouscron in a 2-0 loss against Waasland-Beveren World Cup Qualifiers The road to Qatar is now knows for Canada. First round Thursday, March 25 - Home vs. Bermuda Sunday, March 28 - Away at Cayman Islands Saturday, June 5 - Away at Aruba Tuesday, June 8 - Home vs. Suriname Second round if we win our group: Saturday, June 12 - Away at Winner of Group E Tuesday, June 15 - Home vs. Winner of Group E Since John Herdman said that he was likely to split the team in half, we could see an A team for the WCQ and a B team for the Gold Cup that looks like this MLS GK Dayne St. Clair has been very impressive. I see him trying to make a case for #3 keeper for Canada as many still views Maxime Crepeau from the Vancouver Whitecaps as #2. We'll see how well he has recovered from his hand injury. Dayne St. Clair 🍁 with an 😱 incredible save in the #MLSCupPlayoffs 😇 pic.twitter.com/xla3zFmL8i— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) December 4, 2020
Canadian News UEFA Champions League It was the return on Alphonso Davies and he didn't disappoint. He played 69 minutes for Bayern Munich in a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv. The man of the match was the highest rated player on his return from injury. He finished the day with 56/62 passes for a 90% accuracy, 13/16 duels won, and 11/13 successful dribbles. UEFA Europa League F Jonathan David played the full 90 for Lille in a 3-2 loss to Celtic. Lille advance to knockout rounds M Scott Arfield played the full 90 for Rangers in a 2-0 win against Lech Poznan. Rangers advance to knockout rounds at the top of Group D GK Milan Borjan had the start and picked up another clean sheet in a 0-0 tie with Slovan Liberec. Red Star Belgrade advances to knockout stage. Norway LB Sam Adekugbe was subbed off at the 6th minutes due to injury. Valerenga wins the game 1-0 over Rosenberg. They look like they will make the Europa Conference League competition next year. Belgium F Charles-Andreas Brym played the final 11 minutes for Royal Excel Mouscron in a 2-0 loss to OH Leuven CONCACAF League End of the road for Forge FC who lose the game 1-0 to C.D Marathon in Honduras in a classical CONCACAF game - by that I mean the diving, Central American referee who forgets he has cards but decides to use all of them in the 2nd half with 2 reds to Forge. In retrospect, Forge has improved from last year where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by making it to the quarterfinals this year. They will be back in the 2021 CONCACAF League.
Canadian Premier League News York 9 FC is no more! The club has announced that they are rebranding to York United FC 1337446515506339840 is not a valid tweet id The new crest Our crest. Forever the Nine Stripes.#YorkUnited pic.twitter.com/RgIpxVh9bS— York United FC (@yorkutdfc) December 11, 2020 The new shirt! York9 FC are now York United FC. Here's the Nine Stripes edition jersey they'll be wearing in 2021. There will also be a primary white jersey. #CanPL pic.twitter.com/VE1jD0Bvfw— Oliver Platt (@plattoli) December 11, 2020 The branding and crest explained https://yorkunitedfc.canpl.ca/brand-story
Canadian News Germany LW Alphonso Davies played the full 90 for Bayern Munich in a 1-1 draw with Union Berlin. France F Jonathan David played 62 minutes for Lille in a 2-1 win against Bordeaux Turkey F Cyle Larin played 46 minutes while Atiba Hutchinson played 83 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Alanyaspor Scotland M Scott Arfield played the full 90 for Rangers in a 2-1 win against Dundee United. M David Wotherspoon played the full 90 and got an assist for St. Johnstone in a 2-1 loss to Livingston. M Harry Paton played 64 minutes for Ross County 2-0 loss to Aberdeen M Charlie Trafford played 55 minutes for Hamilton Academical in a 4-0 loss to Hibernian Portugal Cup M Stephen Eustaquio played the full 90 for Pacos de Ferreira in a 3-0 loss to Sporting CB Steven Vitoria played the full 90 for Moreirense in a 3-2 win over Cova Piedade Chile RB Juan Cordova played 88 minutes for Huachipato in a 2-1 loss to Antofagasta Canadian Premier League News Following the rebranding of York United, it looks like CPL has officially declared that it now has a club in the city of Toronto. The alternate crest with Toronto's skyline makes it obvious. Due to the pandemic and Federal restrictions on travel, York United might be the only club playing in Toronto in 2021
Canadian news Alphonso Davies is in FIFA’s World’s Best XI First and only CONCACAF to make it and he's wearing a Canada shirt! Turkey F Cyle Larin played 63 minutes for Besiktas and scored a goal in a 3-1 win against Tarsus Idman Yurdu in the Turkish Cup. Le but de l'ex-joueur d'Orlando City, Cyle Larin, avec @_BESIKTAS_FR ! 🇨🇦pic.twitter.com/pJ92mqWmbM— Antoine Latran (Culture Soccer) (@CultureSoccer) December 17, 2020 Atiba Hutchinson voted today as Canada's captain for the FIFA Men's Player of the Year award as Canada captain. Last year it was Scott Arfield. This is a hint that Canada will be able to count on Hutchinson which significantly boosts our midfield for the WCQ. France F Jonathan David played 58 minutes for Lille in a 2-0 win against Dijon. They play Paris St-Germain on Sunday Portugal M Stephen Eustaquio is getting interest from FC Porto and Sporting. He was recently recognized as one of Liga NOS best midfielder. Stephen Eustaquio reportedly attracting interest from Sporting CP and Porto pic.twitter.com/r4r4bELNPi— Canucks Abroad (@Canucks_Abroad) December 17, 2020 Germany CB Scott Kennedy played the final 21 minutes for Jahn Regensburg in a 3-2 loss to Holstein Kiel in 2. Bundesliga. On Tuesday, Scott Kennedy played the full 90 and was man of the match in a 0-0 tie to FC Heidenheim. The 23 years will undeniably be an option for Canada to reinforce the centre-back position England RW Theo Corbeanu keeps excelling at Wolves Academy with 2 goals on their recent game. There's hope he might make the main squad at this pace at only 18 years of age as he's been also travelling and training with the 1st squad Theo Corbeanu's first and Wolves' third.#WBAWOL #PL2📺 https://t.co/aSVhWTdM9u pic.twitter.com/U6lpXKHB4v— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) December 14, 2020 67' #WBA 2-4 #WOLWhat a turnaround! This time Taylor Perry forces the error and Theo Corbeanu does the rest...#WBAWOL #PL2📺 https://t.co/9feH10cs4c pic.twitter.com/kJViuqESvM— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) December 14, 2020 Serbia GK Milan Borjan earned another clean sheet for Belgrade Red Star in a 2-0 win against FK Metalac 18 years old Stefan Mitrovic started for Radnicki Nis in a 2-1 win against Backa Chile RB Juan Cordova played the full 90 for Huachipato in a 1-0 win against Curico Unido. The club has climb into the Sudamericana zone. CONCACAF Champions League Montreal Impact won the game 1-0 against CD Olimpia but are eliminated on aggregate (2-2 away goals). They have also acquired Kamal Miller in a trade with Austin FC. Montreal intend to use the young defender at his natural position as a Centre back which could add depth at the position for Canada
SPREADING THE VALUE OF MLS: ALPHONSO DAVIES (former vancouver whitecap and now with bayern munich) Canadian Alphonso Davies makes history by earning a spot on FIFPRO World 11 - The Globe and Mail he is heading the list of a growing number of MLS-developed young Canadian and US players playing across the pond
Davies was developed in Edmonton, himself would say as much. He arrived at Vancouver already special.
I don't think there's any question, however, that Euro clubs are looking for the "next Alphonso Davies" in MLS. Yes, they're all looking for the next Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie, etc. that they can get on a free transfer. Of course. But you can see the Davies influence when it comes to a player like Bryan Reynolds. Dallas received a ~10 million dollar bid from Roma for him this week. Werder Bremen submitted a bid for NYCFC fullback Joe Scally before he'd played a first team game. He's also moving in this window. This is all about clubs looking for "the next Alphonso Davies." Euro clubs scarf up young talents in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, etc. the second they show a modicum of talent. I expect MLS to develop in that manner as well. Every window they'll sell 4-5 teens to Europe.