This has been big for a team that had the general spectre of choking and underperformance around it for a long time.
Honduras was split up into two teams with Gold Cup and Olympics on their agenda. I think if they are fully healthy they can certainly get a top 4 spot. Also, I am not sure where Canada will play Honduras. IF it is in Toronto forget it. It could feel more like a road game than a home game. But who knows. It may be in another stadium. Or Toronto may be half empty and it does not matter. Great game to get a measure on how either team will approach this ocho from the get go.
I have to agree with the analysis below, Mexico rarely gets played like that in the region. Some final #CanMNT thoughts with @KristianJack 🧠"I'm privileged to watch a lot of football games, and I'll say this; Mexico rarely ever gets tested like that. Mexico don't get played like that by teams in this region."WATCH (FULL REACTION) ▶https://t.co/Eilpss9VfQ pic.twitter.com/UsVMBWLQHq— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 30, 2021 Last cycle we beat Honduras at home and lost in Honduras The game is scheduled to be in Toronto, yes they will be noisy but Canadian fans will bury them
The Honduras manager has basically only coached at the youth level in South America. And he’s not an up and comer, he’s 54 years old. That’s not exactly the profile of someone who strikes fear into anyone.
He is an up and comer trying to make a name for himself coming up the ranks. 54 is still not old for National Teams if you follow the global game. Many of them are in their 60s and beyond. Yes he has coached in the Youth Level in South America and did a good job. The Mens game at that level is closer to CONCACAF than She believes cups and women's tournaments with half empty stadiums.
This is the kind of fallacy of thinking that leads to people being undervalued or underrated. The fact that he started his career in women’s soccer does not inherently mean he’s a bad or questionable coach. The fact is he was very successful with two separate national teams in the women’s game. Plenty of that is translatable and it’s showed in Canada’s results.
Maybe you misunderstand what I am trying to say here. The Women's game is totally different than what he will see in the Ocho. He could be a good manager but I want to see him prove it in the Ocho. A Women's resume is not going to cut it for me.
I mean Mexico basically had their A team minus injured players. And Costa Rica as far as I know had the A team minus Navas. And Canada was missing plenty of good players themselves. I don’t know why you want to discount Canada so much but they really have done a great job of building up their team and in my mind really should qualify this time. The real wild card is Jamaica who has tons of talent but hasn’t really put it together.
Mexico also has players in the Olympic squad that will have impact. Navas is the heart and soul of the Ticos. Yes Canada was missing some players. I will see it to believe it when it comes to Canada qualifying. I did mention things are looking better for them. They are just missing something for me to say they will get top 3. I think 4th spot could be their ceiling.
I'd bet Edmonton. This game, on Sept. 2, is one of the few dates of Canada home games in the Ocho on which it will be warm enough to play up there, so I'd expect Canada to take advantage of that fact. Of course, the last time Canada qualified for the World Cup, in 1986, it played its clinching game against Honduras in Newfoundland, where the Canadian fans may have been outnumbered by the seals. Maybe they will go that route again.
Why would this be the case? Canada has a extremely extremely small Honduran diaspora. The team they wouldn’t want to play in Toronto is Jamaica, as there is a huge Jamaican Canadian population in the Toronto metro area. Generally though I’d expect the crowds for their WCQ will be similar to what we saw in the Nations League against the US. They’ve got a young exciting team playing in the final round of qualifying for the first in forever. It’s not going to be hard to pack a stadium.
Still got blown out on the road to the USA as I said to you a long time ago. If they can improve on the road and prove to me they can steal some points in places like Panama or El Salvador or Jamaica then I may change my tune. As of right now I am in a wait and see mode.
On aggregate? 4-3 / US got out of the group based on goal differentials. Also, no need to minimize how outclassed the A team was in Toronto (Eustaquio was on the bench)
Yes. 4-3 on aggregate. But getting blown out on the road just makes me go here we go again for them. Let's see if they can prove to me they can do better in the Ocho on the road.
I did not minimize it. I did not even mention it. I will now mention that team that faced Canada in Toronto I bet will be quite different to the one they see in January.
So they will travel to Toronto but nowhere else in Canada? That makes no sense. Also with current COVID restrictions I don’t think Hondurans can even go to Canada. They only just announced Americans can come starting later this month.
There's a lot of Hondurans in the North East. Especially in New York. Central Americans when they play in Toronto show up. At least from the friendlies and other matches I have seen.
Likewise... The US should have won in Toronto (you don't get more comfortable of a road game than that). So you must agree that the US have much to prove on the road too. We all know how good you are at home, but far from convinced on the road
As I said in the other post, the USA team we will see in Canada will not be the same one we saw that day. And they will be more seasoned. Yes, they still have a lot to prove but there is more talent and more confidence after this summer about our chances.
Excuses again. At some point you have to just learn to take the L. Eustaquio was on the bench, no Buchanan, no Kennedy, no Corbeanu, no Johnston so different team - more seasoned too
It is an accurate depiction of how things evolve from a couple years time. Not an excuse. Just how the reality is shaping up from my point of view.
From the Voyageurs Forum, someone posted who the Ocho teams were missing. Not a 100% picture but it gives an idea Jamaica F - Michail Antonio - West Ham CB - Ethan Pinnock - Brentford FC F - Kemar Roofe - Rangers RW - Jamal Lowe - Swansea City AM - Kasey Palmer - Bristol City DM - Kevin Stewart - Blackpool El Salvador F - Nelson Bonilla - True Bangkok United Dual nationals F- Brayan Gil - Liga Dimayor ( Columbia) DM - Justin Portillo - Real Salt Lake City RW - Jose Hernandez - Cavalry FC RW- Marlon Vargas - Tacoma Defiance GK - Rafael Garcia - Xelaj AM - Andres Flores - without club ( Timbers before ) AM - Kevin Santamaria - Cavelines ( Peru second division) Honduras F - Choco Lonzano - Cadiz CF AM - Rigoberto Rivas - Reggina 1914 F- Bryan Rochez - CD Nacional RB - Andy Najaf - D.C United F- Douglas Martinez - Real Salt Lake City CB - Denil Maldonado - CF Pachua CM - Roger Espinoza - Sporting Kansas City Panama RB - Michael Murillo - RSC Anderlecht CB - Andres Andrade - Lask F- Ceilo Waterman - CD Everton RB - Cesar Blackman - DAC Dunajaska Streda DM - Anibal Godoy - Nashville SC Costa Rica GK - Keylor Navas - PSG LW- Randall Leal - Nashville SC F- Manfred Ugalde - Twenete Enschede FC CB - Juan Pablo Vargas - Millinarios FC LB - Joseph Mora - DC United RW- Marvin Loria - Timbers RB - Cristian Gamboa - VfL Bochum F - Felicio Brown Forbes - Wisla Krakow CB - Julio Cascante - Austin FC Mexico RW - Hirving Lozano- Napoli F - Raul Jimenez - Wolves F- Jose Macias - Getafe CF RW- Roberto Alvarado - Cruz Azul LW - Diego Lainez - Real Beria Balompie CM - Carlos Rodriguez - Monterrey GK - Guillermo Ochoa - America Plus so many more USA We know who they were missing.