U-23 Starting line-up

[BeaverBoy]

I posted this on the original forum, too.

The big question: What would your U-23 starting line-up look like? How many of the U-20s will crack this line-up? Who will be in net? Where will Kluka play, midfield or D? Now that Friend is scoring in Norway and other young guns are starting to emerge, it will be very interesting to see what the starting 11 will look like.

[matthew]

I was thinking about this. Despite some people's beliefs to the contrary I don't think this team is as strong as our last U23s unfortunately. Again the question might be in the back.

I'd start Fernandes, but I think Rayner and Meuleman can both do the job as well.

I have one big question in the back and it's at central defender. Can Pozniak play there? If not do we use Haineault or Harmse? Pozniak played as a sweeper for the U20s didn't he?

Figuring that I'd line up:

----------------Fernandes

------------------Pozniak

Nsaliwa------Oppong-------Klukowski

Dunfield----Hutchinson----Canizalez

----------------DeGuzman

--------------Hume----Friend

Not a bad lineup. I think there's no reason we can't qualify with a quality group like that. I think we need Klukowski and Nsaliwa in the back to give a little more stability. Both are veteran professional guys should help stabilize the back. We have lots of good mids and with Friends' good form, that's a nice big man, little man combo and we still have Borsellino and Williams to call on if we need them.

cheers,

matthew

The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by matthew

I was thinking about this. Despite some people's beliefs to the contrary I don't think this team is as strong as our last U23s unfortunately. Again the question might be in the back.

I'd start Fernandes, but I think Rayner and Meuleman can both do the job as well.

I have one big question in the back and it's at central defender. Can Pozniak play there? If not do we use Haineault or Harmse? Pozniak played as a sweeper for the U20s didn't he?

Figuring that I'd line up:

----------------Fernandes

------------------Pozniak

Nsaliwa------Oppong-------Klukowski

Dunfield----Hutchinson----Canizalez

----------------DeGuzman

--------------Hume----Friend

Not a bad lineup. I think there's no reason we can't qualify with a quality group like that. I think we need Klukowski and Nsaliwa in the back to give a little more stability. Both are veteran professional guys should help stabilize the back. We have lots of good mids and with Friends' good form, that's a nice big man, little man combo and we still have Borsellino and Williams to call on if we need them.

cheers,

matthew

I wonder if all those players will even be available. I think that we will find several of those projected starters unavailable, including DeGuzman, Hume, Nsaliwa, Klukowski and Hutchinson as we get deeper into qualifying. As for Centre Back, has something happened to Arrango?

In a World full of caterpillars it takes balls to be a butterfly.

[Gian-Luca]

The Olympic qualifiers are supposed to be all held on FIFA international calendar dates, so the players should be available - though you do have to wonder about a guy like Atiba Hutchison who will soon be used for 3 different teams (U20, Olympic & Senior team). Thankfully U20 & 2nd round Olympic qualifiers will take place in the Swedish (& Norwegian) off-season. This is also good news for the use of Pozniak, Friend & the long-forgotten-but-shouldn't-be forgotten Adam Braz (who has to be a leading contender for a starter at the back - we have depth for this squad, my friends, believe you me). This is not good news for the other 3-team player, Iain Hume, who's break is right now, rather than in November.

I wonder if some of the higher-profile players will be spared from the first round of qualifying against St. Vincent, or send a mostly U20 team to play them. We (ie Twamley) should really be scouting St. Vincent to see how strong they are. A team consisting of the likes of Lemire, Matondo, Dutra, Ledgerwood, Chin, Belotte, Blicharski, Arango, U23's like Chris Williams, Borsellino - ie all of the North American-based players - you have to think that they can take St. Vincent - and if not in the first match call up the big boys for match 2! (Actually I don't think that's practical).

I do think a full strength Olympic squad will be even better than the last one - in theory. We will certainly have more European experience than we have ever had before. A guy like Dunfield may not even make it to the starting 11, with the quality of our midfield.

Lets have a look at some possibilities:

First team

Striker: Friend Hume

Midfield: MC2, Hutchison, De Guzman, Klukowski, Nsaliwa

Def: Oppong, Braz, Pozniak

Kep: Thunder Dan

Team 2:

Belotte, Ngon, Lemire

Simpson, Dunfield, Chin, Dutra, Williams

Marshall, Arango, Harmse

Rayner

Well a lot of things can happen, when you're walking down the street, and it never fails to amaze me, the people that I meet. They all say "See you later" and I just answer "How? How will you see me later, when you can't see me now?" - Kevin Ayers, The Confessions of Dr. Dream & Other Stories (1974)

[Gian-Luca]

Hainault is too young for the Olympic team - I'm sure he'll be good, but isn't he just 16 at the moment?

Well a lot of things can happen, when you're walking down the street, and it never fails to amaze me, the people that I meet. They all say "See you later" and I just answer "How? How will you see me later, when you can't see me now?" - Kevin Ayers, The Confessions of Dr. Dream & Other Stories (1974)

[MikeD]

Pozniak played centre back for the U-23s in the 2001 Francophone Games and did a hell of job against players who were significantly older than he was (Poz was still in the U-20 player pool at the time.) However, with Oppong, Braz and Harmse all available to play centre back for the U-23s, I imagine Poz will be used as a fullback.

My lineup:

GK Thunder Dan

LB Pozniak

RB Nsaliwa

CB Braz

CB Oppong

LM Klukowski

RM Canizalez

CM DeGuzman

CM Dunfield

ST Friend

ST Hume

The fact that this lineup leaves off blue chippers like Belotte and Hutchinson really underlines how much depth our World Cup team will have in a few years.

Mike D

[matthew]

I can't believe I forgot Braz. I didn't forget he was out there, he just slipped my mind after missing the U20s run. I know you're high on Pozniak G-L and I think he should be on the field, but I'd still have him back there ahead of benching Dunfield. I wonder if Braz can take Oppong's spot. That might be even better, having Braz in place of Oppong in my original lineup. Is Arango good enough challenge back there? I don't know much about him honestly.

We do have a lot of depth, but last time out we had (or could have had):

----------------Hirschfeld/Franks

-------McKenna---Clarke---Hastings

Bircham----Bent-------Imhof----Brennan

----------------------Stalteri

-----------DeRosario-----Jordan

That's a really, really nice U23 team. It's too bad injuries kept us from seeing that whole team together. And Brad Parker was one of the top players from that core in their U20 days.

cheers,

matthew

The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[Mimglow]

quote:Originally posted by MikeD

Pozniak played centre back for the U-23s in the 2001 Francophone Games and did a hell of job against players who were significantly older than he was (Poz was still in the U-20 player pool at the time.)

Just wanted to clarify a tiny little thing about your post. At the Francophone Games, the team that showed up for Canada was the U-20. Every other nation had their U-23's, but we had our U-20...

Sorry for being so anal! [:I]

Mimglow, Ottawa

_________________________

Where are the weapons of mass destruction?

[beachesl]

Use only the U-20's for the U-23 Olympic qualifying against the US Virgen Islands (steamroller fodder) in September as training only for the tournament in UAE, and don't bother getting the Euro-based players.

Full U-20 team for the El Salvador series in November just before the UAE tournament, with a 20-23 additions where we are weaker. Good training for the Youth WC. Then we can see which Euro -based players we can get for Mexico City Final Olympic Qualifying Tournie ( date not set yet) after the New Year, if we beat El Salvador and depending on the dates set. We may find that we get a few suprises from the UAE tournament which will make many of you want to change the proposed formations above with some rising younger players.

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change

the subject. -- Winston Churchill

[MikeD]

quote:Originally posted by Mimglow

Just wanted to clarify a tiny little thing about your post. At the Francophone Games, the team that showed up for Canada was the U-20. Every other nation had their U-23's, but we had our U-20...

Sorry for being so anal! [:I]

Mimglow, Ottawa

_________________________

Where are the weapons of mass destruction?

Actually, though the core of Canada's Francophone Games team was made up of players who had just returned from the U-20 World Championships in Argentina, it was technically a U-23 side because the Euro-based U-20s who returned to their clubs were replaced with U-23s. Some of the U-23s who were on the team included - Kenny Stamatopoulos, Sean Fraser, Alfredo Valente and Kevin de Serpa. I guess you could say that it was a very young U-23 side.

Regardless of the age of some of his teammates though, Pozniak was a real standout at the back.

Mike D

[Mimglow]

Excellent, I wasn't aware of that.

Pozniak was great, as was Mieuleman (sp?)

Mimglow, Ottawa

_________________________

Where are the weapons of mass destruction?

[Gian-Luca]

That's the thing - with hindsight the team looks better, but Twamley didn't pick Imhof, he picked Mathot. And Bircham never played in the qualifiers due to injury & Brennan played one match with a hernia & missed the rest.

Well a lot of things can happen, when you're walking down the street, and it never fails to amaze me, the people that I meet. They all say "See you later" and I just answer "How? How will you see me later, when you can't see me now?" - Kevin Ayers, The Confessions of Dr. Dream & Other Stories (1974)