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Costa Rica- Cuba / Guatemala- Surinam (R)


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Guest Jeffery S.

Well it looks like much of WC qualifying is going to be decided in the next 3 months.

I think especially the first two games at home have to be key. We get those wins and can go away to teams that have to win, can't draw us, which gives us a chance to hit on the counter, we can simply play for draws away and take points away from rivals.

Sure hope Yallop gears up fast and keeps the squad possiblities wide as we need more depth still to make this work, esp at the back.

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Guest Jeffery S.

Well it looks like much of WC qualifying is going to be decided in the next 3 months.

I think especially the first two games at home have to be key. We get those wins and can go away to teams that have to win, can't draw us, which gives us a chance to hit on the counter, we can simply play for draws away and take points away from rivals.

Sure hope Yallop gears up fast and keeps the squad possiblities wide as we need more depth still to make this work, esp at the back.

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quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

I think especially the first two games at home have to be key. We get those wins and can go away to teams that have to win, can't draw us, which gives us a chance to hit on the counter, we can simply play for draws away and take points away from rivals.

Sure hope Yallop gears up fast and keeps the squad possiblities wide as we need more depth still to make this work, esp at the back.

I agree, and I have a feeling Yallop agrees with you as well. I think this was why he was afraid of playing Stalteri in the 2nd leg with Belize, when he received a yellow in the first leg. He wanted a full lineup with no suspensions to start off the next round in order to fully maximize our home field advantage. (Of course, he now has to deal with Hume's suspension for Game 1.)

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Anyone feeling relaxed about our next group is either humouring us or otherwise incredibly naive. Guatemala have the most dangerous striker in the MLS and a balanced team that is getting better all the time. And they are the least of our problems. To dismiss Costa Rica as another Cuba is utter nonsense (the WC2002 was televised in Canada, wasn't it?)and Honduras only went and blew half the countries away at the Copa and then barely went out of qualifying for 2002- they will be hungrier than most nations to get to the finals. Canada can do this, and I believe we will, but let's get a reality check here first boys, at least to avoid kidding ourselves!

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Ummm... ...I don't know if anyone is really feeling relaxed here though.

I mean when I look at our opponents in the group stage, I have to admit that I feel cautious about our chances. I would like to boys to do good and take me to Germany, of course. But I don't think anyone here is having any fantasy that this will be an easy 3 months coming.

All of these teams are here on merit and I am pretty sure the players/coaches, as well as us fans, are not taking anyone lightly.

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I'm nervous about our group obviously. Guatemala has a huge home field advantage and have two very good strikers both of whom could terrorize our D. Costa Rica and Honduras both have to be favoured ahead of us. So yeah obviously I know we're in deep.

What I was trying to say was that I'm actually feeling butterflies right now. Same as I do before a match. I can't explain it. I'm already dreading what Ruiz and Pezarozzi might do to DeVos and Watson. I believe in this team, but this summer is going to be huge.

cheers,

matthew

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It will be very tough but not impossible! Canada must win all there home games at least 3 points away doing that we qualify for the final round! I know that two strongest teams here are Costa Rica and Honduras! but we can do it!

ALLER LES ROUGES!

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Have to feel sorry for any team that is eliminated from World Cup qualifying so early on the bloody away goals rule. I know they eliminated us in the Gold Cup, but geez, to be out of the World Cup two years before it is even held after going undefeated in four matches, including two draws against a heavily favoured team while the likes of St. Kitts are in the next round while T&T are given a free pass to the Hex is just wrong and I'm almost pissed off for Cuba's sake even though I don't like them. Strangely they will probably go up in the FIFA rankings for tying a higher-ranked team twice, even though doing so eliminates them from the World Cup.

I can't say I'm nervous about the next round - underdogs aren't supposed to feel nervous, the favourites are and we won't be favoured over Costa Rica or Honduras.

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quote:Originally posted by Christian B.

A semi-final round group including Mexico, T&T, St-Kitts & Nevis and St-Vincent & Grenadines while we are in a group with Costa Rica, Honduras & Guatemala is a total joke!!!!!!!!!!

That group is going to be the equivilant of a shoot-around for Mexico and Trinidad.

Obviously congrats go out to both St-Kitts & Nevis and St-Vincent & Grenadines for qualifying, but something sure did go screwy. The groups should be more balanced.

As earlier mentioned the strikers of some of the teams in our group will/may give our Central Defenders fits, but I think the same is true the other way too. With the possible exception of Landon Donovan, Radzinski may be the best striker in CONCACAF, so as long as our midfielder can win the ball and make clean passes going Forward we should be okay.

Those doubting Canada's ability to beat the teams in our group because of FIFA rankings, keep this in mind: FIFA has the USA ranked higher than both Italy and England. While the US is really good, there is no way they are better than either Italy or England.

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The fact is that in order to qualify for the cup, you have to beat all these teams anyways. Sure, it would have been nice to do that in Hex, but you go with what you got I guess. in 1996, Canada had an easy draw with Panama, Cuba and El Salvador in the first round as well and then got destroyed in the Hex.

I think our schedule is not bad, playing Guatemala at home in the first game. If CR plays the way they played against Cuba, they are very much beatable. They were pure crap in Havana, and quite lucky to get a draw there and from the looks of it didn't do much better in Costa Rica. Off course, that could have just been a cover and not all players may have been available, but that Tico team was beatable.

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I just hope that we don't see a repeat of 2002 qualifying where that home loss to T & T virtually put us out of it from the start.

It's a tough group this time around but I like our chances. The key is going to be squad selection, or the lack of, but with our first choice 11, I'm confident we can beat all the teams in our group.

That being said, I equally assured that they could beat us. For the first time ever, I think our question marks are at the back and in goal. I'm actually confident we can score goals. Never thought I'd say that.

As for Mexico and T&T's group....WHere is Jack Warner from again???

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quote:Originally posted by matthew

I'm nervous about our group obviously. Guatemala has a huge home field advantage and have two very good strikers both of whom could terrorize our D.

They don't really have a huge home field advantage when they play us as it will be in the middle of Novemeber. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt the weather in Guatemala will be scorching in mid November.

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I think if our Midfielders can force Guatemala's attackers towards the wings and allow Stalteri and Jazic to deal with them it would be a lot better than trusting de Vos and whomever else Yallop plays in CD to have to defend them. I'm not as worried about de Vos as I am about Watson and McKenna.

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quote:Originally posted by canadiankick97

They don't really have a huge home field advantage when they play us as it will be in the middle of Novemeber. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt the weather in Guatemala will be scorching in mid November.

Depends where they will play in Guatemala. Guatemala City would not be too bad in November because of the relatively high elevation. However, Guatemala has a history of choosing the hellhole of Mazatenango on the Pacific Coast to play the gringos. They played two matches of three home matches in there last WCQ Semi-Final Rounds (the other was in Guatemala City to get an advantage against sea-level Barbados). The first one was in July against the US, and the US players say it was the toughest match they had to play (1-1). The other was in mid-November against a Costa Rica side used to playing their national teams matches at altitude, and the weather was horrendous again. Anybody familiar with the Paciic resorts in Mexico to the north knows how hot and humid it can be in November.

The US just won that group with 11 points, and Guatemala and Costa Rica tied with ten points and identical goals for and against. As a result, Costa Rica made it to the hex only as a result of a playoff against Guatemala in the cooler confines of a January Miami.

Guatemala's impressive work in those semis is an object lesson not to take them lightly.

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