Does anyone still believe we can still make it?

[soccerbeast]

I think our chances have just died for any chance of making Germany 2006. yes there's still 5 matches left but after last nights fiasco

can anyone see Canada making it to the next round or to the finals

itself?

[RS]

Yes, the thing the team needs to do is get over the obvious mental letdown that a loss like this will cause.

Everyone on the board knows that the teams is 1000X better than what they showed last night, and the team needs to think that way as well.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by soccerbeast

I think our chances have just died for any chance of making Germany 2006. yes there's still 5 matches left but after last nights fiasco

can anyone see Canada making it to the next round or to the finals

itself?

You have to have hope. But last night's result was a huge set back. If we fail this time around you will likely be able to point to that result as the turning point. Much Like Can-T&T in 2000.

Going into last night's game, my thoughts were that even a draw would have been a set back.

The positive, I have maintained for a long time that the Guat side is much stronger than many have beleived. They should have been in the hex in 2000 and are, based on what I saw of them then and now, better than T&T and El Sal were in 2000. It is possible that they may be the class of this group. If you look at it that way, we still have a chance.

[ballboy]

I am still a bit nauseous from last night's game but I will say this:

Did we play awful? Yes.

Was that the level that we could play? No.

(sorry for stating the obvious)

After an awful defeat like last night, I can't see the boys playing another stinker like this one.

I am not the smartest out there but I do think that as true die-hard supporters, you just gotta have faith. Looking at this team, I don't think anyone can argue that it's really one of our best team on paper and our faith should be legit.

Now, it's up to the boys to show us that our faith is well-placed and deserving.

On a side-note, they won me over on the very first minute I saw them trained in Kingston. I still recall how I met a bunch of you guys. Whether they go to the World Cup or not, I will still stick with them... ...if I am going down, I am going down in Canadian Red.

[nolando]

Being a Voyageur means you have to have hope, and be a glutton for punishment. If not, get off the bus.

[canuck-fan]

Jesus Christ, it was just one game! How can we, as hardcore supporters, give up on the team at this point. Yes they played (very) badly, but we have to assume that they won't play so badly again. The team is capable of being much better, both individually and as a unit, and will be in the coming games. I realize that this was supposed to be the easy game of the six, but it just means we will have to buckle down in the remaining matches.

With any luck we won't be so devastated by injuries in the matches to come. Really, of the entire complement of players in the MNT mix, are there two we would have missed more than JDV and Radz? Guatemala would not have fared nearly so well without Ruiz and their top central defender. Of course, if Radz and JDV (and McKenna) don't make it back in time for the Edmonton game then we'll have to rely solely on the players we have fit playing better.

The Guats were not so much good last night as we were bad. Costa Rica has shown itself beatable, and I don't think the Hondurans are invincible, even after their performance last night. Keep in mind that we don't have to win the group, only finish in the top two.

Canada can still do this!

[Reza]

The toughest thing with this group to predict is what will happen to the Central American teams when they play each other. All three are heavy duty rivals dying to beat each other, so there are a lot of unexpected results that could happen. We have already seen one.

That unpredictability together with hopes for two home wins are our only hopes really. Reality is that we have a winning record against all three teams or at least an even record, so if we live up to the billing and the other results are all over the map, we have a shot.

Having said that, when you lose at home, you know you are behind the 8 ball.

[Lilloco]

quote:Originally posted by Reza

The toughest thing with this group to predict is what will happen to the Central American teams when they play each other. All three are heavy duty rivals dying to beat each other, so there are a lot of unexpected results that could happen. We have already seen one.

You are totally right on that one.. Costa Rica - Honduras is the Central American Derby.."El Clasico" and no one ever knows what will happen...Guatemala has always been considered an easy opponent for Honduras but has always caused Costa Rica problems, just like the Caribean teams always cause more of a problem for Honduras than for the other Central American countries...another thing is, Honduras plays horrible at home!! I mean really bad...so who knows. I think everything is still wide open.....dont discount Canada, while everybody else is fighting themselves silly, Cnada can creep up and take a spot to the Hex.....

[Jarrek]

If we lose the next game, it will be another 4+ year wait.

[Lord Bob]

Can Canada make it to the hex? Yes.

Will they? No.

We have the talent to beat every team in this group on any given day. Obviously, that would never happen, but the team has just lost too much momentum from getting mashed by Guatemala. So I don't think they have it in them at this stage, although I do have hope. Naturally. I'm a Canadian soccer fan, hope gives me life.

[Joe05]

I hate to say it, but I think they're toast. Once Canada is officially eliminated, they should try and do their best to cap every solid young prospect they have that has a chance to play for another country.

[Whither Canada]

"Everyone on the board knows that the teams is 1000X better than what they showed last night, and the team needs to think that way as well."

I've been following Canada for over 20 years (forget Paul Henderson - my proudest sporting moment is still George Pakos scoring to clinch a spot for us in Mexico '86). I've been lurking on these forums for a few weeks. The last game I attended was Game 1 in Kingston. I want Canada to do well as much as anyone on this board.

But please, please tell me where you people manage to get all of this blind optimism so that I can get some? Where is there any indication that this team as it's currently constituted will get any better?

The issues of club vs country/injuries/refereeing/etc will always be there. We can't keep using that as an excuse because it's never going to go away.

With 20/20 hindsight, the Belize matches should have demonstrated that we still have a long way to go. We could not have fielded a better side than the one in Kingston, yet the best we could do was 4-nil both games? And 1-nil at halftime? At home? Gimme a break. A top-class team should beat a squad of part-timers like Belize by 7 or 8, especially at home.

And don't try and tell me that if only they'd call up this guy or that guy from the A-League it'll make a blind bit of difference. The

A-League and international soccer are two different beasts.

Unfortunately I don't have a solution except maybe to start by sacking Kevan Pipe, who's been the one common element through the years but who's managed to deflect most of the blame that should go his way.

It's nice to observe optimistic people here, but it just doesn't reflect reality I'm afraid. Having said all this, I continue and always will, to follow Canada because hey, it's the best we've got.

[matthew]

I was more convinced we were done after the T&T loss in 2000. We can do this, but we need to beat Honduras at home. Since Hondruas has already won their toughest road game, it's possible they could roll through this group. If (and it's a huge if) we can be the only team to take points off of Hondruas (and it's three points) that off-sets the impact of last night's loss tremendously. This group is very tight and it's quite possible we'll each have three points as of Sept. 5.

With T&T we needed to beat them out because we knew Mexico would be quality and panama poor. Here it's totally wide open, any two teams could go through and nothing is impossible.

cheers,

matthew

[matthew]

I was more convinced we were done after the T&T loss in 2000. We can do this, but we need to beat Honduras at home. Since Hondruas has already won their toughest road game, it's possible they could roll through this group. If (and it's a huge if) we can be the only team to take points off of Hondruas (and it's three points) that off-sets the impact of last night's loss tremendously. This group is very tight and it's quite possible we'll each have three points as of Sept. 5.

With T&T we needed to beat them out because we knew Mexico would be quality and panama poor. Here it's totally wide open, any two teams could go through and nothing is impossible.

cheers,

matthew

[fza]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

Being a Voyageur means you have to have hope, and be a glutton for punishment. If not, get off the bus.

I totally agree with you man!...I can`t believe everyone`s losing faith in this team. Remember the GoldCup when we qualified from a coin toss and went on to become champs?..this team has something special I can`t see it (Chile) but at least I can feel it!

We were missing 6 top quality players :

McKenna

DeVos

Radz

Hume

Aguiar

Brennan

So everyone please stay positive!!..If you`re not a true die-hard fan then like "NOLANDO" says:

GET OFF THE BUS!!

AND STAY OFF, WE WANT PEOPLE TO JUMP ON THE TEAM CANADA WAGON AFTER WE WIN THE NEXT GAME!

[Gordon]

Oh yes we can. Guatemala wasn't that good, and given that they have considerable preperation behind them, I don't see them getting much better. Canada has considerable room for improvement, and is capable of beating Guatemala on the road. Cosat Rica is obviously vulnerable at home as well if last night was any indication.

We do have to win against Honduras in Edmonton though to have any chance. Unless Yallop addresses the problems of Central Defence (both were terrible), this will not happen as Honduras is likely the quickest team we will play. The problem with Watson and Pizzolitto last night was not only that they were slow of foot, but they were inordinately slow to recognize what was going on around them.

[fza]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

Being a Voyageur means you have to have hope, and be a glutton for punishment. If not, get off the bus.

I totally agree with you man!...I can`t believe everyone`s losing faith in this team. Remember the GoldCup when we qualified from a coin toss and went on to become champs?..this team has something special I can`t see it (Chile) but at least I can feel it!

We were missing 6 top quality players :

McKenna

DeVos

Radz

Hume

Aguiar

Brennan

So everyone please stay positive!!..If you`re not a true die-hard fan then like "NOLANDO" says:

GET OFF THE BUS!!

AND STAY OFF, WE DON`T WANT PEOPLE TO JUMP ON THE TEAM CANADA WAGON AFTER WE WIN THE NEXT GAME.

AND STAY OFF, WE WANT PEOPLE TO JUMP ON THE TEAM CANADA WAGON AFTER WE WIN THE NEXT GAME!

[fza]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

Being a Voyageur means you have to have hope, and be a glutton for punishment. If not, get off the bus.

I totally agree with you man!...I can`t believe everyone`s losing faith in this team. Remember the GoldCup when we qualified from a coin toss and went on to become champs?..this team has something special I can`t see it (Chile) but at least I can feel it!

We were missing 6 top quality players :

McKenna

DeVos

Radz

Hume

Aguiar

Brennan

So everyone please stay positive!!..If you`re not a true die-hard fan then like "NOLANDO" says:

GET OFF THE BUS!!

AND STAY OFF, WE DON`T WANT PEOPLE TO JUMP ON THE TEAM CANADA WAGON AFTER WE WIN THE NEXT GAME.

[RS]

quote:Originally posted by Whither Canada

"Everyone on the board knows that the teams is 1000X better than what they showed last night, and the team needs to think that way as well."

I've been following Canada for over 20 years (forget Paul Henderson - my proudest sporting moment is still George Pakos scoring to clinch a spot for us in Mexico '86). I've been lurking on these forums for a few weeks. The last game I attended was Game 1 in Kingston. I want Canada to do well as much as anyone on this board.

But please, please tell me where you people manage to get all of this blind optimism so that I can get some? Where is there any indication that this team as it's currently constituted will get any better?

The issues of club vs country/injuries/refereeing/etc will always be there. We can't keep using that as an excuse because it's never going to go away.

With 20/20 hindsight, the Belize matches should have demonstrated that we still have a long way to go. We could not have fielded a better side than the one in Kingston, yet the best we could do was 4-nil both games? And 1-nil at halftime? At home? Gimme a break. A top-class team should beat a squad of part-timers like Belize by 7 or 8, especially at home.

And don't try and tell me that if only they'd call up this guy or that guy from the A-League it'll make a blind bit of difference. The

A-League and international soccer are two different beasts.

Unfortunately I don't have a solution except maybe to start by sacking Kevan Pipe, who's been the one common element through the years but who's managed to deflect most of the blame that should go his way.

It's nice to observe optimistic people here, but it just doesn't reflect reality I'm afraid. Having said all this, I continue and always will, to follow Canada because hey, it's the best we've got.

What I said has nothing to do with blind optimism, and everything to do with reality, given the right circumstances.

Had Canada played 1/5 of the prep friendlies that Guatemala played over the past month or so (they played 10 matches I believe), the posts would be about how great of a win we witnessed last night, and how to build on such positive play going into Edmonton.

Instead, Canada played zero prep matches and paid dearly. Guatemala didn't beat us because they are more talented, they beat us because they were the better team on the night. The sole reason for that is the amount of time they spent together in getting ready for this round.

Granted, all of their players outside of Ruiz plays in Guatemala, so getting the team together is far easier for their federation than it is for ours. Still, to schedule one or two Euro friendlies over the past month would have been the difference between winning and losing last night, and I firmly believe that. Again, this is not due to optimism, but rather to the fact that I believe that man-for-man our boys are more talented and are used to a higher level of professionalism than the Guats, and therefore would have required less time to gel than the Chapines.

You see it in every tournament Canada plays in. In the first one or two matches, Canada uses stinks the joint up, relying on bunker strategies to get them through the early games. As time goes on, you can actually see the cohesion and familiarity start to build.

Call me a blind optimist if you will. But I strongly believe that if the CSA had given the team the prep it needed (and two friendlies over the past two/three weeks probably would have done it) then beating Guatemala wouldn't even had been an issue, it would have been a forgone conclusion.

[canso]

Thinking about the schedule, the first and last game were for me always going to be the make or break. I'm not all that surprised we lost to the Guats mainly because it was always going to be the team most difficult to play against, packed defence and a dangerous striker who can exploit any mistakes. I predict we'll split with Hoduras who will be over confident now and take four points from the Ticos, then it will come down to a superhuman effort to win away in that final game. That's the real test of Yallop, to get these guys to believe in themselves that they can overcome the odds and do the impossible. Don't forget his San Jose team were down 4-0 in the playoffs with 45 mins to go and scored five times to get to the final. I still believe he can turn this around!

[canso]

Thinking about the schedule, the first and last game were for me always going to be the make or break. I'm not all that surprised we lost to the Guats mainly because it was always going to be the team most difficult to play against, packed defence and a dangerous striker who can exploit any mistakes. I predict we'll split with Hoduras who will be over confident now and take four points from the Ticos, then it will come down to a superhuman effort to win away in that final game. That's the real test of Yallop, to get these guys to believe in themselves that they can overcome the odds and do the impossible. Don't forget his San Jose team were down 4-0 in the playoffs with 45 mins to go and scored five times to get to the final. I still believe he can turn this around!

[hamiltonfan]

WE ONLY LOST ONE GAME!!!!!!!!!! get really everyone there 15 more pionts that we are going to get...

[hamiltonfan]

WE ONLY LOST ONE GAME!!!!!!!!!! get really everyone there 15 more pionts that we are going to get...

[MikeD]

Of course we can still make it. All we have to do is win our other two home matches, take back our win from the Guats when we play them in Guatemala City and get an away draw against either Costa Rica or Honduras. That'll give us 10 points which, in this group, should be enough to finish second and advance to the hex where we'll have a clean slate. It possible, but we obviously have to play up to our potential.

[Lord Bob]

Like I said, I think we can. I just don't think we will. And if we do? I will be the happiest wrong person ever. Go Canada go!