May 19 - U20 Friendly - Canada vs Brazil [R]

[JayWay]

Wow.

After that performance I wish the U-20's were here NOW.

Great job, boys!

[kclee]

quote:Originally posted by Juby

Excellent game, everyone had good moments and the exceptional players I think have already been mentioned here. My Question is who will be too old come the youth cup in 2007 because our older guys were definately the strongest, even excellent performances from that 16 year old full back weren't at the same level as peters, johnson and edgar. Will any of them be too old at the youth cup?

They are all eligible for 2007.

[EZmac]

What a night! I never thought I see the day when Canada would beat Brazil in soccer and the Oilers would win in the Stanley cup semi-fianls.

Canada fully deserved the victory tonight. Peters was unreal. I felt bad for that #6 for Brazil trying to cover him. Peters was dangerous everytime he touched the ball. Johnson kept working hard and did well to score the winner.

Says great things about he future and next year's Youth World Cup.

[Ryan Keay]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

enough excuses with the crowds...Edmonton doesn't draw for Canadian soccer like they used too...let's face it (no Canadian city is doing well at this recently - maybe if they tried to have games on any degree of a regular basis)...except for that blip of a turnout for that woman's game a while back (IIRC) this is but another added to the list of disappointing Canadian soccer crowds...CSA really has to find a way to get bums back in the seats...anyways, sounds like a brilliant performance-wish I could have been there. Go Red!!

I think Edmonton deserves a pass on this... its not every year the Oilers get to the Conference finals.

Besides that though, Peters and Johnson were brilliant, I really liked the look of Nunez in the centre, and Edgar might have scored the nicest goal I've ever seen a Canadian player score. Some defensive frailties at moments (more team/familiarity issues than individuals though) All in all though, very encouraging stuff.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

enough excuses with the crowds...Edmonton doesn't draw for Canadian soccer like they used too...let's face it (no Canadian city is doing well at this recently - maybe if they tried to have games on any degree of a regular basis)...except for that blip of a turnout for that woman's game a while back (IIRC) this is but another added to the list of disappointing Canadian soccer crowds...CSA really has to find a way to get bums back in the seats...anyways, sounds like a brilliant performance-wish I could have been there. Go Red!!

Sorry, but I have to say 15,000 for an U20 friendly is quite a decent crowd. Heck, its much better than what Edmonton got for World Cup Qualifiers a couple of years ago.

[Cheeta]

Hell, no complaints about the crowd (David Edgar!!!!David Edgar) No complaints about nothing. That was a fun watch.

Two cracking goals. Great organization and play all around. And Jamie Peters showing he may deserve a spot on the senior team yet. What am I saying? As good as a performance as you could have expected. Damn fine performance.

All I want answered is are there signs all across Canada which read "Players under 6' need not apply for 'keeper". Sheesh.

Boy, monday is going to be a wicked game. Payback time. Maybe.

[nolando]

Maybe I was a bit harsh on the crowd size...it's just that Jeremy's comment smacked of the typical "we'll do better next time at the gate" Canadian mentality that most of us have grown sick of...hope we would sell double that for the home team vs the best country in the world come next year...think BIG people..we are not hosting qualifying...this is the BIG SHOW...we will be judged by the world football community by (among other things) the numbers and the liveliness of the numbers we bring out next year...it will likely have ramnifications for years to come in terms of hosting future tournaments (Women's, Gold, other youth divisions)

Glad to see Peters do so well under the spotlight...shows what can happen with a little patience, and a vote of confidence (bravo Yallop) can do for a guy...as well as proper development on the right size club (bravo Ipswich). I think this performance alone brands Jaime's appearances in WCQ as worthwhile if not genius.... the whole program benefits when the youth and the men's team are this well connected.

[Chet]

What a great game! Peters and Johnson were terrific.

Peters was obviously the best player on the pitch, for either team. I was impressed at first with the way the Brazilian defenders were able to keep pace with him. But by the 30 minute mark it was obvious that they weren't going to contain him all night. I think having both Peters and Johnson running at them for 90 minutes simply tired them out.

I've decided to nickname Johnson "Will Run." The kid is tireless. He seemed to get better, faster and more determined the longer the game went on.

The one other player who really impressed me was Stephen Lumley at the back. He made one horrible giveaway early in the game, but recovered quickly and was our most solid and reliable defender. It seemed like whenever the Brazilians threatened to score, Lumley would manage to get his head on the ball and clear it out of danger. Amazing considering he looked a good foot shorter than either of the two Brazilian strikers.

Brazil had lots of chances, too. Nobody's mentioned that certain goal that the Canadian defender (didn't see who it was) cleared off the line. My heart nearly stopped! That whole second half was just great action-packed football. I convinced one of my colleagues from work to come to the game with me and he was thoroughly entertained.

What's the big deal with this Kerlon guy? He looked pretty average to me. Number 11 was Brazil's most dangerous player.

I doubt Canada will win both of the next two games. Brazil have a reputation to defend. Mitchell said he plans to use all of his players during this series so we may see a drastically different lineup for Canada next game.

Great start, though. Can't wait for the WYC.

[The Ref]

I think the goal posts in Brazil must be taller. Brazil wasted all their FK opportunities way up in the sky. Hard to believe from such a team.

[Grizzly]

Canada Defeats Brazil in Edmonton

Hometown Boy Backstops

Canadian Win Over

Brazil

Ottawa, Ontario – Canada’s U-20 National Team defeated Brazil 2:1 tonight in front of a boisterous crowd of 14,250 in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium. The historical win was the first by a Canadian men’s team over the footballing giants from South America at any age level.

The Brazilians looked very dangerous at times but seemed to lack the predatory instinct around the penalty area tonight. They also didn’t seem to have an answer for Will Johnson, and at times Jaime Peters, and more often than not, ran into a resilient Canadian defence that bent on occasion but in the end stood firm.

In the 20th minute Canada almost opened the scoring when Jaime Peters got the better of his defender on the right flank then drilled a low rasping cross toward the near post. Will Johnson managed to get a touch but his shot was well blocked by a Brazilian defender then scrambled away by the Brazilian defence.

But Canada’s central defender, David Edgar, was gifted the perfect birthday present when he started things rolling for the Canadians just before the half-hour mark. Johnson picked out the Newcastle-based defender, who was unmarked inside the area, and the Kitchener native side-footed a superb volley into the roof of the net for his first goal for Canada.

The Brazilians grabbed a goal back just before the hour mark through first half substitute Diogo. The young Brazilian, who replaced the highly touted Kerlon midway through the opening half, found himself with the ball at his feet around the penalty spot. Diogo took one touch to shift the ball from his right foot to his left then slammed his shot toward Asmir Begovic’s left post. The Edmonton-native managed to get a hand to the shot but could not prevent it from rolling over the line for the equalizer.

Ten minutes later though, Johnson would again have an impact – this time the Heerenveen striker would bring the Commonwealth crowd to its feet.

Peters again got the better of the Brazilian left-back then delivered a cross to the far post. A Brazilian defender was well positioned to clear but instead guided his header back into the area. Johnson reacted fastest and met the ball at the penalty spot. The young striker drilled his left footed shot past an outstretched Muriel to pull Canada ahead for good.

But the final twenty-five minutes did provide Canada’s head coach, Dale Mitchell, with some uneasy moments. The scariest coming five minutes before time when a ricochet off Begovic’s hand looked goal-bound but Mississauga-native Stephen Lumley raced to the ball and managed to hook if off the line to preserve the victory for Canada.

“The result is a fantastic one,” said Canadian head coach Dale Mitchell during the post-game press conference. “No matter what happens over the next two games of the series, you’ll never be able to take away the fact that these boys beat Brazil this evening.”

“The way the team played and the chances that we created in the second half made for a tremendous night of soccer in Edmonton. I am really proud of the way we performed.

“The people of Victoria who have tickets for Monday’s game should count themselves very lucky.”

Both Canada and Brazil depart Edmonton tomorrow and will meet again in two days in Victoria’s Centennial Stadium; then again on May 25th in Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium.

Thursday, May 19, 2006 - International Friendly

Commonwealth Stadium – Edmonton, AB

Attendance: 14,250

CANADA – 2 (1)

BRAZIL – 1 (0)

Goals: CANADA – Edgar (25), JOHNSON (65); BRAZIL – Diogo (54)

Cautions: - BOURGAULT (53)

Expulsions – none

CANADA: 1 - BEGOVIC, Asmir © ; 3-O’CONNOR, Kent; 4 - BOURGAULT, Jonathan; 5 - LUMLEY, Stephen; 6 - EDGAR, David; 7 - PETERS, Jaime; 8 - NUNEZ, Cristian (12 - BALDE, Ibrahim, 89); 9 - ELLIOTT, Alex (18 - GALA, Gabe, 61); 10 - JOHNSON, Will; 16 - JACKSON, Simeon (15 - LOMBARDO, Andrea, 90); 21 -OWUSU-ANSAH, Kennedy

Head Coach: Dale Mitchell (CAN)

Subs not used:; 13 - CONTRERAS, Hector;; 19 - D’AGOSTINO, Mike; 22 - MONSALVE, David

BRAZIL: 1 - Muriel Gustavo Becker (MURIEL); 2 - Leyrielton Moura de Moraes (LEYRIELTON) (14 - Antonio Cleilson da Silva Feitosa (AMARAL), 81); 3 - Edivelton Feliciano Moreira (CAÇAPA); 4 - Edson Henrique da Silva (EDSON); 5 - Nilton Ferreira Junior (NILTON) (15 - Fernando Franciso Regel (FERNANDO), 69); 6 - Carlos Eduardo Dutra Oliveira (CARLÃO); 7 - Junior Felício Marques (JI PARANÁ) ©; 8 - Taianan Imberê Linhares Welker (TAIANAN) (16 - Ramon Gonçalves (RAMON), 69); 9 - Luis Adriano de Souza da Silva (LUIS ADRIANO) (18 - Renato Carlos Martins Junior (RENATINHO), 69); 10 - Kerlon Moura Souza (KERLON) (17 - Diogo Luis Santo (DIOGO), 41); 11 - Alberto Antonio de Paula (BETO)

Head Coach: Nelson Rodrigues (BRA)

Subs not used: 12 - Elisson Aparecido Rosa (ELISSON); 13 - Anderson Luis de A.R. Marques (ANDERSON);

Ticket Information & Broadcast info

May 22 @ Centennial Stadium presented by Sony – Victoria, BC – 14:00 PT - Sold Out

Live Webcast via canadasoccer.com - $6.95 PPV

May 25@ Swangard Stadium presented by TELUS – Burnaby, BC– 19:00 PT

$20.00-30.00 - Available through Ticketmaster at 604-280-4400 or visit ticketmaster.ca

Live on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific and Rogers Sportsnet West at 7:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. MT / 10:00 p.m. ET.

[Grizzly]

Awesome game. Definitely one of the best games I have seen from a Canadian male team. We should have a great team in a few years time if a few of these guys continue their development. Once Heerenveen sees the tape of this they will think they are geniuses for signing Johnson on a free transfer. He always had the skills but he has improved so much recently particularly his dribbling and ball control. Peters really showed the skills that have been much talked about in recent years. I also thought Lumley was very strong as were the rest of the back 4 and Kerlon was a disappointment. Maybe he already had an injury because I didn't see very much to cause an injury when he went off. (Gotta love the difference between the Brazilians lying out for the stretcher and Edgar bleeding but when the stretcher comes out waving it off like get that thing the hell out of there. Even Don Cherry would have been proud). Begovic seemed very confident and solid. I was a bit worried about his confidence after a few poor results in Belgium but he looked like the most fundamentally sound young Canadian keeper I have seen in a while, even including Alim Karim's strong performance 4 years ago. I loved the way Canada didn't get down after the equalizer and went after the win when it was 1-1. I also loved how after it was 2-1 they didn't completely fall back to defend but continued to attack when the opportunity presented itself. While we cleared when we had to there was no long ball. Controlled passing and the willingness and confidence to go one on one with the Brazilians with the ball and more often than not retaining the ball. Brazil should come out hard the next game and were probably too arrogant to scout our team and were surprised. Yet I think we can match them if we continue to play like this. I don't think Brazil played that badly although their finishing was a bit off (ours could have been better as well), I really think we played that well. I think the crowd was pretty good for a U20 friendly competing with the city's number 1 sports passion. Much better than for WCQ. I also thought this was a well refereed match. Bought a couple of dives from the Brazilians but mostly recognized the dives for what they were and refrained from calling a few blatant fouls by them but by and by was pretty fair and competent. To their credit the Brazilians didn't dive as much as they are known for with the exception of number 9 Da Silva who I thought should have been carded for diving early in the game which may have inhibited his later performances.

As much as we are all on a high after this performance the one thing I really have to take exception to on this thread is the following:

quote:Glad to see Peters do so well under the spotlight...shows what can happen with a little patience, and a vote of confidence (bravo Yallop) can do for a guy...as well as proper development on the right size club (bravo Ipswich). I think this performance alone brands Jaime's appearances in WCQ as worthwhile if not genius.... the whole program benefits when the youth and the men's team are this well connected.

Come on Nolando, we play WCQ to qualify for the World Cup not as training exercise and confidence building for our young players. As much as I enjoy beating Brazil in a U20 friendly it will in no way assauge my agony at watching the World Cup this year and us not being in it and getting eliminated without our best players on the field. Yallop's selection were acts of idiocy not genius. Admittedly it bothers me less the callup of a promising youth player than some of Yallop's over the hill former teammates but that does not disguise the fact that we had many players who should have been starters not even on the bench and several starters who should not have even been selected. Regardless what effect the WCQ matches will have on Peters career (and I am not sure they are all that significant) qualifying for this year's WC would have had a much greater positive impact on Canadian soccer. He may now be ready to play in a WCQ but he was not ready to be called a year ago. I am all for Yallop giving the young guys a chance to make the big team but do it like he did with Johnson in friendlies not WCQ. Let them prove they belong before giving them a spot. Yallop's selections for the last WCQ were terrible but recently they seem to have improved so if he continues to show improved results we should retain him. If he starts making decisions like in the last WCQ he should be gone as quick as we can fire him. No revisionist history, the selection of Peters and several others in WCQ were major mistakes.

[bungey]

What a great night to be an Edmontonian. The best part for me were the big group of Latino kids with Canadian accents that were all dressed in Brazil jerseys. They didn't seem to know much about either team but they knew they liked Brazil and they would dominate. They reminded me of the Yankee and Red Sox fans that used to come to Jays games back when the Jays sucked and never shut up about it. Well, I guess they were getting under my skin, especially in the first 20 minutes when Canada couldn't move forward and Brazil had all the possesion. But then Edgar scored that beauty, and with Canada celebrating at their bench the Brazilians kicked off and headed down the field to an empty goal and the ref told them to cut it out - I stood up and told the kids that that's the only way Brazil would score. Ha! - they wouldn't even look at me, and I wasn't even drunk at the time.

...and I wouldn't look at them when Brazil scored, and they got loud and confident again. But the sweetest part of the night was the last 30 minutes, Canada leading 2 - 1 and swapping chances with Brazil, and I didn't hear a peep out of them. I like to think it was an awed silence, maybe they were converted.

One moment I don't know if the cameras captured was Edgar tossing his defender down like a wet kleenex when jockeying for a corner. I'm half Geordie, by the way -- (me Moom's from N'cassle, in'tshe?) -- so I claim David as my own. He did me proud tonight.

[masster]

Great win for the boys. Tireless work from Peters and Johnson. I hope they have some energy left for the next two games...especially Vancouver!

While everybody has been talking about the positives (and there were many) I'm going to nitpick a bit.

1. Ball Possesion: still an area that needs improvement. With the 4-4-1-1 system that Mitchell had in place, the team sat back and countered, created turnovers and ran at their defenders. Tonight it worked effectively. However, this won't always be the case. They need to have the composure to knock the ball around a bit, mix things up. Maintaining possession helps turn the tide when a team is under pressure. One of the reasons they have trouble with this I believe is because there is a lot of standing and watching by the players off the ball. They are not moving, finding space, creating easy passing lanes. Tonight it did not hurt the team as Peters and Johnson were able to beat men one on one. In the first half, everytime Canada cleared the ball into the offensive half, it seemed like the Brazilian defenders just put the ball into touch giving possession right back to our boys. That is how the team broke out, not through strong build-up. Its so basic, but when a pass is made, the recepient has to come to the ball, not wait for it to come to them. That happened more than a few times where the Brazilian defender just stepped in front.

2. I guess this point ties into #1, but they need to share the ball more. Johnson, although successful, should use his teammates. Brazil won't give him so much space the rest of this series. This victory should give the boys more confidence and trust in eachother and I imagine that this will improve.

3. Media Coverage: what a joke! Sportsnet shows a 25 second highlite package 40 minutes into Sportsnet News. TSN doesn't even mention the game on Sportscentre. I know there are NHL and NBA Playoffs going on, but this is Canada against Brazil...in Canada...and a WIN!!!

Anyways, here are the negative thoughts of a very happy fan. Can't wait til the game in Vancouver.

[masster]

One more thing, if you want to hear Dale Mitchell, he is suppossed to be on Sportstalk Weekend tomorrow night on CKNW. I imagine he will be on sometime during the 11:00pm hour (pacific time).

[Grizzly]

Gotta admit I enjoyed the Samba celebration after the first goal even though such celebrations are not usually recommended because they can motivate the opponent. To mirror masster's thoughts, I sure hope this result gets some decent press coverage tomorrow.

[matthew]

I don't think that was a samba. )

What a great performance. That was the Jaime Peters I saw toying with Honduras and Mexico in the last cycle's qualifying. Mind you this was Brazil.

David Edgar is going to be special isn't he? And I could watch Will Johnson all day. And Kennedy Owusu-Ansah positively blew my mind. This kid is 16? He looks fantastic a d you could actually see his confidence grow.

There are still areas of concern. I'm not trying to be a downer (I didn't think anything could make me happy right now and this did, so I'm over the moon), but I figure the real point of this is to see how the team is shaping up.

I was really, really impressed by Lumley. His man-on-man defensive skills are fantastic. He also made some really bad blunders. They all seemed mental (he let the ball run once and nearly gave them a breakaway, that bad giveaway they he made up for early) so I hope they'll correct themselves easy enough with experience. But I wish he had a club or even a college to play for and get some experience, because he's a great talent.

I suspect it's an experiment, but Elliott didn't do tons on the left. I'd like to see him up top at some point. I liked the bite Nunez showed in the midfield. I was a little surprised by it, but it was nice. He and JBB were good at disrupting stuff in the middle of the park I thought. However we didn't seem to have a true No. 10 and had Johnson not been running all over the place and winning stuff in the middle we might have well been over-run. I'm not sure we can bank on Johnson covering that kind of ground for us every game, especially not in a short tourney.

I though Jackson had a good game, but I couldn't figure out how he was so dangerous. He didn't seem to trouble them with his pace and he wasn't doing much in the air. Yet he seemed to constantly be in dangerous areas and lurking. I think if he had more height in the box or more pace we might have created more. I hope we see more of Lombardo and I'm sure we will.

All in all a great outing from all 13 guys or 14, however many it was. I loved the team spirit and I'm already more excited for the tournament than I was and I was already pretty jacked.

My friend called me at the whistle and summed up the crowd: "I couldn't believe there were 15,000 people in Edmonton who don't like hockey." With the exception of the Eskimos in a Grey Cup, I don't think you could schedule a sporting event on a worse night and they still drew 15,000. It's U20s people, what does a U20 friendly in an established soccer country draw? Not half that I would wager.

[Grizzly]

Canadian U20s defeat Brazil 2-1

May 19, 2006

Sportsnet.ca News

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/artic..._112345 _5536

EDMONTON (CP) -- Striker Will Johnson scored in the 65th minute and set up a first-half goal as the Canadian men's under-20 team scored a historic 2-1 victory over soccer power Brazil in a friendly played Friday night.

It was the first time a Canadian men's soccer team has beaten Brazil, one of the world's dominant soccer teams. The Canadian senior men's team tied Brazil twice -- 0-0 at the 2001 Confederation's Cup in Japan, and 1-1 in a 1994 friendly in Edmonton in advance of the World Cup, which Brazil went on to win.

Defender David Edgar scored for Canada in the 25th minute.

Diogo Luis Santo scored for Brazil, which was missing six players who couldn't get out of club commitments at home.

Brazilian star midfielder Kerlon Moura Souza, known as Kerlon, was carted off in the 39th minute favouring his left ankle after getting tangled in collision with Canadian midfielder Christian Nunez near the left centre stripe.

Kerlon, who Premier League powerhouse Manchester United is reportedly days away from spending six million pounds ($12.7 million Cdn) to acquire, took a slow walk back to the Brazilian bench with two medical staffers watching closely.

Kerlon's replacement, Diogo, tied the game 1-1 in the 54th minute.

Johnson, 19, who plays professionally for Heerenveen, the Netherlands, left-footed a missed clearing attempt for the winner in the 65th minute. Then in the 78th minute, he nearly widened the gap to two goals after speeding in off the same play, but he missed the net.

Johnson figured in Canada's first goal after sending a curling free kick toward the net where the six-foot-four Edgar side-volleyed a shot to the top corner.

The three-game series -- meant to increase interest for the Canada-hosted world under-20 championship next summer -- continues in Victoria on Monday and Burnaby, B.C., on May 25.

The distinctive bright yellow Brazil jerseys dotted the crowd of 14,250 at Commonwealth Stadium in the first friendly since the German women's national team scored a 4-3 win over Canada last September.

Begovic, a Bosnian-born, Edmonton-raised pro with La Louviere, Belgium, made seven stops.

Edgar (Newcastle, England), and midfielder Jaime Peters (Ipswich Town, England) are the other Canadians playing professionally among 22 players in camp..

NOTES: The methodical Brazilians didn't use a ball for the first 10 minutes of warmups. ... Canadian coach Dale Mitchell kept his starting 11 on the pitch for the first 61 minutes before subbing out forward Alex Elliott of Vancouver.

[nolando]

"Come on Nolando, we play WCQ to qualify for the World Cup not as training exercise and confidence building for our young players. As much as I enjoy beating Brazil in a U20 friendly it will in no way assauge my agony at watching the World Cup this year and us not being in it and getting eliminated without our best players on the field. Yallop's selection were acts of idiocy not genius. Admittedly it bothers me less the callup of a promising youth player than some of Yallop's over the hill former teammates but that does not disguise the fact that we had many players who should have been starters not even on the bench and several starters who should not have even been selected. Regardless what effect the WCQ matches will have on Peters career (and I am not sure they are all that significant) qualifying for this year's WC would have had a much greater positive impact on Canadian soccer. He may now be ready to play in a WCQ but he was not ready to be called a year ago. I am all for Yallop giving the young guys a chance to make the big team but do it like he did with Johnson in friendlies not WCQ. Let them prove they belong before giving them a spot. Yallop's selections for the last WCQ were terrible but recently they seem to have improved so if he continues to show improved results we should retain him. If he starts making decisions like in the last WCQ he should be gone as quick as we can fire him. No revisionist history, the selection of Peters and several others in WCQ were major mistakes."

Was wondering if you'd jump on that one. I disagree with you. Completely. This guy wouldn't have been half as good as he was tonight if he HADN'T been in the senior men's picture for so long. These guys need breaking in, they need patience, they need people to believe in them. They don't just suddenly shine on the big stage and then they start making your WC team. You've got it backwards. Look at the other star of the game - Johnson. Same story. Pro soccer early, early looks from Yallop, a chance to play with the big boys, even if only in a supporting role or in the odd developmental camp. It makes all the difference in the world. And guys like you laughed when I said this kid was something special, something really special, when he was first called into the camps vs Millwall and Hearts. It's part of the same story, the same picture. Leave the short-sighted Canadian attitude towards football behind you. I thought you were growing out of that.

[ken]

There was a great deal of difference between the two halves, despite the lead, I thought that Brazil had the advantage in the first half. It was the second half where Canada came on and was so impressive.

Initially it seemed that Canada was trying to move up the left side using O'Conner, but that was not overly sucessful, usually the ball would go to Brazil and they would play around with it before moving upfield. Later as Owusu-Ansah (have to get used to typing that name) gained confidence or the rest of the team gained confidence in him the attack moved to the right.

At the start it seemed that the Canadians were a bit in awe of Brazil, in the first half it was Nunez who was most inclined to take the ball and run at the Brazilians. His success seemed to encourage others, particularly Johnson, Peters and Owusu-Ansah. I didn't notice Nunez so much in the second half, maybe his role changed, maybe he was getting tired. I too can't identify what it was that made Jackson dangerous ("danger" Jackson, a nickname is born) but that was the impression that I had.

What can I say about Johnson and Peters that hasn't already been said, the ability and confidence to run straight at defenders and succeed more often than not is some thing that Canada has not had at any level in my memory. Not only that but both got better as the game went on. The oppertunity to play together can only improve their chemistry and is a big positive for next year. Peters has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, but he was involved the whole game last night. Johnson, to my mind was the man of the match, working hard and achieving results between his own 20 and the Brazilian goal.

The defence did very well, Edgar scoring and standing off the field while they cleaned up the blood reminded me of Devos getting stitched up at the gold cup. O'Conner played very well especially blocking that shot in the first half. Owusu-Ansah I have already talked about. Lumley I am of two minds, he made two or three terrible give aways but also two or three spectacular plays. If you focus on the former he had a poor game; if you focus on the latter he had a great game. Then again that is how Stalteri was when he first started playing for the nats, always giving the ball away.

Begovis was not tested enough to give an opinion.

[Grizzly]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

"Come on Nolando, we play WCQ to qualify for the World Cup not as training exercise and confidence building for our young players. As much as I enjoy beating Brazil in a U20 friendly it will in no way assauge my agony at watching the World Cup this year and us not being in it and getting eliminated without our best players on the field. Yallop's selection were acts of idiocy not genius. Admittedly it bothers me less the callup of a promising youth player than some of Yallop's over the hill former teammates but that does not disguise the fact that we had many players who should have been starters not even on the bench and several starters who should not have even been selected. Regardless what effect the WCQ matches will have on Peters career (and I am not sure they are all that significant) qualifying for this year's WC would have had a much greater positive impact on Canadian soccer. He may now be ready to play in a WCQ but he was not ready to be called a year ago. I am all for Yallop giving the young guys a chance to make the big team but do it like he did with Johnson in friendlies not WCQ. Let them prove they belong before giving them a spot. Yallop's selections for the last WCQ were terrible but recently they seem to have improved so if he continues to show improved results we should retain him. If he starts making decisions like in the last WCQ he should be gone as quick as we can fire him. No revisionist history, the selection of Peters and several others in WCQ were major mistakes."

Was wondering if you'd jump on that one. I disagree with you. Completely. This guy wouldn't have been half as good as he was tonight if he HADN'T been in the senior men's picture for so long. These guys need breaking in, they need patience, they need people to believe in them. They don't just suddenly shine on the big stage and then they start making your WC team. You've got it backwards. Look at the other star of the game - Johnson. Same story. Pro soccer early, early looks from Yallop, a chance to play with the big boys, even if only in a supporting role or in the odd developmental camp. It makes all the difference in the world. And guys like you laughed when I said this kid was something special, something really special, when he was first called into the camps vs Millwall and Hearts. It's part of the same story, the same picture. Leave the short-sighted Canadian attitude towards football behind you. I thought you were growing out of that.

That is all fine and good. The problem with your argument is that in your previous post you included WCQ as one of these development matches. Once you get knocked out of WCQ you have 4 years to develop your youth players in friendlies. WCQ is the time to have your best players on the field and in the last WCQ we had several people in each game who were not our best players at the time and Peters was one of them (and in contrast to him most of the other poor selections of our genius coach were well past their prime and/or not skilled enough ever to help us). Short sightedness is not doing everything possible to qualify for the World Cup. Give Peters his debut in the Portugal friendly, don't do it in WCQ when there are better options available.

[G-Man]

quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone

I hope Toronto FC was paying attention to that Kennedy kid. All in all, there seem to be quite a few prospects up for grabs on Unattached FC.

I hope they all end up playing in better leagues than the MLS and in better soccer developmental hands as young pro's than MLSE- who have proven nothing in that regards.

I have high hopes for Canada in 2010 and it's not based on a unproven owner and unknown soccer management team in a second rate league.

[Cheeta]

Completely agree with Grizzly. Peters had an excellent match. A real value, but he's been training up at Ipswich for a year now and boy dose it show. And he didn't make an Ipswich 16 until the very end of the season when all matters where settled. I'll side with Grizzly and Royle on this one. But he's someone for the future, that's an absolute truth.

Just chuck a couple of thoughts out here.

Yes, that Owusu-Ansah is a bolt of lightning out of the blue. A complete surprise. That kid really caught the eye in that he looks like there may be something in him worth grooming. Cap him now!

A good number of our lads can juke and jive a bit. At least enough to keep the ball or get a half yard's room for a pass. Nice to see. Maybe it's all those winters of indoor, eh?

Admit that the ref'ing wasn't too bad. Couple of dodgy whistles either way but all and all a pretty invisiable performance. When the ref isn't noticed and isn't missed that says a lot. Some of that has to go back to the players though. Clean, honest match. Brazilians did go down a bit sometimes to try and reel in the ref, and I don't care where our lads are training Canadians still play this game a little rougher than most, but over all both sides kept it honest.

Brazilian defending. In every area of the park. Oh, boy they're going to have to do better. But then, maybe they were just being lazy yesterday.

Begovic didn't have a Hell of a lot to do, but from what you could see on the television he's quite technicaly sound. Good movement and possitioning. Aggressive in the area (like that in a big man), and very nearly saved that cannon of a goal. At his age, for a keep, I can't think really think of anything more to ask. And man, can he hoof that ball. Wind or no.

Mitch's done well. Good on him.

P.S. MLS let Johnson get away? Ah ha ha ha.

[loyola]

Peeters and Johnson are my MVP's. I think both of them will have a great future with our MNT.

Begovic was pretty impressive, very confident and his save on the Edgar blunder at the beginning of the game was a very nice one. He missjudge a few crosses and with his size he should be dominant in the air. I thought that Forrest comment on the goal were pretty harsh on Begovic, wasn't an easy save but yes it was savable (good for Asmir if he feels he should've save it, it's better to demand a lot from yourself).

I was very impress with Edgar and Lumley in the middle of the defense. I think they had a better second half sfter making a few blunders in the first half (nerves?).

Like some posters have pointed out our players aren't moving well without the ball, but we still have 14 months to improve that. We had more possession in the second half and it was our best.

The goals were very nice, Edgar volley was one of the best I've seen a candian score for a while. Johnson goal's was a result of a Brazil mistake but you haveto give credit to Jaime Peeters for creating a lot of chances with his speed down the right end side.

It's a very nice win and let's hope we can build something solid from there and a have a nice run in 2007. I'm looking forward to watch monday game on the CSA webcast (I think the win will get more people to watch the game on monday and thursday).

Good job to the players and the coaching staff!!!

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

[

Begovic didn't have a Hell of a lot to do, but from what you could see on the television he's quite technicaly sound. Good movement and possitioning. Aggressive in the area (like that in a big man), and very nearly saved that cannon of a goal. At his age, for a keep, I can't think really think of anything more to ask. And man, can he hoof that ball. Wind or no.

I totally agree, I've been very impress by the technical quality of our last 2 U-20 GK (Wagenaar and Begovic). I don't think our senior keepers are nowhere near that on the technical aspect of goalkeeping and that's why both of them are currently in the system of some very good European teams.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Random thoughts:

Did anyone else notice that this the Brasilian keeper's distribution looked a lot worse than that of the average 5 year-old?

I know it seems that Craig Forrest played for every manager in the UK, but do you think he had some inside info about Edgar getting a crack at the Newcastle first 16? He kindof alluded to it last night.

Keegan Ayre was nowhere to be seen. I know McCallum picked up an injury, but I hadn't heard anything about this much touted BC boy.