Canada vs. Finland U20 August 20th 2006 (R)

[Gian-Luca]

Canada 2, Finland 0. Robinson with both goals for Canada.

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Canada 2, Finland 0. Robinson with both goals for Canada.

A deserved win but we should have had two or three more and Finland missed one glorious opportunity.

I was impressed. I didn't see the Nigeria game so perhaps it was more a matter of quality of opposition but our ball movement was quite good with some very accurate passing.

Can anybody compare this game with this Nigeria match for me?

db

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

A deserved win but we should have had two or three more and Finland missed one glorious opportunity.

I was impressed. I didn't see the Nigeria game so perhaps it was more a matter of quality of opposition but our ball movement was quite good with some very accurate passing.

db

Yup. I did see a bit of his game and thought it was a good performance. I Didn't really an overreliance on the punt and run.

[Richard]

"I Didn't really an overreliance on the punt and run."

I presume from this that you did not see an over reliance on the punt and run.

Seems some people DID rush to judgement after the first game after all. I didn't see either game but in another forum there was a very critical comment about the officiating in the Nigeria game too.

[The Ref]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Canada 2, Finland 0. Robinson with both goals for Canada.

I was glad to see Jodi-Ann starting today. She is dynamite.

[sj]

much better game today whether Bridge did realise that the kick and run was starting to be obsolete.

glad that they did try to play a little bit more on the ground

still some of the decisions was not as sharp or the passes not as crisp as it should from a team that has been together so often.

let hope that if they are going to go out of the tournament that at least they do it by trying to play some quality football if they out after still playing a kick and run game against china then this tournament would have serve no purpose in preparing those young ladies for the future.

does anybody know what happened in the China/Nigeria game?

[redhat]

I saw both games, and while Canada deserved its win with Finland, Finland was not

in the same level as Nigeria.

I feel a lot better with their play, but it was still a strategy of long-ball into space,

where hopefully a Canadian player would be fast enough to gain possession. Unfortunately

it wasn't always the case and wasted balls were the result. Yes it was still mildly painful

to watch, but at least the Jodi-Ann Robinson showed up to play. Jamani tried a few individual

breaks at times and could have caused a few calls in the box, one actually resulted in the first

goal, a PK. Cicchini had some problems with possession in midfield, but probably a result of

the tactics employed by the coaching staff. We also have some weakness on left back.

Our finishing needs some work and will be punished by China if this is not corrected. The

score could have been 5-2 for Canada, had the finishing been better. They really missed

Kara Lang, but still, hats off for pulling off the win and the fact that the girls didn't

quit on the offense despite leading 2-0. A win over China will send them to the next round,

and you never know, as Brazil was almost upset already and Germany was surprised by North Korea.

[redhat]

quote:Originally posted by sj

does anybody know what happened in the China/Nigeria game?

China 3, Nigeria 0. Watch out for that Ma (according to FIFA.com).

[sj]

I dont think that both Pelerud and Bridge have ever the intention of stressing the passing game at training camp and preparation games.

had they done that for the last to yrs instead of constantly insisting on the kick and run style those players would have played a more acurate and better equipped to play that kind of soccer.

cant blame the players for at least trying it is up to coaches to bring it day in day out to practices.

some time you can bring in the direct route during a game to have some variation but not just punt and chase all game long.

Now that we are in a do or die situation the kick and run game will come out against China since they never tried or know how to prepare a squad properly to play another way against any quality opposition.

it is going to be painful and irritating to watch the slick style the chinese is going to showcase and the raw physical viking style of Pellerud the Norwegian,

Adopted, adored and embraced by Bridge for his canadian side

the passing game was a refeshing change but you could see it lacked finesse mainly due to that all of the emphasis in the program was geared towards an all out kick and run approach.

players has used what they have done with W-league or college team to come up with something that ressemble some kind of passing game on the fly.

Our chances might depend on whether China feels that they have done enough already to win the group and give some of the regulars a rest.

Fifa is launching the U-17 world cup with the quality of the players on canadian club teams competing in different usl youth division and doing very well against American teams we need a coach that will use those soccer players skills and visions to build a soccer team worthy of the sport to kick start the change in sytle.

[The Ref]

It is interesting to note that in order to play the long-ball-and-run style, players need to first develop good and accurate passing. Our two top coaches seem to think that they can jump start the players directly into the long ball and bypass the basic skills.

To quote a great coach (don't have his name right now)

"If players cannot pass accurately, all plays with long passes will very seldom work out. Exploit what players can do, not what they do worst."

[Richard]

Once players make it to the national level it is not unreasonable to expect that they have achieved a high level of competency with the basic skills. Should not be necessary for the national coaching staff to teach such basics.

[redhat]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

Once players make it to the national level it is not unreasonable to expect that they have achieved a high level of competency with the basic skills. Should not be necessary for the national coaching staff to teach such basics.

Agreed, but in watching the past couple of matches, can we be so sure

that these "basics" are covered? I mean, if you're going to play

long-ball, which can be effective at times, don't you need a player

to RECEIVE the pass and thus make/complete a play? What is being

pointed out is the fact that most of our long passes are made to

NO ONE, or made to open space in which the defender gets to it first.

Maybe we're too difficult on these U20 girls and expect too much?

I hope they play a possession game more in the future, but I just

hope they get a result against China and get rewarded for getting

this far.

[sj]

Once players make it to the national level it is not unreasonable to expect that they have achieved a high level of competency with the basic skills. Should not be necessary for the national coaching staff to teach such basics.

if that is the case then why do we see so many enforce errors and errant passes up front?

have you watch the game against Nigeria?

it was pure crap you would expect a team to show some sense of direction after playing some many prep game

this team did look like they never were taught to play together.

this is simply not the way soccer was meant to be played it a butchered version that you are more that will to adopt blindly.

this crap is not going to sell anywhere else in the world.

this not the way you want kids to play the game.

[Richard]

I say again, players at national team level should not need to be instructed by the national team coaches in the basics of the game. If they have not mastered the basics they ought not to be in the national team player pool, they should be replaced by other players who have mastered the basics and can demonstrate same consistently.

It is a bit like high level or professional players showing up at training camp at the beginning of the season and not being physically fit. Inexcusable in any sport.