SCF08 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Cyprus are miles ahead of Iceland and a South African B team. They are very underestimated by some of you here. They play really brave and attacking football most of the times (complete opposite of rivals Greece) but do occasionally fall flat on their face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaub Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I like how it took the CSA a second run-through to realize they'd played Cyprus before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 quote:Originally posted by leafdolfan Yep - there's one at the end of march/ start of April. Its a WCQ date for most countries ... but what that means is that there are two match days - one on the weekend and the other midweek. quote:Originally posted by jpg75 It's pretty much a 99.9% foregone conclu$ion that any announced friendlie$ will alway$ feature u$ a$ the vi$iting team. I get the $ad feeling that thi$ may be the only match we have we have prior to the Gold Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA I get the $ad feeling that thi$ may be the only match we have we have prior to the Gold Cup. I don't have the exact dates of the tournament but I would hope for a pre-GC game in Canada. Also, let's not forget that we could get a group in Canada which would ensure us of 3 home games. It's unlikely but let's wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 The Gold Cup is July 3rd - 26th. It would be nice to have a match or two in the western hemisphere a little closer to the beginning of the tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Cypus is the type of opponent we need, look at those results, good for the CSA for lining this up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 quote:Originally posted by I_AM_CANADIAN ...Which would be why, despite being in a region that plays far more matches than teams in our region do, they still manage to be 94th in the rankings. You don't seem to get what I'm saying here; no, right now we're not good enough to get results against the likes of Estonia, Iceland and Jamaica. And do you think continually playing those teams over and over is going to make us improve? You play better teams, you learn more. It's just logical that, if we were to play five or six matches against the likes of Spain, Argentina and Italy, we'd find playing Estonia a hell of a lot easier. We don't need to play the likes of Spain and Argentina to improve, but I do think we need more friendlies against realistic opponents. I think Mali would be interesting, I was impressed with their play in the African Cup of Nations, as they gave Nigeria a bit of trouble (much to my displeasure). Ranked 43rd by FIFA, they have a few quality players (Mohamed Sissoko-Juventus, Freddy Kanute-Seville, Mahamadou Diarra-Real Madrid). They even have a player with Brussia Monchengladbach, so mabye Friend or Staltari could put in a word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 My grandfather was a Canadian peacekeeper in Cyprus but even that slight connection doesn't make the prospect of a match versus Cyprus any more interesting for me or, for that matter productive towards the MNT long-term goal of being regional-rival beaters rather than world-beaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Obinna We don't need to play the likes of Spain and Argentina to improve, but I do think we need more friendlies against realistic opponents. I think Mali would be interesting, I was impressed with their play in the African Cup of Nations, as they gave Nigeria a bit of trouble (much to my displeasure). Ranked 43rd by FIFA, they have a few quality players (Mohamed Sissoko-Juventus, Freddy Kanute-Seville, Mahamadou Diarra-Real Madrid). They even have a player with Brussia Monchengladbach, so mabye Friend or Staltari could put in a word. The thing about playing countries with only a smattering of stars in meaningless friendlies is that those stars generally find ways of not attending such matches, meaning that a team like Canada usually plays against what will amount to a B-team. I think this happened in South Africa, for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadiankick97 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Studying in England now, this match sounds very tempting if the right deal came along. Wonder if there any couchsurfers in Cyprus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccaliam Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I will be in Barca studying until the second week of June but i will be too busy to make it. Gutted. If this match was only 2 weeks later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by nolando The thing about playing countries with only a smattering of stars in meaningless friendlies is that those stars generally find ways of not attending such matches, meaning that a team like Canada usually plays against what will amount to a B-team. I think this happened in South Africa, for instance. Granted, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. South Africa's B squad gave us more than enough trouble. Sub Saharan African teams should be looked at more for friendlies when we can't line up a Latin American opponent. Mabye that would help when it comes to preparing for T&T and Jamacia. Playing UEFA opponents is convenient, but doesn't really prepare us for CONCACAF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metro Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by jonovision The Gold Cup is July 3rd - 26th. It would be nice to have a match or two in the western hemisphere a little closer to the beginning of the tournament. I'm sure there will be but it'll likely be in the US, somewhere close to the venue they'll be playing their first round matches in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I like the sounds of this friendly for a lot of reasons. The timing and location are very good: most seasons are over and Cyprus is a pretty nice place. I suppose we need to accept the fact that Mitchell is our manager for this one. Having had some time to get over the disappointment of WCQ, I really hope some guys like Friend, Klukowski, McKenna, Hutchinson and DeGuzman come back into the fold. Assuming Mitchell invites them. It's also time to see what Edgar, Ledgerwood, Hoilett, Begovic, De Jong and Simpson can do with some playing time. Maybe we could even see Tam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue and White Army Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by loyola Sutton, Brennan and the players aren't good enough to get results against Estonia, Iceland, Jamaica and others but we should play Russia, Nigeria and Italy all the time? The players have to prove they are good enough for that kind of challenge. Agreed. The day that we start to beat our opponents 3-0, 4-0 or 5-0 is the day that we can start demanding tougher opposition from the CSA. May I remind everyone that in the recent 2010 WC qualification semi-finals, we procured a whopping two points from six matches. We came 11th of 12 teams. We finished better than Suriname, and only because of goal difference. "Tough group" or not, Cuba and Haiti did better than we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Definitely need some fresh blood for this one, I'd like to see these young players actually PLAY though not just be invited to sit on the bench and train. And not given a lousy 10 minutes either. I want a young team to start... hopefully Hume will be back. Give Tam a start, let Ledgerwood or Edgar take Stalteri's RB position! Who am I missing? It would be cool to cap Nana if he is starting for TFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Keegan Definitely need some fresh blood for this one, I'd like to see these young players actually PLAY though not just be invited to sit on the bench and train. And not given a lousy 10 minutes either. I want a young team to start... hopefully Hume will be back. Give Tam a start, let Ledgerwood or Edgar take Stalteri's RB position! Who am I missing? It would be cool to cap Nana if he is starting for TFC. I thought Nsaliwa was still in citizenship limbo and not allowed to play for us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA I thought Nsaliwa was still in citizenship limbo and not allowed to play for us? He played for us in the Brazil game, and he is allowed to play in friendlies. They just didn't want to risk him in WCQ incase they got hit with a point deduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by leafdolfan I thought Nsaliwa was still in citizenship limbo and not allowed to play for us? He played for us in the Brazil game, and he is allowed to play in friendlies. They just didn't want to risk him in WCQ incase they got hit with a point deduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 ^ Yes, Tam is not eligible to play in official competition until he gets his Cdn passport back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 It's funny that we are all complaining about the lack of friendlies, and then suddenly we get one and we complain that it's Cyprus. Sheesh. I'd take ANY and as MANY friendlies as we need to win the Gold Cup, and Cyprus is a good one and not to be underestimated. Remember Malta? Since many of our players are Euro-based, it'll be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by jpg75 ^ Yes, Tam is not eligible to play in official competition until he gets his Cdn passport back. Thank you for the clarification. Regardless, as Keegan stated, I'm hoping we'll see more of the younger prospects in the mix, answering the call up and actually playing, as opposed to watching older "suspects" taking up the starting positions and the playing time. I'm still curious to see which of our senior European players make themselves available Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA Thank you for the clarification. Regardless, as Keegan stated, I'm hoping we'll see more of the younger prospects in the mix, answering the call up and actually playing, as opposed to watching older "suspects" taking up the starting positions and the playing time. I'm still curious to see which of our senior European players make themselves available I think the team for this match will be the same as the GC squad and Mitchell said he isn't going to call up a younger squad for the GC, so I wouldn't be optimistic on Mitchell playing the younger guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 quote:Originally posted by leafdolfan I think the team for this match will be the same as the GC squad and Mitchell said he isn't going to call up a younger squad for the GC, so I wouldn't be optimistic on Mitchell playing the younger guys. So that leaves me wondering which experienced senior international players will be playing. We'll wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA So that leaves me wondering which experienced senior international players will be playing. We'll wait and see. I guess we could see Hirschfeld (even if I would prefer to see Begovic or Wagenaar play), Stalteri, Gerba (I'm not sure he qualify as "experienced"), Mckenna and maybe even Radz will show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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