Olympic Qualifying - Canada vs. Mexico March 31st, 2012 GAME THREAD [R]

[Mapleblood]

Thought there was a hand ball before that goal ... but what are you going to do, the Mexicans will get all the calls...

It was a hand ball. The ref put the whistle to his lips and then pulled it down. Because it allowed the play to continue, but the play took a bit to develop, it only counts as the second assist.

[VAddona]

Our players have performed admirably so far ... I just hope they don't let down and give up 2 or 3 more in the dying minutes as it becomes more clear that we won't win.

[Redcoatsforever]

I figured we were giving up when I saw Haworth in for Cavallini

[ag futbol]

These substitutions are weak. Keep your best players on the field

[maccaliam]

I recall someone saying in the CAN vs US match thread that a 2 goal lead is tougher to defend than a one goal lead... so the mexicans must be ****ting themselves right now.

[villus]

Don't mind the Stinson for Fresenga sub, Stinson offers more going forward and Fresenga has a yellow. Haworth is'nt very good, but Cavallini has'nt had a very good game has a yellow and James and Haber have done relatively well in their roll.

[Free kick]

We are giving it a go - credit to the boys. But Mexico is very impressive. Our only chance is to play out of our skins and get a few lucky bounces.

They have more ways to beat you. I liked their tactics as well, they saw what happened to the US against us and they made adjustments, they are looking to hit us quickly on turn overs rather than just playing possession like the US. In doing so it nullifies the fact that we are stacked with d mids in MF. It stretched us and brought us out of our compact mode. Then when they got the two goal lead, they strarted controlling possession and thus killing the clock.

[villus]

Attokora needs to find a club, hopefully he can go to europe and learn his trade, he has a great base and loads of potential but has a lot to learn, Henri too.

[ag futbol]

I can understand taking a player off with a yellow when he's your RB, but one of your lone sources of offense? That shouldn't be your concern in a game when you're already down two goals.

[ThiKu]

Missing REB and Sodade did hurt us on counters for sure. Cavallini was gassed - I can't be the only one who saw that? But why bring on Haworth? Why not Saiko or El-Shawari (sic?)??

Stinson for Fresenga was an obvious one.

I gotta ask - what is Pulido still doing on the pitch? Surprised the coach hasn't yanked him yet.

[dyslexic nam]

Random points:

Davies has done really well to create space on the right wing. Seems to be a quality player.

The Cavallini sub was a mistake. Yes he was on a yellow, but he was giving it everything he had.

This developing result isn't a surprise. What we really need to deconstruct after this tourney is why we couldn't kill the game againg Cuba.

Red card - phuck.

[ag futbol]

Well, looks like we're toast. You could kind of see that coming from Henry, he didn't really adjust well to the less-physical nature of this game.

Easily to lose sight of how good this Mexican team is though ...

[maccaliam]

They have more ways to beat you. I liked their tactics as well, they saw what happened to the US against us and they made adjustments, they are looking to hit us quickly on turn overs rather than just playing possession like the US. In doing so it nullifies the fact that we are stacked with d mids in MF. It stretched us and brought us out of our compcat mode. Then when they got the two goal lead, they strarted controlling possession and thus killing the clock.

Their forwards' movement is very smart too. The number of times our centrebacks were pulled out of position, whether into midfield or out wide to the sideline, to allow another mexican to run into the space vacated by our said centreback happened all too frequently.

[villus]

Ya idk why he brought on Haworth, he clearly is not up to the level and I would have rather seen anyone else get a shot, Haworth has had one and failed fairly convincingly. TBH I don't really think any subs are going to make much of a difference in this game, this Mexican team is very good, has a ton of experience together and tactically has dominated us. No shame in losing to this team, this team would probably be the favorite if not about even with our full MNT.

[villus]

We lost our shot in the Cuba game. Our program needs to learn to take the opportunities we are given, and we need to learn to play on the front foot and dominate posession and teams. This team had little preparation but I think did a good job overall, it would have been a very close game vs Honduras but we could'nt finish off Cuba and we learn another hard lesson.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

I'm not all that gutted in the end because my expectations were low and this mexican team is extremely talented. Just wonder what could've been if we pulled through against Cuba.

Oh well, on to WCQ

[Free kick]

I have never been one to be too critical of broadcasters. But i do have beef with both Forrest and Dobson that i have noted for a long while. Its seems to me that they tend to heep praise on certain players at random with any suporting evidence that that praise is warranted. As a result, those players that do warrant praise end up getting over looked. There are players on this squad who have future and their play demonstrated it. There are others who dont or have less promise of a future judging from what we have seen. Thats seems fair for any youth national youth sides. So if you are going to give analysis, and talk about players who have skills and promise, talk about those that have those skills. Dont give us this political correctness crap that there too many too many players to mention or mention the whole squad. Or mention that some guy like Saiko had a great tournament even those though he was benched tonight. All that does is take away from the guys who did have great tournament, like Kyle Bekker.

I am not saying that they should be critical of players, but if someone doesnt warrant praise, just dont say anything. Problem with Forrest, i think, is that all he has ever known is old british soccer so he sees players through that prism. The modern game is more diverse and demands more varying skills but he seems oblivious to those skills. When he was a player, I used to think that he might have future as coach, but i dont think so anymore. His talent assessment is terrible.

[JimmyJames]

The Mexican team had played 26 games together in preparation for this tournament. Well that was the number mentioned during the telecast.

[tmcmurph]

Well Mexico is back to regional powerhouse status at all levels. The USA is doing a fast fade and maybe we can sneak up and pass them. Over all our tournament was good. We had an upset win, a hot keeper, blew what should have been a sure win against the weakest team and didn't get blown out by the Mexicans. No Olympic Games for us but a good showing. The youngest team in the tournament.

The Mexicans spread our 2 CBs so wide you could drive a truck through there. Not much choice on our CBs part as they had to cover for the wing-backs but that left a gaping hole a lot. That is what great touch, extremely quick 1 on 1 forwards and movement without the ball will get you. A defense stretched way too thin.

I was hoping we could pull it off but credit to the Mexicans as they really control, pass and move like the pros they are. All in all I'm not terribly sad or upset by this game like I was against Cuba. That was our real hope.

[tmcmurph]

The Mexican team had played 26 games together in preparation for this tournament. Well that was the number mentioned during the telecast.

And they also mentioned that they have a $125 million budget for soccer in Mexico.

[Guest soccer1]

Canada "overachieved" even to get to that game...You can get lucky in a tournament format,however,at the end even Stephen Hart couldn't overcome the desperate lack of quality of individual players...

[Max]

Well done boys. Thank you for few very exciting evenings.

[adrenaline11]

Their men's team beat our men's team. Our women's team beat their women's team. Both scores were 3-1. I'm still satifisfied.

[The Beaver]

I'm disappointed in the result, but damned proud of this team. I think Fonseca has something to contribute to Canadian football, and I think we will start to see the results in a few years of his involvement plus the MLS clubs and academies etc.

From the three games I saw, here are the players I think might develop into strong players:

Piette -- great ball-winner, so darn young, determined to be very good

Davies -- Quite impressed and I hope he gets stuck in with a club soon

James -- Given time and good coaching, he could become a very nice player

Tiebert -- Hope he sees some action with the Caps before too long, and in the midfield

Attakora -- Toronto should just sign him and get him playing alongside Frings

Henry -- Was great against the US and is still very young

Miescz -- Loved what I saw. Needs to learn more, but he's got huge talent, and he's young.

I did not see enough of Sodade and REB, but I liked Sodade's size and pace, and I liked REB's blazing speed. If they continue to develop with their clubs, then they might become something yet.

Cavalini, I like a lot, but I worry that a tank with no pace might not develop much more than he has. I hope I am wrong.

Fresenga is young, but I am not convinced he has a ton to offer. I hope I am wrong on this one too. I like that both these lads are playing in Uruguay.

Haber was actually very good tonight, and what a great goal. Not sure if he will ever be the striker we need. Mind you, we don't have a ton of options at the senior level yet.

Beckie actually impressed me a lot. Good pace, tough, smart. If given time with a club, he could become a strong player.

We'll see who emerges from this group over time. I am not convinced any of them can displace the top 18 or so currently playing with the senior side, at least not yet. REB might get the first look, all because of his pace.

I feel we took another step forward with how we handled ourselves in this tournament, and I think Fonseca deserves a chunk of the credit.

[BearcatSA]

I have never been one to be too critical of broadcasters. But i do have beef with both Forrest and Dobson that i have noted for a long while. I have noted this for years in their coverage of our youth sides, Its seems that they tend to heep praise on certain players at random with any suporting evidence that that praise is warranted. As a result, those players that do warrant praise end up getting over looked. There are players on this squad who have future and their play demonstrated it. There are others who dont or have less promise of a future judging from what we have seen. Thats seems fair for any youth national youth sides. So if you are going to give analysis, and talk about players who have skills and promise, talk about those that have those skills. Dont give us this political correctness crap that there too many too many players to mention or mention the whole squad. Or mention that some guy like Saiko had a great tournament even those though he was benched tonight. All that does is take away from the guys who did have great tournament, like Kyle Bekker.

I am not saying that they should be critical of players, but if someone doesnt warrant praise, just dont say anything. Problem with Forrest, i think, is that all he has ever known is old british soccer so he sees players through that prism. The modern game is more diverse and demands more varying skills but he seems oblivious to those skills. When he was a player, I used to think that he might have future as coach, but i dont think so anymore. His talent assessment is terrible.

I thought Bekker and Piette both had important roles in the success over the States but the Mexicans off the ball movement proved too much for our defenders as a group. Piette tended to get the plaudits because of his youth but we have seen how some young guys burst on to the scene then hit a glass ceiling (i.e. Ethan Gage). Bekker looks a smart player and he did a lot of little things well both tactically and technically and was a big part of the success in this tourney. However, I'm curious to see how much better he'll become (he didn't strike me as having the big time athleticism/quickness on a consistent basis for the next level, but I have been wrong many times before and I hope that is the case with him). Piette didn't look out of place out there as a ball winner but in the end you never know how these very young guys will pan out.