Canadian Dual Nationals 2.0 Edition, Chase for the 5 stars

[Obinna]

If any one of Eusaquio,Tomori, Gutierrez and Ferreira commit I would be happy. All would help.

My money is on Ferreira. He is already 26, going on 27. His window for international.

Probably second most likely is Eusaquio. Younger than Ferreira, but he plays with Cruz Azul now, so I'm hopeful that orients him toward Canada.

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, Vince193 said:

If it's Ferreira or Eustaquio I'd be very disappointed because both aren't going to be playing anytime soon, and the former's career is hanging on by a thread after his latest injury.

Yeah, I don't think he's played much for Braga since that big injury he had. 

I expected him to move home to Toronto. TFC could use the depth. He could use the fresh start (probably). 

I hadn't heard anything about Eustaquio getting injured.

[Stryker911]

The only reason I don't think it would be Ferreira or Eustaquio is because what is the point of announcing that in March? What are they going to say? We have this guy that is committed to playing for us, but he is currently injured for the next 6 months so by the time he plays for us you will forget this was a big deal....

Makes no sense to announce an injured one time switch if you want to sell it as a significant "pioneer".

[Corazon]

I can't imagine it being Ferreira after his recent injuries.  To me, I'm not sure he will ever be the player he once was. So I doubt Herdman would lead fans on in that perspective.  Also, he really hasn't been relevant in any Portugal National program in years minus the one friendly he played in a year and half ago.

It could be Eustaquio, assuming he can regain full health by September.

Based on injuries my only other significant "pioneer" would be Tomori which I don't see happening until possible September as well (after Euro U21).

I think we can all agree that these three would be the potentially "Big 3".  And unless Tomori shocks all of us and switches before the Championship, I can't imagine this player contributing to the Gold Cup squad. 

[Vince193]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

Yeah, I don't think he's played much for Braga since that big injury he had. 

I expected him to move home to Toronto. TFC could use the depth. He could use the fresh start (probably). 

I hadn't heard anything about Eustaquio getting injured.

He tore his ACL in his first game for Cruz Azul.

[Vince193]

42 minutes ago, Corazon said:

I can't imagine it being Ferreira after his recent injuries.  To me, I'm not sure he will ever be the player he once was. So I doubt Herdman would lead fans on in that perspective.  Also, he really hasn't been relevant in any Portugal National program in years minus the one friendly he played in a year and half ago.

It could be Eustaquio, assuming he can regain full health by September.

Based on injuries my only other significant "pioneer" would be Tomori which I don't see happening until possible September as well (after Euro U21).

I think we can all agree that these three would be the potentially "Big 3".  And unless Tomori shocks all of us and switches before the Championship, I can't imagine this player contributing to the Gold Cup squad. 

I think Herdman is implying, assuming it's Tomori, that he's leaving the u21 program for us and would be available for March.

[dyslexic nam]

If it is Eustaquio, I would be very happy to get him - even with the current injury.  With the level of treatment and rehab these guys have access to, there is no reason why this kind of injury needs to affect his play in the long term.  Short term, of course he will be out for a while and then have a recovery period.  But guys of this calibre are about increasing our quality player pool and raising the baseline when it comes to overall squad quality.   Injury or not, this guy is 22 and he has the potential to do that for the next decade - and that is exciting.  When you think of 2022 and 2026 as our golden opportunities, this guy would be in his prime. 

Then again if it Tomori, we get a guy who immediately provides an upgrade in our back line and has a ceiling above any of our current centrebacks. 

Either of these guys would be great.

[Corazon]

5 minutes ago, Vince193 said:

I think Herdman is implying, assuming it's Tomori, that he's leaving the u21 program for us and would be available for March.

Which still doesn't make sense to me.  He is one of the more regulars in the U21 program.  Why would he leave a few months before the Championship to join our Gold Cup Squad?

If he was to eventually join Canada this would be his only opportunity at a European Championship and surely he would have plenty of opportunities at a Gold Cup in the future.

I do hope I'm wrong though.

[Vince193]

2 minutes ago, Corazon said:

Which still doesn't make sense to me.  He is one of the more regulars in the U21 program.  Why would he leave a few months before the Championship to join our Gold Cup Squad?

If he was to eventually join Canada this would be his only opportunity at a European Championship and surely he would have plenty of opportunities at a Gold Cup in the future.

I do hope I'm wrong though.

I could see it if he's looking at the current crop of defender England has. Sure he can keep playing for the U21s but realisitcally he's going to be stuck behind the likes of John Stones, Harry Maguire, etc. for a while. For Canada he immediately steps into our backline.

[dyslexic nam]

1 minute ago, Vince193 said:

I could see it if he's looking at the current crop of defender England has. Sure he can keep playing for the U21s but realisitcally he's going to be stuck behind the likes of John Stones, Harry Maguire, etc. for a while. For Canada he immediately steps into our backline.

And he has to be aware that if you are going to choose Canada, now is the best time in recent history to do that.  Exciting young players coming up through the ranks and 2026 as a nice carrot.  We may not be England, but it isn't like you are settling for some shitty soccer backwater anymore.  I realize that we don't have the results to back it up yet, but I truly believe we are entering a new era - and that this is a selling feature for our program. 

[shamrock]

Still hoping it's Tomori, but another guess: Ranjitsingh? It's not like he's getting a shot with Trinidad...

[toontownman]

I think Ferreira and Eustaquio will suit up for us if/when they get playing again. I think the former is getting past Portugal call ups and the latter moving to Mexico puts further doubt and less eyes on him for Portugal. If he was already a part of the senior squad then the move might have been fine but he would have to tear it up in a serious manner imo to get noticed.

As others have mentioned Tomori is my hope also. He would simply be a huge edition to our weakest area. He isn't likely to get into the England team within the next 3/4 years at least. There are so many ahead of him. 

As mentioned too Bassong or Gutierrez would also be great. 

Maybe my tail is up for the wrong reason but I feel we could see all of the above.  

Everyone is going to shit the bed when its revealed the player is Ferdi Kadioglu.

[Corazon]

21 minutes ago, toontownman said:

I think Ferreira and Eustaquio will suit up for us if/when they get playing again. I think the former is getting past Portugal call ups and the latter moving to Mexico puts further doubt and less eyes on him for Portugal. If he was already a part of the senior squad then the move might have been fine but he would have to tear it up in a serious manner imo to get noticed.

As others have mentioned Tomori is my hope also. He would simply be a huge edition to our weakest area. He isn't likely to get into the England team within the next 3/4 years at least. There are so many ahead of him. 

As mentioned too Bassong or Gutierrez would also be great. 

Maybe my tail is up for the wrong reason but I feel we could see all of the above.  

Everyone is going to shit the bed when its revealed the player is Ferdi Kadioglu.

Couldn't agree more with this statement.

[Corazon]

41 minutes ago, Vince193 said:

I could see it if he's looking at the current crop of defender England has. Sure he can keep playing for the U21s but realisitcally he's going to be stuck behind the likes of John Stones, Harry Maguire, etc. for a while. For Canada he immediately steps into our backline.

Yes if hes looking long term for the senior men's England team, but that is not relevant to the U21 program.  Maguire & Stones are not eligible for this year's selection of U21 championships.  Even some of the eligible defenders such as Trent Alexander, Chillwell, Gomez, Walker-Peters may not even attend as they are somewhat regulars in the senior squad.  Tomori absolutely has a role to play in this Euro U21 championship squad.  After the Tournament I am in agreement that Tomori basically has no shot at a regular spot for the England senior team.

Tomori is going to immediately walk into our backline now and in 6 months as well.

[Keegan]

Ahh Cristian Gutierrez, I totally forgot about him.  That’s my guess - checks all the boxes and would make sense to switch now. 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

My guess is Cristián Gutiérrez.

1) His brother is in the system. There is a (slim chance) both twins could play together on the U23 team later this year.

2) Based on the possible player pool/depth within Chile, having fallen from a good youth prospect to mid-table Chilean team (where he was far from a regular starter), he may not make the Chile Olympic U23 team a year from now:

https://www.cdf.cl/cdf/sudamericano-sub-20/los-67-jugadores-de-los-ultimos-sudamericanos-sub-20/2019-01-28/095026.html

[Corazon]

14 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

My guess is Cristián Gutiérrez.

1) His brother is in the system. There is a (slim chance) both twins could play together on the U23 team later this year.

2) Based on the possible player pool/depth within Chile, having fallen from a good youth prospect to mid-table Chilean team (where he was far from a regular starter), he may not make the Chile Olympic U23 team a year from now:

https://www.cdf.cl/cdf/sudamericano-sub-20/los-67-jugadores-de-los-ultimos-sudamericanos-sub-20/2019-01-28/095026.html

Given the injuries to Fereirra & Eustaquio and the potential upcoming tournaments for Tomori & Akinola, this may be the best educated guess.

[Dominic94]

I’d be upset if it was Ayo Akinola 

[BrennanFan]

1 hour ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

My guess is Cristián Gutiérrez.

1) His brother is in the system. There is a (slim chance) both twins could play together on the U23 team later this year.

2) Based on the possible player pool/depth within Chile, having fallen from a good youth prospect to mid-table Chilean team (where he was far from a regular starter), he may not make the Chile Olympic U23 team a year from now:

https://www.cdf.cl/cdf/sudamericano-sub-20/los-67-jugadores-de-los-ultimos-sudamericanos-sub-20/2019-01-28/095026.html

Gutierrez only saw the pitch 7 times last year, 630 minutes in total.  The Chilean league is good, but barely getting minutes on a mid table team, thats not good enough to walk onto the CMNT.  Cordova got 16 appearances and over 1000 minutes, and they basically play the same positions.  If its him, it would be underwhelming.

 

[Corazon]

14 minutes ago, BrennanFan said:

Gutierrez only saw the pitch 7 times last year, 630 minutes in total.  The Chilean league is good, but barely getting minutes on a mid table team, thats not good enough to walk onto the CMNT.  Cordova got 16 appearances and over 1000 minutes, and they basically play the same positions.  If its him, it would be underwhelming.

 

Honestly, at this point if its anyone besides Tomori or Eustaquio it will be underwhelming in my opinion.

 

I think Eustaquio is eventually bound to play for Canada, so I'm hoping its Tomori.  But he is getting a lot of press and attention overseas as a star for the future.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Corazon

[BrennanFan]

The CSA has been pretty good about releasing news on players in the build up to upcoming games to generate interest and sell tickets, like with Tabla and the Dominica game in Toronto.  There's no way they'd announce Eustaquio or Ferreira now given their long term injuries.  Even if they've signed up, they'll sit on the news in order to use it to sell tickets down the road. 

Akinola would be a joke, he's done nothing to deserve a call up.  

I'm thinking Tomori. 

[Corazon]

12 minutes ago, BrennanFan said:

The CSA has been pretty good about releasing news on players in the build up to upcoming games to generate interest and sell tickets, like with Tabla and the Dominica game in Toronto.  There's no way they'd announce Eustaquio or Ferreira now given their long term injuries.  Even if they've signed up, they'll sit on the news in order to use it to sell tickets down the road. 

Akinola would be a joke, he's done nothing to deserve a call up.  

I'm thinking Tomori. 

I really hope so, but still cannot understand the timing for him.  The Euro U21 Championships are a great opportunity to showcase his talent.  He started half of England's qualifying games but maybe he's been told that he won't play an integral part of the tournament team and would rather be a sure starter for Canada at the Gold Cup.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Maybe he wanted to force England's hand with a more defined role, and they called (or did not call, pardon the pun). Isn't this basically what happened with Arfield?

[Grizzly]

7 minutes ago, youllneverwalkalone said:

Maybe he wanted to force England's hand with a more defined role, and they called (or did not call, pardon the pun). Isn't this basically what happened with Arfield?

No. Arfield just basically got tired waiting and went with the girl that would go out with him instead of his dream girl who was ignoring him and showed no signs of ever changing her opinion. 

[Senorpopps]

8 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

No. Arfield just basically got tired waiting and went with the girl that would go out with him instead of his dream girl who was ignoring him and showed no signs of ever changing her opinion. 

Hahahaha it took me a while to get the analogy but then again I just smoked a doobie. Am also thankful one can finally be honest about one's stupidity without risking arrest.