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How would you rank Canada in regards to the other CONCACAF teams?


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I get the feeling Curaçao are here to stay in terms of top 10 CONCACAF sides. In the cycles ahead they’ll be another name we’ll be talking about when it comes to sides like Jamaica, El Salvador, Haiti, T&T etc. Kinda refreshing to see a new team get into the mix, I’m bullish on them.

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2 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I get the feeling Curaçao are here to stay in terms of top 10 CONCACAF sides. In the cycles ahead they’ll be another name we’ll be talking about when it comes to sides like Jamaica, El Salvador, Haiti, T&T etc. Kinda refreshing to see a new team get into the mix, I’m bullish on them.

Suriname could be similar if Suriname's government ever gets around to allowing dual nationality.

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1 hour ago, kacbru said:

Agreed, really hard to argue with FIFA rankings this time.  Going back to 2011, TnT is the only team we have a winning record against (a win in our last game against them in 2011).  But they've been in the hex, we haven't, so subjectively you might make as strong a case that they deserve to be ahead of us, just as much as we should be above El Salvador (1W-2D-1L).  I ignored Curacao, as I do, unless I'm dreaming of a Caribbean holiday.

I agree as well.  I'm not sure how we can expect to be rated any higher right now.  It all comes down to how the guys perform on the pitch against the likes of El Salvador, TnT, Jamaica, and of course Honduras when it actually counts for something. They still have to prove it on the field. 

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I'm looking forward to next summer's Gold Cup specifically because I want to see how our new high-powered attack fares against challenging opponents. Also, I want to see who Herdman selects as our primary back line for these games.

 

We might get a preview in the upcoming match vs. St. Kitts as I doubt we'll run out a 2-defender formation this time.

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10 minutes ago, devioustrevor said:

I felt our formation was more of a 3-man formation with Atiba playing as a CD that would move up to an almost CM position on attack.

That's not exactly it. Atiba dropped in between the CBs when we had possession, which is a pretty standard practice for holding mids in possession-focused systems. That way, the CBs can spread out more and give better passing angles to the wings and let the wingbacks get further up the pitch.

 

1 hour ago, Tuscan said:

We might get a preview in the upcoming match vs. St. Kitts as I doubt we'll run out a 2-defender formation this time.

Yeah, it's not really a case of doubt, it's basically the expectation. While some people are acting like the tactics and player selection in the games against USVI and Dominica were somehow represetative of how it'll be done in the future, Herdman already used a normal attacking, possession-focused 4-3-3 against New Zealand in the spring.

He used a really aggressive strategy against USVI and Dominica because the defensive qualities and positioning of your fullbacks doesn't really matter when you have 80% possession and your opponent is using a low block.

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People keep calling this The Golden Generation.

 

It might be. It might. But how about we actually beat A Real Team first and see if these kids are any good. Very young and inexperienced. Unlikely they can win in Central America yet. Gold Cup will be a great warm-up. But that we've been playing just 1 game during the NL matches and not getting in games for these kids in Central America or at least the Caribbean during these last two windows is a mistake, I fear.

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Cool to see us have two guys in the top 30.. even if the accuracy is questionable.  With the hype that Lainez and Sargent get im shocked to see them behind Jonathan David who can’t even get an appearance these days. 

Seriously though, David is #28 and ahead of the top prospects for the states and Mexico based off 360 pro minutes essentially.  If not for his early start I don’t think anyone would even know him. 

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53 minutes ago, Ansem said:

I like our future, I think we surpass the US within the next decade.

USA - Timothy Weah is ranked #17
CAN - Jonathan David is ranked #28
MEX - Diego Lainez is ranked #34
USA - Josh Sargent is ranked #45

I’m very optimistic but I’ll bet you $10 we don’t.  If I’m wrong, I’ll gladly pay up.  We simply don’t have the depth the US has.

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16 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

I’m very optimistic but I’ll bet you $10 we don’t.  If I’m wrong, I’ll gladly pay up.  We simply don’t have the depth the US has.

Depth, while good, can only get you so far.. then it comes down to your top 30-40 players in your pool.

For example, England is deeper than Belgium but Belgium is ahead of England.  Croatia as well, probably wouldn’t be as deep as Portugal for example but are ahead of them.

Could our top 30 be better than the USA’s in 10 years?  Without a doubt, even if unlikely.

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2 hours ago, JamboAl said:

I’m very optimistic but I’ll bet you $10 we don’t.  If I’m wrong, I’ll gladly pay up.  We simply don’t have the depth the US has.

Depends how well CanPL does.

Just with the existence of 7 additional teams + 3 MLS; Based on the population discrepancy, we provide better pro opportunities than the US per capita.

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3 minutes ago, PopePouri said:

Depends how well CanPL does.

Just with the existence of 7 additional teams + 3 MLS; Based on the population discrepancy, we provide better pro opportunities than the US per capita.

Up until now, most of the Canadian kids had been virtually isolated from the North American pro scene. 2/3 of Canadians living outside the 3 cities...now having a CPL club a bit closer makes a difference.

Let's use Cole Harbour who seems to produce superstars nowadays... A kid who did well in that part of the country, with parents unable/unwilling to move to one of the 3 cities or Europe would be pretty much done after a certain point in youth football. Now with CPL, that kid would end up early on in HFX radar.

The 3 MLS system are unable to cover the entire country, CPL will help tremendously there. York 9 selects beating Juventus U17 was unexpected, same with Atlantic Selects over Dusseldorf. The result is irrelevant, it just shows the desire of the next generation to perform and to find a way to win. We've wasted so much talent up until this point.

More kids will choose soccer now than they did in the past. I know it's a controversial argument but I still believe that we're still likely to have better athletes choosing soccer than Americans will as most of them will overwhelmingly choose football, Basketball, baseball over soccer. That partnership with U-Sports is MASSIVE for Canadian soccer. God knows how many talent we wasted there and that the 3 MLS teams utterly ignored.

I don't know... I'm a bit puzzled by this huge skepticism that we can surpass the US in soccer and this aura of near regional invincibility they have over our psyche. I see a very beatable team nowadays.

 

 

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It's also worth noting that with the introduction of TAM and increased salary budgets, young domestics players in MLS are getting less minutes. Over the years, MLS has stopped being a development league.

https://www.businessinsider.com/number-of-american-players-in-mls-has-declined-2018-3

http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/19/blog/post/3606287/limited-mls-minutes-mean-american-forwards-will-look-to-europe

As long as CanPL can keep to it's business model and remain focused on the Canadian (specifically young Canadian) player. 

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25 minutes ago, PopePouri said:

It's also worth noting that with the introduction of TAM and increased salary budgets, young domestics players in MLS are getting less minutes. Over the years, MLS has stopped being a development league.

https://www.businessinsider.com/number-of-american-players-in-mls-has-declined-2018-3

http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/19/blog/post/3606287/limited-mls-minutes-mean-american-forwards-will-look-to-europe

As long as CanPL can keep to it's business model and remain focused on the Canadian (specifically young Canadian) player. 

MLS is creating a "dead end" of their own due to prioritizing becoming as big as they can, aiming to be a top league rather than developing more American talent at a higher level...

Exhibit A

 

The rebrand of their lower league is good but will take a while to be implemented. No promotion to MLS hurts the developmental aspect of their overall pyramid. How many of these guys will make it to MLS when that league is obsess on finding ways to become the next top league?

 

Exhibit B

 

Unlike EPL who has a solid D2 to D4 underneath it that can promote to EPL, USL pales in comparison while those American domestics can't promote to MLS. I don't know... Their bruised ego at needing to beat Mexican clubs and obsession at becoming/recognize as a world top league is hurting their developmental front...It will bite them down the road.

As others mentioned, they should be deep enough to have a mandatory quota of 4 or 5 Americans at all time (glad CPL does this) with mandatory minutes for youth players (Mexico's doing it).

Like you said, if CPL stick to it's model and vision, we'll see the results in time for 2026, if not sooner. The league MUST ensure that the environment provided to our domestics stays above USL and builds a gap over time.

We should aspire to be the "Ligue 1" of CONCACAF while progressively becoming stronger regionally. They aren't the strongest league but their National team is scary as hell.

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That Josef Martinez graphic is shockingly absurd and is basically the ultimate representation of MLS “not getting it”.  Bragging about a Serie A reject dominating your league isn’t a “good thing” and certainly not when you’re comically putting him next to the top players in world football.  If it’s the global golden boot leaders as it innocently suggests then there are guys playing in Malta and the Middle East who deserve to be ahead of Martínez right??

Just think.. you could have young studs like Pulisic, McKennie, Tabla, Larin in the league building a culture and brand.. instead you’re overpaying above average players.  The business model is set up to fail for development.. refuse to pay young domestic players their value and hold them hostage, while overpaying for foreigners.

How can this ever work for the majority of young players?  It can’t. 

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10 minutes ago, Keegan said:

That Josef Martinez graphic is shockingly absurd and is basically the ultimate representation of MLS “not getting it”.  Bragging about a Serie A reject dominating your league isn’t a “good thing” and certainly not when you’re comically putting him next to the top players in world football.  If it’s the global golden boot leaders as it innocently suggests then there are guys playing in Malta and the Middle East who deserve to be ahead of Martínez right??

Just think.. you could have young studs like Pulisic, McKennie, Tabla, Larin in the league building a culture and brand.. instead you’re overpaying above average players.  The business model is set up to fail for development.. refuse to pay young domestic players their value and hold them hostage, while overpaying for foreigners.

How can this ever work for the majority of young players?  It can’t. 

The truly talented young Americans like Pulisic and others got the hint and will prefer to just go to Europe instead of MLS. However, not many of them will succeed as the sheer gap makes it a daunting task to make it.

The other players will be in USL limbo while those good enough to escape it will see the bench more most of the time.

You're looking at a team that will have their very good players surrounded by average guys who can't keep up or face the tougher competition. Not a great way to go to the next level. Not saying they will become the 2000s version of Canada but I doubt they get much better than now in the near future. I thought they peaked in Brazil.

CPL job is to provide a tough pro environment to our young players so that they compete against each other and constently challenged. Sure, some will say that 6 guarantee starts will make them complacent but you have HUNDREDS of hungry guys waiting their turns. I think our youth players will surprise us like those selects who proved they had that competitiveness against Juventus and Fortuna. Now you have those U-Sports guys who can also compete for a spot too. With CPL clubs in each provinces open to Canadians unlike our MLS clubs who seems reluctant at looking at talent outside their system, you create this environment that leads to excellence...limited spots for all those hungry guys. As it should, making it to CPL for a young Canadian player will be unbelievably hard while keeping their spots, even harder.

Hoping the league is a success to the point that D2 can start post 2026, offering more opportunities to young Canadians and 2nd chances to those who can't keep a D1 spot. The only way this league becomes a success is to support it...even if it means buying those overpriced York 9 tickets ?

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