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Costa Rica - July 11th Pre-Game Thread


TRM

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I also agree Davies has to start. He is not the solution if we are already down a goal, because they can sit back and absorb him. We need him when we are tied or even ahead, to be effective countering. So his maximum effectivity is at the start, IMO.

FG lost the ball a lot, dumbly, and we had it more, and that won't be the case tomorrow. We'll be chasing more. The longer we can hold them scoreless, however, the more they'll push, so our chances will increase. I'd like to see us tied scoreless at the half, even, it-d set us up well to nab a goal as they'll get nervous.

I personally believe you should get a few players into the mix in the second game just to add a competitive edge to the team, and the place for that is Petrasso's position. I'd let Aird in, just be sure he has his defensive assignments right. If your bench sitters see they have a chance, they are more into it, and when starters see they can be replaced, as well. As is, the only starters I would replace would be Petrasso, De Jong or Vitoria. You could also argue Bernier, as he was rather discreet the other day, did his job, but may not have the gas to handle what he'll face from CR up the middle or covering back.

 

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13 Feb 2000 Costa Rica v Canada   2-2     CONCACAF Gold Cup
12 Jul 2003 Costa Rica v Canada   0-1 CONCACAF Gold Cup
08 Sep 2004 Costa Rica v Canada   1-0 FIFA World Cup
13 Oct 2004 Canada v Costa Rica   1-3 FIFA World Cup
07 Jul 2005 Canada v Costa Rica   0-1 CONCACAF Gold Cup
06 Jun 2007 Costa Rica v Canada   1-2 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12 Sep 2007 Canada v Costa Rica   1-1 International Friendly
10 Jul 2009 Costa Rica v Canada   2-2 CONCACAF Gold Cup
28 May 2013 Canada v Costa Rica   0-1 International Friendly
14 Jul 2015 Canada v Costa Rica      0-0 CONCACAF Gold Cup
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36 minutes ago, BrennanFan said:

2W 4L 4T in our last 10 games against CR.

Not a bad Gold Cup record against them since our championship in 2000: 2W 1L 3T 

Not bad is right.  It seemed like a lot of people were writing this game off and thinking we will need a tie or better against Honduras but there is no reason we can't play a solid game and get a point or points from CR.  Saw the 0-0 game in the last gold cup and with a less talented team we played them well and deserved the result.

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The weather in Dallas won't be that bad. 95/77 as the high/low with humidity in the 50s. At 9 p.m. game time, it will be roughly 86 without sun. We've been a little bit under the historic average this year. 

 

Houston will be rainy at times tomorrow and 88 at game time with humidity in the sixties.  

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56 minutes ago, mpg_29 said:

depending on how well his eye is...this could also be seen as bad..

Re Borjan; I'll be honest, I' don't know what all the fuss is about.  Long as he's feeling fine, face isn't swollen and effecting vision, head ache or sore neck, that sort of thing then what's the problem?  He got a shiner.  Big deal.  It's not as though it'll ruin his good looks.

Shit, look at the man.  A pair of bolts sticking out of either side of his neck wouldn't be out of place. 

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8 minutes ago, One American said:

The weather in Dallas won't be that bad. 95/77 as the high/low with humidity in the 50s. At 9 p.m. game time, it will be roughly 86 without sun. We've been a little bit under the historic average this year. 

 

Houston will be rainy at times tomorrow and 88 at game time with humidity in the sixties.  

Not sure what those numbers mean. Is that humidity percentage?

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42 minutes ago, dsqpr said:

We absolutely MUST play this game hard with the expectation and intention of getting a result. To do anything less would be to throw away our momentum and to acknowledge Costa Rica as superior -- and they are nor even the best team we will have to beat to win this thing.

We are the best team in our group. Now we just need to prove it on the pitch. That is the attitude we need. 

England does not play the Gold Cup dsqpr, think you are on the wrong thread, ;) and board.

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I sort of expect us to play a little more back than the first game, hopefully hit hard in the counter with Bernier, Piette and such playing more the shield to the defense than going forward.

 

I also pledge not to say a word in the game thread until it's over. hahah.

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2 hours ago, One American said:

At what point do you pull Arfield? Probably in the 60s, I would guess, unless the team is down one goal. He's on a card and you don't want to lose him for Honduras. 

I think that is totally game dependant.  If we are still in it with the score tied and he has gas left in the tank, iyou can't sub him off since he is a top player for us and could be the guy that gets us the win.  If we are down and things are looking bleak, then subbing him off makes sense to make sure he can play Hon.  But if we find ourselves ahead near the end, you could even make the argument for an intentional yellow to sit a game and clear the count since we would advance with 2 wins (do card reset after the group? Not sure what the rules are in the GC).  That last option would be risky since they could always come back, but it might be worth it to avoid losing him later in the tournament.

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11 minutes ago, lazlo_80 said:

I sort of expect us to play a little more back than the first game, hopefully hit hard in the counter with Bernier, Piette and such playing more the shield to the defense than going forward.

 

I also pledge not to say a word in the game thread until it's over. hahah.

Yeah, you keep your optimistic yap shut this time.

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I recall a fairly recent youth tournament where Canada's coach decided to pace his best players and save some minutes for the later rounds. Of course we lost all the key games and did not advance past the opening round. Lesson: play your best players all the time and as much as possible unless it is truly optional.

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6 hours ago, Ruffian said:

Can this move happen right away and not have to wait for the second round?

Yeah I heard that.  I think Waston is eligible to play against Canada. I don't like CAnada's chances anymore with the big Tico in the backline.  The only to beat Waston is lob over his head and have speedy forwards.  Davies is quick and if I were him would attack my Caps teammate.  I predict a 1-1 tie now, which should see us through mathematically.

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4 hours ago, One American said:

The weather in Dallas won't be that bad. 95/77 as the high/low with humidity in the 50s. At 9 p.m. game time, it will be roughly 86 without sun. We've been a little bit under the historic average this year. 

Isn't the game time 6:30pm though?

 

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3 hours ago, nolbertos said:

Yeah I heard that.  I think Waston is eligible to play against Canada. I don't like CAnada's chances anymore with the big Tico in the backline.  The only to beat Waston is lob over his head and have speedy forwards.  Davies is quick and if I were him would attack my Caps teammate.  I predict a 1-1 tie now, which should see us through mathematically.

I disagree. If you can isolate Waston, and dribble at him, he's very susceptible to mistakes. We have plenty of players that can cause him trouble by attacking  with pace. We'll need to avoid crosses into the box, and we'll have to restructure our set pieces.

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