General Discussion on CMNT

[Cblake]

5 minutes ago, Obinna said:

@Approve My Account Pls@BearcatSA 

I agree with you both. A friendly won't likely be on turf, and the final home fixture will probably be a send off match, probably from Toronto. The question for me is where the Nations League home game will be played. I am now leaning towards this match being played in Montreal, before finishing things off in Toronto to send the team off. 

It will be interesting to see how things shake out. 

Herdman was also talking how Davies could miss NL if Bayern make a deep UCL run. This suggests we'll be bringing a very top squad. If we have most of the core for NL in June the idea @Cblake was talking about where we play where "the team" wants (i.e. Toronto) could be a bigger factor for this window than I originally thought.

 

The Champions League Final is on May 28th in Paris. The window for the break is May 30-June 14 with the NL matches in the first week of the break. There are four match days in this break so a friendly would be ideal in the second week, maybe two if desired. Just as an example Italy is playing 5 matches in this window. Four UEFA NL matches and a friendly vs. Argentina at Wembley of all places. I can not see Canada going that route but at least 3 matches makes sense. As you mentioned I think Montreal makes sense for the NL match and BMO for the friendly. But would that be the send off match or would that come in September? The Argentina Mexico match that was reported to be taking place in LA is off now due to them being drawn in the same group. so that opportunity for Canada could be there to take on one of the mega opponents in a high profile match. But I wonder where that would take place, really depends if a match agent is involved as if that was the case it could be at a big NFL stadium in the US. Messi sells tickets anywhere as we know. Also September is already full for the Europeans teams as they have two NL match days. Monday will be the first day where we will see at least a little bit of the next couple months fall into place.

[Obinna]

13 minutes ago, Cblake said:

The Champions League Final is on May 28th in Paris. The window for the break is May 30-June 14 with the NL matches in the first week of the break. There are four match days in this break so a friendly would be ideal in the second week, maybe two if desired. Just as an example Italy is playing 5 matches in this window. Four UEFA NL matches and a friendly vs. Argentina at Wembley of all places. I can not see Canada going that route but at least 3 matches makes sense. As you mentioned I think Montreal makes sense for the NL match and BMO for the friendly. But would that be the send off match or would that come in September? The Argentina Mexico match that was reported to be taking place in LA is off now due to them being drawn in the same group. so that opportunity for Canada could be there to take on one of the mega opponents in a high profile match. But I wonder where that would take place, really depends if a match agent is involved as if that was the case it could be at a big NFL stadium in the US. Messi sells tickets anywhere as we know. Also September is already full for the Europeans teams as they have two NL match days. Monday will be the first day where we will see at least a little bit of the next couple months fall into place.

Herdman specifically said he expects 1 friendly match, though nothing is certain yet. Also, we don't have the NL schedule for CONCACAF yet, so we cannot be certain if NL matches will occur in the first week of the break, like UEFA.

I would say the send off match would be in June, because Herdman also expressed a desire for the September friendlies to be in Europe. Again, nothing written in stone, but he very strongly indicated the team needs to get over to Europe to prepare. It makes sense, as two of our opponents are European, so I expect we'll play teams like Serbia and France to prepare for Croatia and Belgium respectively. This means a home game in September is unlikely.

With European teams being booked in September, it'll be interesting to see who is available. I could have sworn Herdman said something about possibly playing an Asian team in Europe. Either way, I am fairly certain we won't be playing anywhere in North America in September, based on his comments.

As always though, things can change so we'll have to see. 

 

[Cblake]

46 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Herdman specifically said he expects 1 friendly match, though nothing is certain yet. Also, we don't have the NL schedule for CONCACAF yet, so we cannot be certain if NL matches will occur in the first week of the break, like UEFA.

I would say the send off match would be in June, because Herdman also expressed a desire for the September friendlies to be in Europe. Again, nothing written in stone, but he very strongly indicated the team needs to get over to Europe to prepare. It makes sense, as two of our opponents are European, so I expect we'll play teams like Serbia and France to prepare for Croatia and Belgium respectively. This means a home game in September is unlikely.

With European teams being booked in September, it'll be interesting to see who is available. I could have sworn Herdman said something about possibly playing an Asian team in Europe. Either way, I am fairly certain we won't be playing anywhere in North America in September, based on his comments.

As always though, things can change so we'll have to see. 

 

Yes, playing overseas makes most sense in September, London is very accessible for both those in North America and Europe. There is a stadium for just about every type of match etc. Everything from Wembley, Emirates, one of my favorites Craven Cottage to the New Den. Friendlies of all sorts are played in London, having seen myself Italy Brazil, USA Colombia, Jamaica Nigeria. You could play an African nation, say even one like Egypt who just got knocked out. Argentina in London would be a big draw. The world is their oyster on this one. 

[Cblake]

The world has taken notice

 

[Cblake]

 

[Sal333]

3 minutes ago, Cblake said:

The world has taken notice

 

"Their strength is their togetherness," he added. "They play like a club team."

Quite honestly that's a superficial observation from Martinez. Even the most causal soccer fan would have picked that up by watching a couple of goals  and a couple of subs. And to be honest I hope he doesn't dig much deeper.

[narduch]

Eustaquio, Larin and David made the best 11 of the Octagonal 

 

[Obinna]

10 hours ago, Cblake said:

Yes, playing overseas makes most sense in September, London is very accessible for both those in North America and Europe. There is a stadium for just about every type of match etc. Everything from Wembley, Emirates, one of my favorites Craven Cottage to the New Den. Friendlies of all sorts are played in London, having seen myself Italy Brazil, USA Colombia, Jamaica Nigeria. You could play an African nation, say even one like Egypt who just got knocked out. Argentina in London would be a big draw. The world is their oyster on this one. 

Absolutely. The possibilites in London are many and I would agree it makes sense to play friendlies there. We played against Australia at Craven Cottage many years back, I believe. It would nice to see us play there again. I have a gut feeling we may play one of the British nations, but I am not up on who is committed to play who right now. 

8 hours ago, narduch said:

Eustaquio, Larin and David made the best 11 of the Octagonal 

 

Some nice accolades for our boys there. Particularly pleased for Eustaquio. He deserves some formal recognition. He missed out on the awards for Gold Cup, which felt like a snub in my opinion. He was nominated for best midfielder in Portugal before that, but he never won it. 

Is this qualifying best 11 new, or does CONCACAF do this every cycle? 

[Cblake]

24 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Absolutely. The possibilites in London are many and I would agree it makes sense to play friendlies there. We played against Australia at Craven Cottage many years back, I believe. It would nice to see us play there again. I have a gut feeling we may play one of the British nations, but I am not up on who is committed to play who right now. 

Some nice accolades for our boys there. Particularly pleased for Eustaquio. He deserves some formal recognition. He missed out on the awards for Gold Cup, which felt like a snub in my opinion. He was nominated for best midfielder in Portugal before that, but he never won it. 

Is this qualifying best 11 new, or does CONCACAF do this every cycle? 

The September window is the 19th - 27th. Every UEFA team has two NL match days already. Match Day 5 is 22-24, Match Day 6 is 25-27. Maybe if Canada played something early in the week you could play a team that has their opening match on the 24th if someone is up for it but that would leave you with no more than two days, maybe 3 of training depending on when the guys arrive etc. 

2022/23 Nations League: all the fixtures | UEFA Nations League | UEFA.com

 

[Obinna]

16 minutes ago, Cblake said:

The September window is the 19th - 27th. Every UEFA team has two NL match days already. Match Day 5 is 22-24, Match Day 6 is 25-27. Maybe if Canada played something early in the week you could play a team that has their opening match on the 24th if someone is up for it but that would leave you with no more than two days, maybe 3 of training depending on when the guys arrive etc. 

2022/23 Nations League: all the fixtures | UEFA Nations League | UEFA.com

 

I don't see how UEFA teams don't book friendlies in the September window.

The teams going to the World Cup are going to want to take every chance they can to play and prep, so the 19-21 or 26-27 are the opportunites, as far as I can see. For example, France plays Austria on the 22nd and Denmark on the 25th. They could squeeze in a match on the 27th, and/or on the 19th/20th. I am sure they'll want to test out some talent with friendlies, like many other teams. 

They will play 4 games in June with two and three days in between games. Playing on the 20th or 27th will basically be the same spacing. I expect the UEFA teams going to the WC are going to be playing test matches here, especially against nations from CONMENBOL, AFC, CAF and  perhaps even CONCACAF. 

 

[Meepmeep]

1 hour ago, Cblake said:

The September window is the 19th - 27th. Every UEFA team has two NL match days already. Match Day 5 is 22-24, Match Day 6 is 25-27. Maybe if Canada played something early in the week you could play a team that has their opening match on the 24th if someone is up for it but that would leave you with no more than two days, maybe 3 of training depending on when the guys arrive etc. 

2022/23 Nations League: all the fixtures | UEFA Nations League | UEFA.com

 

Maybe we can pull some strings/get lucky and have a Nations League window or two with matches against the likes of Martinique and Grenada.  In that way we can have the World Cup roster focus on friendlies against big dogs and send a “B” team to Nations League.  Maybe even cap tie some duals in the process. 

[Obinna]

4 hours ago, Meepmeep said:

Maybe we can pull some strings/get lucky and have a Nations League window or two with matches against the likes of Martinique and Grenada.  In that way we can have the World Cup roster focus on friendlies against big dogs and send a “B” team to Nations League.  Maybe even cap tie some duals in the process. 

I don't see us running two seperate camps simultaneously, if that's what you are suggesting. It sounds like a good idea, but the reality would be that our attention and focus gets divided and I am not sure we do that to ourselves.

Also, keep in mind that we won't get Martinique AND Grenada. At least one team is going to be Panama, Jamaica, el Salvador or Honduras level, teams that are good enough to beat us if we send a B team. We'd only be able to send a B team to one of the two games, the one against the minnow, I think.

Maybe we have a giant camp and then split the group up and have the top group play a top friendly and have the our reserves play the weaker team? I guess I can't rule it out, but I just have trouble seeing it, and if we draw a Suriname or Curacao as the "easy" team in the group, I wouldn't feel comfortable sending a B team against them.

[PegCityCam]

"The Ronaldinho is literally in the building". Quoted by Luke Wileman from BMO about 10 mins ago. My question: Is Gaucho an official rep for Brazil? 🤯😳🙏

edit: 

Looks like Dero just cleared that up for me.

Edited April 2, 2022 by PegCityCam

[SpecialK]

With Turkey out and The Netherlands stacked - do you think we’ll see Ferdi Kadioglu switch ? He’s very talented and can play multiple positions. 

[PegCityCam]

Send some love out to this legend ya'll 🇨🇦❤️🇧🇷

 

[Stryker911]

Final Octagon stats. I think anyone that had over 300 minutes is a lock at this point, barring injury, which is 18 players.

Player Team Age Starts Sub Appearance Unused Sub Minutes Goals  Assits Jonathan David  Lille 21 12 2   1073 5 3 Alistair Johnston Montreal 23 11 3   1041     Tajon Buchanan Club Brugge 22 11 2   1000 3 2 Richie Laryea Nottingham  26 11 2   983   2 Stephen Eustaquio Porto 24 11 1   965   2 Sam Adekugbe Hatayspor 26 9 3 1 881 1   Kamal Miller Montreal 24 9 3 2 862   1 Jonathan Osorio Toronto 29 7 5 1 695 1   Steven Vitoria Moreirense 34 7 1 2 683     Atiba Hutchinson Besiktas 38 7 3   670 2   Alphonso Davies Bayern Munich 21 7     599 1 3 Cyle Larin Besiktas 26 7 3 1 589 6   Mark-Anthony Kaye Colorado 26 7 3 2 500     Junior Hoilett Reading 31 5 4 1 443 1   Doneil Henry LAFC 28 5   7 369     Scott Kennedy Regensburg 24 4 1 3 322     Liam Millar Basel 22 3 1 7 206     Samuel Piette Montreal 27 2 2 7 143     Liam Fraser Deinze 23   5 6 119   1 Lucas Cavallini Vancouver 28 1 4 4 111     David Wotherspoon St. Johnstone 31 1 2 4 105     Derek Cornelius Panetolikos 23 1   10 90     Ismael Kone Montreal 19 1 1 1 55     Ike Ugbo Troyes 23   4 4 26     Charles-Andreas Brym FC Eindhoven 23   3   14     Jacob Shaffelburg Toronto 21   2 1 10     Zachary Brault-Guiillard Montreal 22   1 3 7     Christian Gutierrez Vancouver 24     5 0                       Milan Borjan Red Star 34 10   1 900     Maxime Crepeau LAFC 27 4   10 360     James Pantemis Montreal 24     8 0     Dayne St. Clair Minnesota 24     6 0     Jason Leutwiler Oldham 32     3 0

[Free kick]

The great thing about being in the ocho, is that we got to see a lot of players play and for a lot of minutes.  This is one reason why all those past failures to advance out semi-final round had a compounding negative effect on subsequent WCQ cycles. That's because there were too few games (ie.: in groups of 4) and too few opportunities to try new players, new tactics and try new formations.  You couldn't afford more than one bad performance when you are in a 4 team group playing just six games.  In ocho, 14 players got more than 400 minutes of action and some even up to 1000 minutes. in some cases, in past cyles, the top names might get something 350-450 minutes.   How can you properly evaluate and plan (as a coach) given the way it use to be.   And, no, you cant compensate for that with just more friendlies.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Free kick

[Gian-Luca]

44 minutes ago, Free kick said:

The great thing about being in the ocho, is that we got to see a lot of players play and for a lot of minutes.  This is one reason why all those past failures to advance out semi-final round had a compounding negative effect on subsequent WCQ cycles. That's because there were too few games (ie.: in groups of 4) and too few opportunities to try new players, new tactics and try new formations.  You couldn't afford more than one bad performance when you are in a 4 team group playing just six games.  In ocho, 14 players got more than 400 minutes of action and some even up to 1000 minutes. in some cases, in past cyles, the top names might get something 350-450 minutes.   How can you properly evaluate and plan (as a coach) given the way it use to be.   And, no, you cant compensate for that with just more friendlies.

 

 

We played 25 matches from March 2021 to March 2022. None of which were friendlies. Not too many teams have done a stretch like that in 13 months. It did follow a period of inactivity due to COVID but still…

Edited April 3, 2022 by Gian-Luca

[BearcatSA]

On 4/3/2022 at 2:51 PM, Free kick said:

The great thing about being in the ocho, is that we got to see a lot of players play and for a lot of minutes.  This is one reason why all those past failures to advance out semi-final round had a compounding negative effect on subsequent WCQ cycles. That's because there were too few games (ie.: in groups of 4) and too few opportunities to try new players, new tactics and try new formations.  You couldn't afford more than one bad performance when you are in a 4 team group playing just six games.  In ocho, 14 players got more than 400 minutes of action and some even up to 1000 minutes. in some cases, in past cyles, the top names might get something 350-450 minutes.   How can you properly evaluate and plan (as a coach) given the way it use to be.   And, no, you cant compensate for that with just more friendlies.

 

 

The Ocho provided a bit more of a lifeline if we came up short.  Do you remember how several folks were doom and gloom following the tie vs Honduras at BMO?

I think the lead up to Qatar will be more of a challenge to incorporate new guys into the system.  A guy like Fraser, who many have been on the bubble because of his current playing level in Div 2 Belgium, is nonetheless someone who is well versed in what his coach wants and what his role is, so he may have that as and advantage.

Edited April 5, 2022 by BearcatSA

[Addona]

Not sure if this is the appropriate place for this, but I’ve been wondering what our best XI is right now … it’s kind of hard to get everyone on the pitch that I want! Good problem to have, for sure, but I’d be curious to see who others think will land just outside the starting 11. Kennedy? Can Laryea, Johnston, and Adekugbe all be on at that same time?

[costarg]

3 hours ago, Stryker911 said:

Final Octagon stats. I think anyone that had over 300 minutes is a lock at this point, barring injury, which is 18 players.

Player Team Age Starts Sub Appearance Unused Sub Minutes Goals  Assits Jonathan David  Lille 21 12 2   1073 5 3 Alistair Johnston Montreal 23 11 3   1041     Tajon Buchanan Club Brugge 22 11 2   1000 3 2 Richie Laryea Nottingham  26 11 2   983   2 Stephen Eustaquio Porto 24 11 1   965   2 Sam Adekugbe Hatayspor 26 9 3 1 881 1   Kamal Miller Montreal 24 9 3 2 862   1 Jonathan Osorio Toronto 29 7 5 1 695 1   Steven Vitoria Moreirense 34 7 1 2 683     Atiba Hutchinson Besiktas 38 7 3   670 2   Alphonso Davies Bayern Munich 21 7     599 1 3 Cyle Larin Besiktas 26 7 3 1 589 6   Mark-Anthony Kaye Colorado 26 7 3 2 500     Junior Hoilett Reading 31 5 4 1 443 1   Doneil Henry LAFC 28 5   7 369     Scott Kennedy Regensburg 24 4 1 3 322     Liam Millar Basel 22 3 1 7 206     Samuel Piette Montreal 27 2 2 7 143     Liam Fraser Deinze 23   5 6 119   1 Lucas Cavallini Vancouver 28 1 4 4 111     David Wotherspoon St. Johnstone 31 1 2 4 105     Derek Cornelius Panetolikos 23 1   10 90     Ismael Kone Montreal 19 1 1 1 55     Ike Ugbo Troyes 23   4 4 26     Charles-Andreas Brym FC Eindhoven 23   3   14     Jacob Shaffelburg Toronto 21   2 1 10     Zachary Brault-Guiillard Montreal 22   1 3 7     Christian Gutierrez Vancouver 24     5 0                       Milan Borjan Red Star 34 10   1 900     Maxime Crepeau LAFC 27 4   10 360     James Pantemis Montreal 24     8 0     Dayne St. Clair Minnesota 24     6 0     Jason Leutwiler Oldham 32     3 0

Strange, I watched every single match, yet I'm surprised by this chart!  ZBG only 7 minutes, less than Brym.  Ugbo only 26, even Cavallini with barely over a full game in minutes at 111.  Didn't realize Millar had 3 starts, felt like less.  Larin had a lot less minutes than I thought, and he's almost at a goal/90 min!  Adekugbe with the 6th highest, didn't realize that either.  

[Corazon]

Canadians in MLS - Week 5

The Canadian MLS teams all finally won on the same weekend.  Canadians still continue to perform at a high level so far this season.

Of note, Raposo scored his first MLS goal in a 1-0 victory with Hasal getting his first shutout of the season as well.  Osorio got his 2nd assist of the season giving him 2 goals and 2 assists in 5 games this season in a man of the match performance in 60 minutes this weekend.  Raheem Edwards provided yet another assist for Chicharito for an MLS leading 4th assist of the season.  Montreal's backline continues to struggle but Kamal Miller was able to provide his first assist of the season in a win.  Lastly, Pasher provided his first assist of the season off the bench giving him back to back games with goal contributions off the bench.

Canadian Player Minutes

Montreal - 1,871 minutes - 2,321 minutes including Goalkeeping

Toronto - 2,422 minutes

Vancouver - 1,299 minutes - 1,749 minutes including Goalkeeping

US MLS Teams - 1,129 minutes - 1,399 minutes including Goalkeeping

Stats provided by MLS.com.

Player	Team	Position	GP	GS	MP	G	A	P%
Raheem Edwards	Los Angeles	LW	5	5	450	0	4	84.7%
Kamal Miller	Montreal	CB	5	5	441	0	1	83.0%
Jonathan Osorio	Toronto	CM	5	5	420	2	2	86.4%
Mark Anthony Kaye	Colorado	CM	5	5	407	2	0	82.1%
Russell Teibert	Vancouver	CM	5	5	406	0	0	78.0%
Alistair Johnston	Montreal	RB	5	5	387	0	0	85.6%
Lucas Cavallini	Vancouver	ST	5	4	372	1	0	74.2%
Luca Petrasso	Toronto	RB	4	4	360	0	3	73.5%
Joel Waterman	Montreal	CB	4	4	360	0	0	86.6%
Ismael Kone	Montreal	CM	5	4	315	1	2	86.2%
Jayden Nelson	Toronto	RW	5	4	286	0	0	77.8%
Lukas MacNaughton	Toronto	CB	4	3	280	0	0	77.5%
Cristian Gutierrez	Vancouver	LB	4	2	242	0	0	86.2%
Jacob Shaffelburg	Toronto	LW	3	3	222	0	1	75.7%
Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty	Toronto	CM	4	3	197	0	0	87.9%
Kadin Chung	Toronto	CM	3	2	175	0	0	85.5%
Noble Okello	Toronto	CM	4	1	156	0	0	75.9%
Tesho Akindele	Orlando	ST	5	1	123	0	0	70.2%
Rida Zouhir	Montreal	CM	4	1	110	0	0	77.6%
Kosi Thompson	Toronto	CM	3	1	104	0	0	60.0%
Ryan Raposo	Vancouver	CM	4	1	103	1	0	76.9%
Doneil Henry	Los Angeles FC	CB	3	1	103	0	0	89.0%
Marcus Godinho	Vancouver	RB	3	1	96	0	0	85.7%
Mathieu Choiniere	Montreal	CM	2	1	94	0	0	87.5%
Zach Brault-Guillard	Montreal	RB	4	0	94	1	0	86.3%
Zorhan Bassong	Montreal	LB	2	1	70	0	0	89.5%
Michael Baldisimo	Vancouver	CM	2	1	66	0	0	77.8%
Tyler Pasher	Houston	ST	3	0	46	1	1	94.4%
Deandre Kerr	Toronto	ST	1	1	45	0	0	100.0%
Ralph Priso-Mbongue	Toronto	CM	2	0	45	0	0	76.5%
Tosaint Ricketts	Vancouver	ST	2	0	12	0	0	0.0%
Jordan Peruzza	Toronto	ST	2	0	9	0	0	75.0%
Emiliano Brienza	Vancouver	ST	1	0	2	0	0	83.3%
Callum Montgomery	Minnesota	CB
Tani Oluwaseyi	Minnesota	ST
Samuel Piette	Montreal	CM
Jean-Aniel Assi	Montreal	ST
Nathan-Dylan Saliba	Montreal	CM
Keesean Ferdinand	Montreal	CB
Karifa Yao	Montreal	CB
Tomas Giraldo	Montreal	CM
Sean Rea	Montreal	CM
O'Vonte Mullings	New York	ST
Ayo Akinola	Toronto	ST
Reshaun Wilkes	Toronto	ST
Luke Singh	Toronto (to FC Edmonton)	CB
Matteo Campagna	Vancouver	CM
Simon Colyn	Vancouver (to Jong PSV)	CM
Kamron Habibullah	Vancouver (to Pacific FC)	CM
Derek Cornelious	Vancouver (to Panetolikos)	CB
Damiano Pecile	Vancouver (to Venezia)	CM
Player	Team	Position	GP	GS	MP	S	GA	P%
Dayne St Clair	Minnesota	GK	3	3	270	14	2	56.3%
Maxime Crepeau	Los Angeles	GK	5	5	450	10	4	75.4%
Thomas Hasal	Vancouver	GK	5	5	450	19	9	51.0%
Sebastian Breza	Montreal (from Bologna)	GK	5	5	450	12	14	77.9%
James Pantemis	Montreal	GK
Greg Ranjitsingh	Toronto	GK
Isaac Boehmer	Vancouver	GK
Jonathan Sirois	Montreal	GK
Luka Gavran	Toronto	GK

Edited April 4, 2022 by Corazon

[narduch]

This is interesting news. Canada definitely should be in this one.

 

[Shway]

2 hours ago, narduch said:

This is interesting news. Canada definitely should be in this one.

 

was going to make a thread about this👀....I think this would be massive, as it was last time. Just better because Canada would definitely be involved. 

USA, Mexico - automatically qualified
Costa Rica - Copa Centramericana champs
Jamaica - Caribbean Cup Champs
Panama beat Cuba to qualify
Haiti beat Trinidad to qualify

We were 10th in ranking at the time and didn't qualify for the playoff. (We've came along way)
If they were to use the same format, we could see the very same 6 teams above but replacing Canada with Haiti.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Shway

[Obinna]

On 4/3/2022 at 4:32 PM, Gian-Luca said:

We played 25 matches from March 2021 to March 2022. None of which were friendlies. Not too many teams have done a stretch like that in 13 months. It did follow a period of inactivity due to COVID but still…

I wonder if this contributes to us playing like a “club team”? When you play that often in a short time it really is the closest you can get to a club environment in international soccer.