Stance on Qatar 2022

[Guest Tg11]

Then in that case then I guess that makes sense

[Kent]

16 hours ago, Robert said:

p.s. the Olympics are for losers. How many World Cup champions have competed in the Olympics? A lot less than the couple who never have!

I brought up the Olympics in the context of hockey, and it looks like you are talking about it in the context of soccer. In hockey from 1998 through 2014 it was the best measure of which nation is actually the best, since it involved NHL players, and didn't exclude the ones that are still in the playoffs. So it was to hockey what the World Cup is to soccer.

[Guest Tg11]

If Canada manages to get through the CONCACAF Nations League to qualify for the 2019 Gold Cup, then if Canada does do well either as quarter finalists or as semi finalists then there would at least be reason for all of us to hope that they can get to the Hex and qualify for Qatar.

[shorty]

Of course, if we win all of our games, we will probably do very well, on the other hand we might not win all of our games then we won't. Anything is possible. 

[Robert]

10 hours ago, Kent said:

I brought up the Olympics in the context of hockey, and it looks like you are talking about it in the context of soccer. In hockey from 1998 through 2014 it was the best measure of which nation is actually the best, since it involved NHL players, and didn't exclude the ones that are still in the playoffs. So it was to hockey what the World Cup is to soccer.

That's like comparing pumpkins to wolffias.

209 FIFA member associations, minus automatically qualified hosts Russia, applied to enter the qualifying process for the 2018 World Cup.

Qualification for the 2018 PyeongChang men's tournament was determined by the IIHF World Ranking. The host along with the top 8 teams in the world ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, while the remaining 29 teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining 3 spots.

Qualifying seed	Team	WC 2015	WC 2014	OLY 2014	WC 2013	WC 2012	Total
1	Canada	1200	795	900	530	265	3690
2	Russia	1160	900	795	520	300	3675
3	Sweden	1060	840	870	600	260	3630
4	Finland	1040	870	840	550	275	3575
5	United States	1120	780	825	560	255	3540
6	Czech Republic	1100	825	780	510	280	3495
7	Switzerland	1000	705	720	580	230	3235
8	Slovakia	960	720	690	500	290	3160
9	Belarus	1020	765	645	430	215	3075
10	Latvia	880	690	750	460	235	3015
11	Norway	920	675	675	470	250	2990
12	France	900	750	600	440	240	2930
13	Germany	940	645	630	480	225	2920
14	Slovenia	820	600	765	410	200	2795
15	Denmark	860	660	585	450	220	2775
16	Austria	840	585	705	420	195	2745
17	Kazakhstan	800	615	660	400	205	2680
18	Italy	720	630	615	390	210	2565
19	Hungary	780	540	525	380	190	2415
20	Japan	740	570	480	370	185	2345
21	Ukraine	700	555	540	340	175	2310
22	Poland	760	510	510	330	165	2275
Hosts	South Korea	680	525	495	360	170	2230
23	Great Britain	660	465	570	350	180	2225
24	Netherlands	580	450	555	320	160	2065
25	Lithuania	640	480	465	300	150	2035
26	Croatia	620	495	405	280	130	1930
27	Romania	560	435	435	310	155	1895
28	Estonia	600	420	420	290	140	1870
29	Serbia	520	390	375	240	120	1645
30	Spain	500	330	450	230	135	1645
31	Mexico	400	315	390	200	95	1400
32	Israel	360	345	360	220	90	1375
	Belgium	540	360	0	270	110	1280
33	Iceland	480	405	0	260	125	1270
	Australia	460	375	0	250	145	1230
	New Zealand	420	300	0	210	115	1045
34	China	440	285	0	190	105	1020
35	Bulgaria	380	240	0	170	100	890
	South Africa	340	270	0	160	85	855
	Turkey	300	255	0	180	80	815
	North Korea	320	225	0	150	75	770
	Luxembourg	280	210	0	140	70	700
	United Arab Emirates	220	180	0	110	0	510
36	Georgia	240	165	0	90	0	495
	Hong Kong	260	195	0	0	0	455
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	200	0	0	0	0	200

Q

Edited July 5, 2018 by Robert

[Robert]

No disrespect to the Herzegovinians, but I pretty sure that all 31 NHL teams could kick their butts.?

[Kent]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

That's like comparing pumpkins to wolffias.

209 FIFA member associations, minus automatically qualified hosts Russia, applied to enter the qualifying process for the 2018 World Cup.

Qualification for the 2018 PyeongChang men's tournament was determined by the IIHF World Ranking. The host along with the top 8 teams in the world ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, while the remaining 29 teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining 3 spots.

I’m sorry. I thought you would be able to follow a conversation. I was just refuting your claim that Canada is irrelevant in hockey. I mostly assumed you were joking or just being hyperbolic, but now I’m not so sure. You probably believe what you originally wrote because of a lack of Stanley Cup wins despite you quoting rankings with Canada on the top of the list. I also assumed you would understand a comparison. Olympics in hockey was the only best on best international tournament. World Cup in Soccer is the only best on best international tournament. I wasn’t trying to claim hockey is as wide spread or popular as soccer.

I feel like there is a percentage of your posts that are sarcastic, but it’s impssible to tell which ones because they are no less crazy than your sincere posts. I suppose I look foolish to you now if this whole exchange was sarcastic in your mind.

[Robert]

1 hour ago, Kent said:

I’m sorry. I thought you would be able to follow a conversation. I was just refuting your claim that Canada is irrelevant in hockey. I mostly assumed you were joking or just being hyperbolic, but now I’m not so sure. You probably believe what you originally wrote because of a lack of Stanley Cup wins despite you quoting rankings with Canada on the top of the list. I also assumed you would understand a comparison. Olympics in hockey was the only best on best international tournament. World Cup in Soccer is the only best on best international tournament. I wasn’t trying to claim hockey is as wide spread or popular as soccer.

I feel like there is a percentage of your posts that are sarcastic, but it’s impssible to tell which ones because they are no less crazy than your sincere posts. I suppose I look foolish to you now if this whole exchange was sarcastic in your mind.

(The following is not intended to be sarcastic.) The point that I was trying to make is: that internationally-speaking, at the highest level of competition, whether that be soccer or hockey, Canada is not perceived as being relevant. Nobody, aside from die-hard Canadian soccer supporters like us, has noticed Canada's absence from World Cup Finals for the past 40 years. However, every die-hard soccer fan around the world has noticed the absence of the United States, Italy and the Netherlands at Russia 2018.

In Olympic hockey you have a handful of countries in total that are relevant. Like no ones was talking about how the African countries might do, because like Canada in soccer, African countries in hockey just aren't relevant. The highest level of competitive hockey in the NHL, and just like at World Cup soccer finals, Canadian teams just aren't that relevant aboard. Hockey fans in Nashville or Florida care jack-shit about Canadian teams.

Maybe, the fact that Canadian men do not achieve very much in top-flight international team sporting competitions has something to do with the high standard of living we enjoy in this country, and consequently sports just don't rank as high on our list of priorities as do are elsewhere. It pisses me off far more than anyone on this board when we lose out to fucking Honduras every four years, and fail to make it to the HEX. Maybe my sarcasm is a little bit too much for some of the pussies on this board to handle. And yeah, that's right. If you (not you specifically Kent), but you collectively are offended by my sarcasm, then in my opinion you're a fucking pussy. I know we all have to lose sometimes, but I hate fucking losing, and I hate fucking losing time after time even more!

[gigi riva]

A winter  world  cup  would  be great. It would break the monotony  of Hockey. And at the same time piss off the puckheads I know

[Guest Tg11]

Yeah it would coincide with the NHL but also the NBA but that aside the domestic club seasons all over the world in Europe, US, Asia, etc. would be affected though

[Kent]

9 hours ago, Robert said:

(The following is not intended to be sarcastic.) The point that I was trying to make is: that internationally-speaking, at the highest level of competition, whether that be soccer or hockey, Canada is not perceived as being relevant. Nobody, aside from die-hard Canadian soccer supporters like us, has noticed Canada's absence from World Cup Finals for the past 40 years. However, every die-hard soccer fan around the world has noticed the absence of the United States, Italy and the Netherlands at Russia 2018.

In Olympic hockey you have a handful of countries in total that are relevant. Like no ones was talking about how the African countries might do, because like Canada in soccer, African countries in hockey just aren't relevant. The highest level of competitive hockey in the NHL, and just like at World Cup soccer finals, Canadian teams just aren't that relevant aboard. Hockey fans in Nashville or Florida care jack-shit about Canadian teams.

Maybe, the fact that Canadian men do not achieve very much in top-flight international team sporting competitions has something to do with the high standard of living we enjoy in this country, and consequently sports just don't rank as high on our list of priorities as do are elsewhere. It pisses me off far more than anyone on this board when we lose out to fucking Honduras every four years, and fail to make it to the HEX. Maybe my sarcasm is a little bit too much for some of the pussies on this board to handle. And yeah, that's right. If you (not you specifically Kent), but you collectively are offended by my sarcasm, then in my opinion you're a fucking pussy. I know we all have to lose sometimes, but I hate fucking losing, and I hate fucking losing time after time even more!

OK, then by your logic about the NHL being the only relevant hockey competition, that would mean that only USA is relevant in hockey. Not Canada, and not any European countries. That would also mean South American countries are not relevant in soccer, because unlike what you are suggesting, the World Cup is not the top level of soccer. The UEFA Champions League is the top level of soccer. And since by your criteria the nationality of the players involved in pro soccer doesn't matter (or else the fact that Canadian players populate nearly half of the NHL would make Canada relevant), even though you have players like Messi and Neymar competing in the Champions League, their countries aren't relevant because their countries don't have teams in the UEFA Champions League.

Points you made that I agree with are, yes, Canada is definitely irrelevant in international soccer on the men's side. And yes, I also get very upset every 4 years when we lose and fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.

[Robert]

29 minutes ago, Kent said:

OK, then by your logic about the NHL being the only relevant hockey competition, that would mean that only USA is relevant in hockey. Not Canada, and not any European countries. That would also mean South American countries are not relevant in soccer, because unlike what you are suggesting, the World Cup is not the top level of soccer. The UEFA Champions League is the top level of soccer. And since by your criteria the nationality of the players involved in pro soccer doesn't matter (or else the fact that Canadian players populate nearly half of the NHL would make Canada relevant), even though you have players like Messi and Neymar competing in the Champions League, their countries aren't relevant because their countries don't have teams in the UEFA Champions League.

Points you made that I agree with are, yes, Canada is definitely irrelevant in international soccer on the men's side. And yes, I also get very upset every 4 years when we lose and fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.

Can you name a country besides Canada and the United States that is relevant in Women's Olympic hockey? And any American NHL team could surely kick the crap out of the Canadian Men's Olympic team, right? I know that's a sore spot, because it's our national game (even though there is evidence that it was invented in the Netherlands?(sarcasm)). And yes, I have always believed that Owen Hargreaves was relevant. So did Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

I glad we are able to agree on the most important points.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Robert

[Guest Tg11]

If we can at least go far in the 2019 Gold Cup or even win it all which is a far stretch; my expectations are low. Let's say for sake of argument Canada manages to surprise everyone in the tournament then Canada would probably have as good a chance as the other teams in CONCACAF to maybe qualify for Qatar in 4 years time. However, what matters is making the Hex. If they do that then it is possible to qualify. What matters is getting favorable results against teams like USA, Mexico and or Costa Rica. Because they are gonna be the big competition in the Hex still in 4 years time.

[Vic]

26 minutes ago, Robert said:

 I know that's a sore spot, because it's our national game (even though there is evidence that it was invented in the Netherlands?(sarcasm)).

I saw this in person. As a Canadian it was truly fascinating and stunning when doing the math of our brief history.

[SkuseisLoose]

3 hours ago, Robert said:

Can you name a country besides Canada and the United States that is relevant in Women's Olympic hockey? And any American NHL team could surely kick the crap out of the Canadian Men's Olympic team, right? I know that's a sore spot, because it's our national game (even though there is evidence that it was invented in the Netherlands?(sarcasm)). And yes, I have always believed that Owen Hargreaves was relevant. So did Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

I glad we are able to agree on the most important points.

Not without their Canadian players who would be playing for the Olympic team. Except if you mean this Olympic team where nhl players didn’t compete which isn’t a fair comparison since in other more recent years they have competed and dominated.

 

[Robert]

6 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

Not without their Canadian players who would be playing for the Olympic team. Except if you mean this Olympic team where nhl players didn’t compete which isn’t a fair comparison since in other more recent years they have competed and dominated.

 

I've had enough about Canada's dream team without any tough guys. Olympic hockey is right up there with the NHL's all-stars game. That's not real competition in my book.

Anyhow, my stance on Qatar is that Canada should use whatever number of World Cup qualifiers we play in the years leading up to 2022 as a stepping stone for the World Cup Final in 2026. It is crucial that Canada does not go two and out in 2026. If the game is ever to catch on in this country, 2026 is going to be the opportunity to do so. Two losses and no goals scored isn't going to win any youngsters over. With this in mind, Canada should not use any players in the upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifiers that are going to be older than 32 years of age come 2026. In other words no players born after January 1, 1995. If the younger crop qualifies for the HEX, then great! That would be promising for 2026. If they qualify for Qatar, then things are really starting to look up for us. Using older players for 2022, will almost certainly mean that Canada will not qualify for 2030, and if that happens, the once in a century opportunity will be lost. Canada needs to make it to back to back World Cup finals if we are ever going to be relevant.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Robert

[1996]

16 hours ago, Robert said:

I've had enough about Canada's dream team without any tough guys. Olympic hockey is right up there with the NHL's all-stars game. That's not real competition in my book.

Anyhow, my stance on Qatar is that Canada should use whatever number of World Cup qualifiers we play in the years leading up to 2022 as a stepping stone for the World Cup Final in 2026. It is crucial that Canada does not go two and out in 2026. If the game is ever to catch on in this country, 2026 is going to be the opportunity to do so. Two losses and no goals scored isn't going to win any youngsters over. With this in mind, Canada should not use any players in the upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifiers that are going to be older than 32 years of age come 2026. In other words no players born after January 1, 1995. If the younger crop qualifies for the HEX, then great! That would be promising for 2026. If they qualify for Qatar, then things are really starting to look up for us. Using older players for 2022, will almost certainly mean that Canada will not qualify for 2030, and if that happens, the once in a century opportunity will be lost. Canada needs to make it to back to back World Cup finals if we are ever going to be relevant.

I love it when I hear the phrase “ if the game is ever going to catch on in this country “, I think it already has, just look at the amount of soccer on TV from some of the top leagues in the World plus all of the major tournaments , plus our 3 MLS teams drawing well, all the kids that play soccer and now a national league from coast to coast. It’s already got on in Canada and just a matter of time that we start producing a lot of quality players. It’s part of the Canadian sporting landscape just like all the other sports here in Canada, the 2026 World Cup will just make it even bigger .

[Guest Tg11]

17 minutes ago, 1996 said:

I love it when I hear the phrase “ if the game is ever going to catch on in this country “, I think it already has, just look at the amount of soccer on TV from some of the top leagues in the World plus all of the major tournaments , plus our 3 MLS teams drawing well, all the kids that play soccer and now a national league from coast to coast. It’s already got on in Canada and just a matter of time that we start producing a lot of quality players. It’s part of the Canadian sporting landscape just like all the other sports here in Canada, the 2026 World Cup will just make it even bigger .

Yes soccer has caught on but it isn't really a national sport but that doesn't mean that that can't change because it can

[longlugan]

On 7/5/2018 at 12:04 AM, Robert said:

(The following is not intended to be sarcastic.) The point that I was trying to make is: that internationally-speaking, at the highest level of competition, whether that be soccer or hockey, Canada is not perceived as being relevant. Nobody, aside from die-hard Canadian soccer supporters like us, has noticed Canada's absence from World Cup Finals for the past 40 years. However, every die-hard soccer fan around the world has noticed the absence of the United States, Italy and the Netherlands at Russia 2018.

In Olympic hockey you have a handful of countries in total that are relevant. Like no ones was talking about how the African countries might do, because like Canada in soccer, African countries in hockey just aren't relevant. The highest level of competitive hockey in the NHL, and just like at World Cup soccer finals, Canadian teams just aren't that relevant aboard. Hockey fans in Nashville or Florida care jack-shit about Canadian teams.

Maybe, the fact that Canadian men do not achieve very much in top-flight international team sporting competitions has something to do with the high standard of living we enjoy in this country, and consequently sports just don't rank as high on our list of priorities as do are elsewhere. It pisses me off far more than anyone on this board when we lose out to fucking Honduras every four years, and fail to make it to the HEX. Maybe my sarcasm is a little bit too much for some of the pussies on this board to handle. And yeah, that's right. If you (not you specifically Kent), but you collectively are offended by my sarcasm, then in my opinion you're a fucking pussy. I know we all have to lose sometimes, but I hate fucking losing, and I hate fucking losing time after time even more!

Your posts make me yearn for Tg11's intellectually superior contributions to this board. You truly need to give your head a shake and start doing at least as much research as Tg11 does before posting. You've gone beyond the point of being even mildly entertaining. 

[gigi riva]

Here is  something  instead  of  whining  lets  try  to  qualify  for  Qatar  

[Guest Tg11]

24 minutes ago, gigi riva said:

Here is  something  instead  of  whining  lets  try  to  qualify  for  Qatar  

Yeah I know right

[matty]

On 7/5/2018 at 12:15 AM, gigi riva said:

A winter  world  cup  would  be great. It would break the monotony  of Hockey. And at the same time piss off the puckheads I know

Winter World Cup would likely get the fuck kicked out of it by NHL, NBA, NFL and college football in Canada and the US when it comes to ratings. Somehow NBA highlights will out perform Serbia vs. Uzbekistan.

Edited July 7, 2018 by matty

[MtlMario]

8 hours ago, matty said:

Winter World Cup would likely get the fuck kicked out of it by NHL, NBA, NFL and college football in Canada and the US when it comes to ratings. Somehow NBA highlights will out perform Serbia vs. Uzbekistan.

How do you think highlights of Canada vs Italy(or anybody else for that matter) would do??

[Guest Tg11]

Canada has never been on the world stage since Mexico 86 and if they do qualify for Qatar 2022 yeah it will be 36 years since they have last been there. However, Canada playing in a Winter World Cup definitely would be something to see that's for sure especially if they qualify in the next 4 years. Canada definitely have the talent to qualify for Qatar but in the Hex going up against superior teams who have talent especially in the CONCACAF region like Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Honduras, etc. let me ask you do you think Canada has what it takes to qualify over those teams? I am posing that question to you especially with the depth Canada has now as opposed to recent memory.

[dyslexic nam]

Canada irrelevant in hockey?

Lol.  Jesus Christ...