CONCACAF WCQ -Texas Tournament - Oct 4th-17th

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

12 hours ago, rkomar said:

I didn't see a draw occurring in this game at all.  Yes, CR missed a couple of chances that could have tied it, but we missed a ton of chances ourselves.  Overall, the game was pretty one-sided in our favour.

That said, I was disappointed with a lot of our player's performances.  Fleming and Matheson seemed off, Lawrence was quiet, the forwards should have buried some of those chances in the 18 yard box that came earlier,...  We aren't at our best, and I think that means we will lose to the Americans.  But that's okay, this isn't the tournament that counts.

I agree. But remember, If the Costa Rica goal keeper wouldn’t have dropped the ball (literally) twice. We would have only had 1 goal. 

I agree that Mathewson was poor. I also think our wingers weren’t great. Fleming was our best player on the night I think. But she really has the talent to dominate a team like Costa Rica, and she didn’t. Part of that was down to the rough play of Costa Rica though.

[nstarsfan]

I think the reality is that the team has declined in the past year rather than improved.  It could be the coach but I think the key really is declines from Buchanan, Lawrence and Beckie.  Further, Rose and Prince haven't grown much.  I don't think Europe is improving Buchanan and Lawrence.  They've lost something.  Beckie is struggling to improve and it may be time for them to just let another start in her spot up front.

I also think they don't necessarily use Matheson or Schmidt in their best roles.  They need to figure out the optimal midfield alignment and go from there.  I think the D is okay and will not be an issue if the rest of the team plays better.

There's also something to be learned from how Portland uses Sincy.  That might make tons more sense here as well.

The US is much deeper.  When we have to talk about half the starters not playing as well as they have in the past, there is no question depth is an issue.  Also, I think there is more killer instinct on the US.  Sincy and Matheson are the only ones I see doing that for Canada though I thought Lawrence showed it last year.

They need to address why players development has stalled.

[rkomar]

Perhaps it's more an issue of pre-tournament preparation.  The team was together for weeks before the Olympics, and the players had time to get to know each other's tendencies.  Now they seem less sure about what the other will do, so are reluctant to try risky plays.  I thought their last game was the best so far in terms of connections between the players, so maybe we can expect even more improvements that way over the next two games.

[Vic]

I swear that keeper couldn't catch a beach ball. On the other hand the Cubans let in about 30 but both their goalkeepers made some great stops.

Three Canada/US age factoids:

1. Half our roster is U24 while only two Americans are U24
2. Half the US roster is between 26-30 while only two Canadians are between 26-30 (a lot of women hit their prime in their late 20s)
3. There are only a handful of field players over 30 on both teams combined with Lloyd the oldest at 36

[rkomar]

Yeah, we have a big hole in our team's age distribution.  We didn't seem to get much new blood in those years just before Herdman arrived.  Thanks goodness he made changing that a priority.

[DoyleG]

On ‎10‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 4:44 PM, rkomar said:

Perhaps it's more an issue of pre-tournament preparation.  The team was together for weeks before the Olympics, and the players had time to get to know each other's tendencies.  Now they seem less sure about what the other will do, so are reluctant to try risky plays.  I thought their last game was the best so far in terms of connections between the players, so maybe we can expect even more improvements that way over the next two games.

The more of a training camp that you have, the better a team has to gel and learn what your teammates are capable of. This tournament doesn't help with its small size and basically only needing to win a SF to qualify.

The league issues don't seem to jive when you see the problems the NWSL has been having. Boston folding the way it did an Sky Blue being nothing more than a patient waiting for life support to be switched off. Having the USWNT players paid by the USSF takes away a financial issues, but it leaves the players feeling less loyal to the clubs that they are a part of. This can be seen when Lloyd walked away from the Dash for "personal reasons" after the Rio Olympics. All the complaints about the unfair prize money from FIFA but nothing as equal in regards to the NWSL from the player pool.

[Vic]

Semi is today at 5:00pm Eastern / 2:00pm Pacific

The homepage of oz.com will have the streaming link

From concacaf.com:

That pitch at the stadium could be a bit water-logged given the weather in the north Dallas area. The weather forecast calls for rain Sunday afternoon after thunderstorms pounded the area Saturday morning.

"It depends if it's clear water on the pitch,"  Heiner-Møller commented. "It definitely will have an impact on the game and how we'll approach things. We're pretty prepared. i think what we pride us is that we are a very apdpatable team. Hopefully the weather will be with us.

Heiner-Møller called his opponents "the surprise Panama."

"They have been doing a great group stage as well," he finished. "If you look at the match they had against Mexico [a 2-0 win], it was something that was about to happen. You could see it in the game. They were good putting on a great performance."

17 year-old goalkeepers PK stop in the highlights:

[Vic]

Toronto Star leads the way:
Panamanian ’keeper stands between Canada and women’s World Cup berth

With the National Post publishing:
US guards against overconfidence in World Cup qualifying

The National Post's soccer page:

Nothing on the women, well kind of. You have a story on Pussy Riot and another on Jade Kovacevic. 

The US women have an older roster because they have a pathway. You play U15, U16, U17, U18, U19, U20, U23 and compete in tournaments around the world and then you roll senior. They have as good or better youth players than we do, they just graduate them through a journey. Where there are players who transcend youth programs they move them along quicker, but it's the exception rather than the norm.

If we had the luxury of that kind of funding we'd be closer in age bands to them. But with less activity and funding we have to push players up sooner to get them in quality programming.

If we were a country with a domestic league where everyone 15-up was contracted and played and week-in and week-out had eyes on them and their results, Kovacevic's absence would be scandalous.

Can't imagine how frustrating it must be for older talented players like her to sit and watch it all. Especially knowing some of those teenagers are in their third CONCACAF tournament of the year.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Anybody out there watching on FoxSports1?

[Medic1849]

Where’s the commentating?..  watching the OZ feed

[Joe MacCarthy]

Panama not starting their goalie sensation?

[toontownman]

9 to go. Great header from Sinclair. Been a frustrating game. 

[dyslexic nam]

Boom.  Goal.  SinclaIr.

[Jith12]

I've been impressed by Grosso so far. Hopefully the floodgates open now.

[dyslexic nam]

5 minutes ago, Jith12 said:

Hopefully the floodgates open now.

You are clearly a witch.

[toontownman]

8 to go. 

Can she actually beat the record?

 

 

In this game?

[dyslexic nam]

5 minutes ago, toontownman said:

8 to go. 

Can she actually beat the record?

 

 

In this game?

Not if the others keep scoring,,,

[toontownman]

1 minute ago, dyslexic nam said:

Not if the others keep scoring,,,

It's so selfish! lol. 

[dyslexic nam]

It is great to see the talent we have ready to step up and fill the undeniable vacuum that Sinclair will leave when she retires. 

[toontownman]

Great job ladies. Very professional performance in the end. Didn't get overly frustrated in the first have and the quality shone through. Congratulations. 

Another great step forwards for Canada Soccer 

Flemming was exceptional, Leon was composed and Prince looked great out wide when she came on. Definitely lots of young players coming through to build with. 

[Vic]

Damn, had people drop in unexpectedly and finished dinner and then realized I completely forgot about the game. Hope they have a way to watch a replay.

Should be an interesting final. The #1 ranked Americans are our first opponent in the tournament ranked higher than #34.

Stat: Canada has tied two of the last three senior games with the United States

[The Ref]

3 hours ago, Vic said:

Damn, had people drop in unexpectedly and finished dinner and then realized I completely forgot about the game. Hope they have a way to watch a replay.

Should be an interesting final. The #1 ranked Americans are our first opponent in the tournament ranked higher than #34.

Stat: Canada has tied two of the last three senior games with the United States

When was the last time Canada beat the U.S.? and what was the lineup?

 

[Vic]

Can't find anything on it but I think we beat their U23 team in a tournament somewhere in South America.

For a full senior team there are three.

2001 but it was a dodgy US lineup so doesn't really count:

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2014/03/17/12/11/u-s-womens-national-team-falls-to-canada-3-0-to-open-algarve-cup

For a "real" US roster in was in 2000:

https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/13511/us-women-usa-1-canada-3-summary.html

Pearce (Rampone), Fawcett, Sobrero (Markgraf), Overbeck, Chastain, Parlow, Lilly, Foudy, MacMillan, Milbrett, Hamm, etc

They outshot us 29-9 and 15-4 on net but Siri Mullinex let in 3 of the 4 shots she faced.

The other win was 2-1 in 1986

This is a great read on it:
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/uswnt-canada-soccer-rivalry-first-games-history 

Interesting read on that era.

• National team budget of $12,000
• 10,000 players playing
• "A highly regionalized system... [club] players usually compete within their provinces." Here we are a third of a century later and the game has grown by a factor of 50-100 times and that statement still holds true.

Anyone else old enough to remember the Willingdon Dirty Dozen?

[The Ref]

Thanks so much Vic.  This is great piece of history.  Full points for such a great post.

Really! we have not beaten the U.S. women in 18 years, wow!  I met Serwetnyk once plus a few more of the old guard a few years back.  Of the newer players I really enjoyed talking with Diana Matheson, a great person.

[Symp_Res]

My thoughts.

I thought many of their games, they started off nervous. Though, it may be that they are still trying to implement some changes that Heiner-Moeller wants to make.  Thoughts on some individual players:

- Prince: I think she has solidified her role with the team.  Her speed and skill out wide spreads the defence and opens up space in the box. She's aware of where and when to make her runs to the middle to create overlaps and leave her defenders behind. Needless to say, very impressed with her on the wing and I think she has a large role to play for the Nats going forward. Ther is much less reliance on Chapman or Lawrence running the wing when Nichelle is playing;

- Beckie: Was very influential against Panama, but had some rough games.  She has good pace going forward. A beautiful cross to Sinclair for the first goal. I do think her goal against Costa Rica was offside (BTW, the one called back was NOT offside), but I will never advocate for any goal by Beckie to be called back. Rack 'em up!! I don't think that her best position is out wide however.  She should be central, playing a more offensive role (less need for her to support defensively).  I'm hoping she keeps scoring and continues getting better;

- Fleming: I am a big Fleming fan, but she has had a rough tourney, although her performance againt Panama was very good. I'm not sure if she was just recovering from her injury, or if she is losing her progression from playing at UCLA. In certain ways, she reminds me of Tobin Heath in that she is so confident in her footwork on the ball, that she holds onto it too long. This allows the opposition to come into her hard, and she takes a beating on the field. She is still a very important part moving forward;

- Schmidt: Works her butt off, but seems to me she is becoming more and more detrimental to the team. A LOT of turn overs and poor passing. I've always been a fan of hers, but it feels like her time is coming to a close. 

- Rosso: Young, but has a good understanding of the game. She got into good positions in support of her teammates when in possession. Though I think her distribution with the ball has been poor. She has room to grow, and should be part of the program going forward;

- Leon: Very impressed with her passion and attitude. She never stops pressuring the defenders and has a great touch around goal. She seems to have a great understanding with Nichelle Prince. Lots of speed, tenacity in the attacking third, and a real nose for goal. Good on her. For a player that was on the outside looking in, she has (in my opinion) solidified her spot on the team. Having said that, I'm still not sure where she fits in the team. Is she a starter or is she a super-sub? None the less, I'd like to see her and Prince play together more;

- Matheson: 200 caps!! Congratulations! The consummate professional. Sometimes she is unnoticable on the field, but she very rarely makes mistakes; and finally

- Sinclair: Still has a nose for goal and will undoubtably surpass Wambach in goals scored...Canadian to the core. However, I have believed for the last number of years that the CanWNT has relied on Sinclair for way too long. She is not the player she was a few years ago. She still draws defenders to her, and can make your jaw drop with the space she creates and the chances that she creates, but there still seems to be a mentality that everything needs to go through her. The "support" players are the ones that are leading this team into the future.

TL;DR: Good job ladies!! Go out and beat the US (preferrably at the WWC)!!