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Gold Cup - June 19th 2019 - Canada vs Mexico


apbsmith

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I think squad rotation is important, but I do not think any line-up decision for this game should be based on "resting" players for Cuba. You have to go for every game. 

I do hope Henry is ready, as I think we will need him.

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You have to think against Mexico Arfield and Hutchinson still start. I’m assuming Cavallini starts and maybe an unused sub or 2 start as well like zbg and Johnson. We can have a very different lineup than the first game and it will still look very good 

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This is set up very nicely with Mexico coming off a 7-0 result.  Let’s hope they are as naive as their fans and media and put us in the same boat as Cuba.  That would be perfect.

All the pressure is on them, they are playing in front of a Mexican crowd and expect to win.  

Their players have all played with or against our guys though so they couldn’t possibly be that naive?  Let’s hope they think the gold cup is going to be all fun and goals... we have a team of caged dogs who have been waiting for this moment.

Edited by CanadaFan123
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48 minutes ago, TFC07 said:

You go for win to avoid playing against Costa Rica in the quarter finals.  Plus, this is a good game to test our players to see how good they're against the best in CONCACAF.  

 

CMNT has depth to beat Cuba so that should be "rest" game.  

Of course you go for the win with the XI you put out but you don’t throw the kitchen sink at them tactically or lineup wise.  The semi final is most important and it would be great to avoid Costa Rica but it’s inevitable that we’ll play mexico again.

Just think how confused opposing managers are.  We have a talented squad, that is being commended for their togetherness BUT NO ONE knows how we’re gonna lineup tactically.  Why show anyone, even Costa Rica?  There is no footage of us or Herdman at men’s level - we are one of the more talented teams but a complete mystery and trap.

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Put the best performance vs Mexico now ! upset the odds and set Mexico in second place of the group . Make them play vs Costa Rica ! 

Unbalance what was planned for the organizers of the Gold Cup! win the group !  play vs Haiti or Nicaragua. Arrive  then at Semi Finals and shut up once and for all those who still do not believe in the potential of the CMNT. 

That everyone fears you in the next WCQ ! 

(But I have the feeling that Hermann will play conservatively,  waiting for the the battle in QF against Costa Rica)

 

Edited by xabuep2
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As a die hard supporter, as much as I want us to put out our best XI, I'm also a realist. I'll respect whatever Herdman decides to do. To be honest, I also want to see our best XI  lineup vs CRC, that's our WCQ benchmark in my eyes.

Not always a fan of being devil's advocate but to put things in perspective.... 

No one remembers England lost to Belgium in the group stage last World Cup, they remember England made it to the Semi's. England could have went for it to win the group, they prioritized the KO stage. No one remembers France tied Denmark in group stage, they remember France won the World Cup. Vise versa, most don't remember Denmark tied France, they remember Denmark got knocked out round of 16. 

Whichever 11 start for CMNT they will 100% go for it, that I am 100% confident and I am excited about. I'm cool with whoever Herdman rolls out.

It comes down to what Herdman wants to do, however there is a very valid argument because if win the group the path to Semi's is easier. However playing CRC best 11 vs our  best 11 also helps long term goal.

Edited by apbsmith
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^To be honest many believe that England didn’t prioritize winning the group because whoever finished 2nd in that group got the easy side of the bracket. Belgium also rested a number of players. If we lost we’d get a much harder game

We can go into the debate of having a poor losing mentality hurting you later in the tournament, but I would lean towards trying your best each game

Edited by Guest
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14 minutes ago, canta15 said:

We can go into the debate of having a poor losing mentality hurting you later in the tournament, but I would lean towards trying your best each game

There is no doubt that the players on the field will be giving it their all, but if we rest certain players or play in a style that doesn’t suit our personnel, then we can effectively try our best and justify a negative result all at the same time.

It also may serve to have the Mexican team overconfident for a future date. I caught some of the Costa Rica game and unless Nicaragua is really bad the rumours of their demise are greatly exaggerated.  Can’t wait for the next three games.

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Here's how I think we'll line up against Mexico:

------------------------Borjan-----------------

ZBG-Hutch(Henry)-Cornelius-MAK(AM)

-------------------------Piette----------------------------

-----------------Osorio----Arfield--------------------

Hoilett-------------Cavallini---------------Davies

Hutch/Henry - I think this could go either way and may depend on Henry and how fit he is. Henry may be the best choice if he's in a rhythm, but that's not likely coming off an injury. 

Kaye/Morgan - I believe there's an outside chance of Morgan starting here. He has CL experience against Mexican teams. He's a defend first fullback with good athleticism. He's fresh and Kaye isn't. Withholding Kaye may give us an athletic CM options off the bench, especially if Piette or someone else picks up a card. This becomes more likely if Hutchinson starts at CB in my opinion. If Hutchinson starts we can't very well bring him off the bench.

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Recovery time is very important especially for our older Euro based players who have just finished their season.....pushing it after just 2 days rest risks muscle injury.  We played in the heat of Pasadena and now face altitude vs the #1 team. I want a result vs Mexico as everyone else, but not at any cost. Henry has not played for almost a month??....does he risk going full throttle vs Mexico in his first start? I get the feeling he is not yet ready otherwise why would he not have started vs Martinique to test the hammy and get minutes?..

Edited by Kadenge
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2 hours ago, canta15 said:

^To be honest many believe that England didn’t prioritize winning the group because whoever finished 2nd in that group got the easy side of the bracket. Belgium also rested a number of players. If we lost we’d get a much harder game

We can go into the debate of having a poor losing mentality hurting you later in the tournament, but I would lean towards trying your best each game

Agree with you, but my point was more about squad rotation and how far you go in the tournament is what people remember and is usually what's more important. I'm sure you agree on that for the most part. Kind of comes back to my last paragraph, depends what Herdman thinks is best, lots of pros and cons on both sides.

Also, two points I kind of left out:

1) We have no idea what mexico might do this game, they might have massive squad rotation as they are already without a handful of their top players this tourney, so Martinez might want to get a look at them.

2) As a conspiracy theorist(semi-joking), say we win the group, what's stopping CRC from tanking the last game to finish 2nd and avoid Mexico 1st KO game, especially if Haiti beats Nicaragua?

That's why in my eyes, especially with point #2, I'd rather us get out of the group and be as healthy and fresh as possible for the KO stage.

 

Edited by apbsmith
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I'm actually not too concerned with winning the game on Wednesday. I know the scoreline looked favourable but i thought Costa Rica didnt look good at all yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a draw v Haiti. Nicaragua's backline was a total joke.

I think tomorrow you may see a goofy lineup again but come the last group stage game in order to start building you'll see a backline of

 

Davies Cornelius Henry ZBG 

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6 hours ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Just think how confused opposing managers are.  We have a talented squad, that is being commended for their togetherness BUT NO ONE knows how we’re gonna lineup tactically.  Why show anyone, even Costa Rica?  There is no footage of us or Herdman at men’s level - we are one of the more talented teams but a complete mystery and trap.

So, are you saying that it was a good thing that we didn't play any friendlies then, or at least, none that were televised....?  Otherwise we would've tipped our hand?  😎

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12 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

So, are you saying that it was a good thing that we didn't play any friendlies then, or at least, none that were televised....?  Otherwise we would've tipped our hand?  😎

Herdman coyly said in one of these Gold Cup articles somewhere that he didn't want to show all our cards to Mexico in case we ran into them in the semifinals. So heavy rotation seems likely.

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I'm really excited to watch this game for many obvious reasons, but also because it will a good evaluation of how John Herdman can prep and rally his teams for games. He talks about synergy, cohesion in tactics, etc. Likes to use these buzzwords. I've been happy with how Herdman has done so far, even with the lack of friendlies. But part of the justification for a lack of friendlies is to increase team bonding and shared identity.

This game vs Mexico is not a make or break for his tenure, but it will be the best and most gauge of his influence on the CANMNT so far.

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38 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

So, are you saying that it was a good thing that we didn't play any friendlies then, or at least, none that were televised....?  Otherwise we would've tipped our hand?  😎

I suppose in a way it might have been because our manager is a complete unknown.  Very unique situation that likely won’t happen again.

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