The Road to Qatar.

[narduch]

4 hours ago, canadafan101 said:

When is this really late April Fool's joke going to be over and they announce the real qualifying format?

We're fucked. 

Because of Nations League they pretty much can't change qualifying now. 

The old system would have needed to start this   September 

[xabuep2]

3 hours ago, Binky said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but I still don't fully understand how the new CONCACAF World Cup qualifying format will work.

I understand the part where the top six CONCACAF countries in the FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings of June 2020 will compete in the Hexagonal section of qualifying, and that the top three countries in the HEX will qualify for Qatar 2022. I also understand that the fourth place finisher of the HEX will play the winner of the Best of the Rest section in a home and home series for the right to contest a country from another confederation in a home and home series from a place in the 2022 World Cup Final.

However, the part I'm not understanding clearly is how the Best of the Rest countries will be divided into groups for the Group Stage.

1) Will each of these 8 groups contain one seeded country?

2) If so, will these 8 seeded countries be the top 7th to 14th CONCACAF countries in the FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings of June 2020?

3) How will the remaining 21 countries be divided into pots for the draw?

4) Has this part of the format already been announced?

5) If not, when will it be announced?

I sure hope that Mt. Vic will not wait until May of 2020 before announcing the full details of his new format, in order to give FIFA ample time to correct things, just in case Mt. Vic makes a meal of it again!

If at the end only one country plays for the play off, it doesn't matter when facing Haiti or Panama. . Sorry but this "apartheid" format takes away the enthusiasm. I wonder if spectators will go to the stadiums.

I share what the President of the Haitian Football Federation thinks about this format :

“Ce nouveau format des éliminatoires de la CONCACAF est un acte terrible, un déni de toute forme de transparence et de justice. La Coupe du Monde devrait être réservée à tous les membres de la FIFA, avec égale chance de participation"  

"This new format of the CONCACAF qualifiers is a terrible act, a denial of any form of transparency and justice. The World Cup should be reserved for all FIFA members, with equal opportunity to participate.

https://haititempo.com/qualif-qatar-2022-dadou-critique-le-nouveau-format-de-la-concacaf/

[An Observer]

3 hours ago, Lofty said:

I'm looking forward to WCQ. For a change we will be playing in it until much later than before. We will start off with 4 or 6 consecutive wins against minnows.

Then we should be strong favourites in a home and away match up. After that it gets interesting. Another home and away match up where we might be slight favourites (Haiti?) and, if we win that, another home and away (Panama?) to advance to the play off against Hexagonal #4. And if we can't get that far then we weren't going to finsh in the Hexagonal top 4 anyway.

We will be consistent winners, full of confidence. Hexagonal #4 will be net losers, 4th out of 6. Let the games begin!

While I agree with a lot of what you say, the full confidence from beating up minnows doesn’t prepare you for the pressure matches (eg QF against Haiti). That being said I can see a slow build of momentum happening round by round as the youth grows into their talent which could carry us deep if not through to the World Cup.  But all it takes is a bad match or a bad break or two to put you out as effectively you need to win 5 two game playoffs to get through. 

That being said, I look forward to at least be cheering for Canada deep into qualifying. In the last number of world cups we have been out when European qualifying is really just getting into the swing of things. 

Edited July 31, 2019 by An Observer

[apbsmith]

I just hope the CONCACAF home and away matchups don't mimic the amount of epic upsets that occurred in home and aways in last year Champions League legs. Pretty sure it was over 50% in CL home and aways where it was the underdog team that prevailed and advanced.

Anyways, I'm keeping the faith we sneak into hex. 

I honestly don't think there is a huge gap between #2&#8 in CONCACAF this cycle, that's why it is frustrating for me. Same reason Haitian president is frustrated, same reason Herdman is frustrated.  If we were talking US & Costa Rica of 2014, I'd just be like meh, cause #4 would be all we would be fighting for(remember Mexico finished 4th that cycle). 

This cycle I would not even call US firmly as #2, nor Costa Rica as firmly #3 either. As of right now in my eyes it seems super wide open from #2-#8 and that's not even including Haiti.

I'm obviously super pro Canadian here, and my above opinion could very well change after our US matches this fall. 

Anyways I'm super pumped for meaningful matches this fall, so that is one huge positive. 

Edited July 31, 2019 by apbsmith

[Binky]

2 hours ago, xabuep2 said:

If at the end only one country plays for the play off, it doesn't matter when facing Haiti or Panama. . Sorry but this "apartheid" format takes away the enthusiasm. I wonder if spectators will go to the stadiums.

I share what the President of the Haitian Football Federation thinks about this format :

“Ce nouveau format des éliminatoires de la CONCACAF est un acte terrible, un déni de toute forme de transparence et de justice. La Coupe du Monde devrait être réservée à tous les membres de la FIFA, avec égale chance de participation"  

"This new format of the CONCACAF qualifiers is a terrible act, a denial of any form of transparency and justice. The World Cup should be reserved for all FIFA members, with equal opportunity to participate.

https://haititempo.com/qualif-qatar-2022-dadou-critique-le-nouveau-format-de-la-concacaf/

I agree wholeheartedly! If Canada does not qualify for the HEX, I will definitely lose my enthusiasm for the Canadian Road to Qatar. I have more than had my fill of World Cup qualifiers against CONCACAF minnows. I might get interest again, when and if Canada gets as far as the 7th place Best of the Rest matches against the 4th place HEX finisher. Until we get that far, I have absolutely no more interest in the CMNT program than the casual Canadian soccer observer.

Posts like the following just make me howl:

"We will start off with 4 or 6 consecutive wins against minnows." When was the last time we started off 4 or 6 consecutive wins against minnows? Just for the record, let's look a the last two World Cup campaigns:

2018

2-0 & 4-0 vs. Dominica

3-0 & 1-1 vs. Belize

2014

0-0 & 3-0 vs. Puerto Rico

0-0 & 4-0 vs. St. Kitts & Nevis

4-1 & 7-0 vs. Saint Lucia 

"Then we should be strong favourites in a home and away match up."

Did not turn out to be the case in either 2018 or 2014, as in each case we got knocked out in the next round.

"After that it gets interesting."

I guess if you call receiving a 1-8 beating in San Pedro Sula interesting, then you got this one pegged.

"We will be consistent winners, full of confidence."

Has never happened before. What makes you feel so confident this time around? Losing a 2 goal lead to Haiti, maybe?

"Let the games begin!"

Oh yesss! Bring on them minnows! I'm soooo excited, that I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!

Silly little boy.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Binky

[canadafan101]

14 hours ago, narduch said:

We're ******. 

Because of Nations League they pretty much can't change qualifying now. 

The old system would have needed to start this   September 

What the hell was the point of Nations League? Other than FIFA Rankings has 0 purpose. If they wanted it, it should have served as real factual world cup qualifying and they should have told every CONCACAF Nation prior to starting. Us qualifying for League A served no purpose in making it to a world cup, we could win this nations league (and even let's say we won the gold cup) and still be out of the world cup prior to qualifying beginning 

[Binky]

3 hours ago, canadafan101 said:

What the hell was the point of Nations League? Other than FIFA Rankings has 0 purpose. If they wanted it, it should have served as real factual world cup qualifying and they should have told every CONCACAF Nation prior to starting. Us qualifying for League A served no purpose in making it to a world cup, we could win this nations league (and even let's say we won the gold cup) and still be out of the world cup prior to qualifying beginning 

The same holds true for Europe. Like aside from a nice trophy, what did Portugal really gain from winning the UEFA Nations League? Is it like a second-kind-of Euro? What did the Netherlands gain from finishing second? England third? Switzerland fourth? To me it just seems like a meaningless money grab, by a bunch of newbie presidents and vice-presidents of FIFA, because they aren't making the kind of money that clubs are in the European Champions Leagues. Greedy pretenders like Infantino and Mt. Vic are killing the World Cup!!!

Edited July 31, 2019 by Binky

[Kent]

17 hours ago, Binky said:

Posts like the following just make me howl:

"We will start off with 4 or 6 consecutive wins against minnows." When was the last time we started off 4 or 6 consecutive wins against minnows? Just for the record, let's look a the last two World Cup campaigns:

2018

2-0 & 4-0 vs. Dominica

3-0 & 1-1 vs. Belize

2014

0-0 & 3-0 vs. Puerto Rico

0-0 & 4-0 vs. St. Kitts & Nevis

4-1 & 7-0 vs. Saint Lucia

I mostly agree and I was going to caution about our less than perfect track record against minnows as well, but since you love Herdman so much I thought I should point out our 4 Nations League wins against minnows. Not World Cup Qualifying but your illustration above is why I give Herdman some amount of credit for the wins against minnows.

[Binky]

1 hour ago, Kent said:

I mostly agree and I was going to caution about our less than perfect track record against minnows as well, but since you love Herdman so much I thought I should point out our 4 Nations League wins against minnows. Not World Cup Qualifying but your illustration above is why I give Herdman some amount of credit for the wins against minnows.

I neither love, nor despise Herdman. It's not his fault for being inexperienced (the men's game that, is for those who are always ready to play the role of defense attorneys). I'm just totally exhausted of year after year after year of playing against minnows. It's really not the kind of soccer that I want to watch, nor does most of the soccer world, for that matter.

My main beef with Herdman is that he talks big, but thus far has delivered nothing that impresses me. Like how many games against decent to good opponents is he going to be allowed to coach the CMNT without getting a victory? Obviously more than 2! But how many, I ask again? 3? 4? 5? 6? At the rate we play meaningful matches, that last number more than likely will not be reached until we host the World Cup in 2026.

In competitions, sooner (hopefully) rather then later, your going to have to play against a decent or good opponent. So again, how many games is the CSA going to leave John Herdman in charge of the CMNT without a victory before the mistake of hiring him is going to be admitted to, and rectified?

If John Herdman fails to win either of the two upcoming Nations League matches against the United States, I really think that I will finally be done supporting the Canadian Men's National Team after 50 years of doing so. And that will, without a question, be the saddest day of my soccer life. Zero for four and I'm done.

2019-06-19  -  #12 Mexico  1-3 loss

2019-06-29  -  #83 Haiti  2-3 loss

2019-10-15  -  #22 United States  _ - _

2019-11-15  -  #22 United States  _ - _

[Binky]

Once upon a time, when the United States was the minnow of CONCACAF ...

30 years later we qualified for the World Cup in Mexico ...

What happened?

CONCACAF 1957 World Cup qualifying

Group 1

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1	Mexico	8	4	4	0	0	18	2
2	Canada	4	4	2	0	2	8	8
3	United States	0	4	0	0	4	5	21

7 April 1957

Mexico

6 – 0

United States

Mexico City, Mexico

---

28 April 1957

United States

2 – 7

Mexico

Long Beach, United States

---

22 June 1957

Canada

5 – 1

United States

Varsity Stadium Toronto, Canada

---

30 June 1957

Mexico

3 – 0

Canada

Mexico City, Mexico

---

3 July 1957

Mexico

2 – 0

Canada

Mexico City, Mexico

---

6 July 1957

United States [3]

2 – 3

Canada

St. Louis, United States

Mexico advanced to the Final Round.

Group 2

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1	Costa Rica	8	4	4	0	0	15	4
2	Territory of Curaçao	2	3	1	0	2	4	7
3	Guatemala	0	3	0	0	3	4	12

10 February 1957

Guatemala

2 – 6

Costa Rica

Guatemala City, Guatemala

---

17 February 1957

Costa Rica

3 – 1

Guatemala

San José, Costa Rica

---

3 March 1957

Costa Rica

4 – 0

Territory of Curaçao

San José, Costa Rica

---

14 March 1957

Guatemala

1 – 3

Territory of Curaçao

Guatemala City, Guatemala

---

4 August 1957

Territory of Curaçao

1 – 2

Costa Rica

Willemstad, Territory of Curaçao

Costa Rica advanced to the Final Round. Territory of Curaçao v Guatemala was not played because the Guatemalan players were not permitted to travel to the Netherlands Antilles (the Netherlands Antilles were still using the nation's former "Curaçao" name). However, neither team would have been able to advance with a win regardless.

Final Round

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1	Mexico	3	2	1	1	0	3	1
2	Costa Rica	1	2	0	1	1	1	3

20 October 1957

Mexico

2 – 0

Costa Rica

Mexico City, Mexico

---

27 October 1957

Costa Rica

1 – 1

Mexico

San José, Costa Rica

Mexico advanced to the 1958 World Cup Final in Sweden.

 

Edited August 1, 2019 by Binky

[Binky]

On 7/18/2019 at 8:07 AM, Binky said:

Oh thank God. My prayers have been answered. It's such a relief to know that FIFA has absolute no reason for any safety concerns in this peace-loving region of the Strait of Hormuz.

And yes, you are 100% correct. It's been a very long ago since I've heard anything from Sammy bin Laden's kids, Hamza in particular. So I am rather ill informed, to say the least.

In closing on this matter, I would like to thank you for putting my mind at ease. We can now all throw caution to the wind and return our attention to focusing 100% on soccer and the Road to Qatar.

BTW Do you now of any good head-shops in the region?

Well this explains why I haven't heard anything from Hamza:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/31/politics/hamza-bin-laden-dead/index.html

[Binky]

On 7/29/2019 at 12:21 PM, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

The CSA as a whole got screwed by this change. It seems like it blindsided everyone, maybe even the fools at in the CONCACAF offices in Miami.

Like how dumb can you get? Mt. Vic just doesn't get it. Like how much moolah do you think that Coca-Cola fork over to FIFA every year for the right to have their name associated with the FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings? And here Mt. Vic goes and disrespects one of the world's largest corporation by just randomly establishing his own ranking system for CONCACAF World Cup qualifying! Like how stupid is that? Like, quick Mt. Vic, "Where's the Coca-Cola headquarters? Here's a clue: It's somewhere in your CONCACAF empire.

Would you buy an insurance policy from a wiseguy like that?

https://axisgroup.insure/our-team/victor-montagliani/

 

 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Binky

[Kent]

To the people that say Montagliani must not have known about the rule/policy that FIFA rankings need to be used, a much more plausible explanation was that he thought there was going to be a change to that rule, but then in the end they didn't have the votes that they thought they did to enact the change. Rule couldn't be changed, so then at the last minute they had to revert to FIFA rankings. Purely speculation on my part, but it seems a lot more plausible to me than Montagliani not knowing the rule, and none of the FA's in the region knowing the rule/mentioning the rule to him through the whole process.

[Binky]

45 minutes ago, Kent said:

 a much more plausible explanation was that he thought there was going to be a change to that rule

If he honestly thought that there was going to be a change to that rule, should he not have been ethically obligated to wait with announcing his new CONCACAF format until after the rule had actually been changed?

[Binky]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/4936930/fifa-world-cup-seeding-ranking-system-russia-2018-wales/

Besides, the FIFA rules have been well documented for close to 2 years now.

TOP RANKING 

Fifa to tighten up World Cup ranking system after Russia 2018 as rules allow countries such as Wales to boost seedings by playing fewer friendlies

Playing non-competitive games can jeopardise a nation's standing so Fifa intends to bring in more competitive games for every country

By Warren Haughton

17 Nov 2017, 15:09

Updated: 17 Nov 2017, 15:41

FIFA are set to tighten up seeding rules which have allowed countries such as Wales to boost their World Cup rankings by limiting the amount of friendlies they play.

Inside World Football report new rules could be implemented after the Russia World Cup.

Wales are ranked 13th by Fifa

The current system has allowed some countries  to gain an unfair advantage over busier national sides.

World Cup seedings are based on the FIFA world rankings, using a points system which calculates average points for each game, and that has included friendly matches.

Wales are one of the nations to benefit from the current system, having played fewer friendlies and had less risk of losing ranking points.

Chris Coleman’s side, who failed to qualify for next summer’s World Cup, have moved up to 13th in the rankings.
After a friendly against Holland in 2014 the Welsh did not play another non-competitive game for 17 months.

Fifa boss Gianni Infantino is looking to change the World Cup seeding system.

Wales played fewer friendlies than other nations in recent years.

So by avoiding friendlies and the jeopardy of losing ranking points, Wales entered Fifa’s top ten in 2015 for the first time in their history.

But from September 2018 European and CONCACAF teams will begin playing in Nations League competitions on dates in the FIFA calendar usually set aside for friendly games.

LION WAIT Find out who England could face at World Cup 2018 in Russia

There will now be less space in the international calendar for friendly matches for countries in those two confederations.

In a statement, the world governing body said:“FIFA is reviewing the FIFA World Ranking system and will take a decision after the completion of qualification for the 2018 World Cup if any changes are be made to improve the ranking.”

England have played more friendlies and faced the best in the worldCredit: Getty - Contributor

England are 12th in the rankings, and compared to neighbours Wales are paying the price for what could be seen as playing too many non-competitive games.

The Three Lions have lost to France, Germany and Holland in the last two years, as the FA continue to arrange games against top ranking nations.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Binky

[Kent]

2 hours ago, Binky said:

If he honestly thought that there was going to be a change to that rule, should he not have been ethically obligated to wait with announcing his new CONCACAF format until after the rule had actually been changed?

Yeah, didn't you also complain that Montagliani wasn't announcing the format for so long? Apologies if you weren't one of the people complaining about that, but that's my best guess as to what happened. He had this format change planned, probably thought there was going to be a change to the rules, perhaps allowing Nations League or continental ranking systems to be used. FIFA ranking probably would have been a back up option. But he couldn't tell us the new format until that rule was voted on and changed. That could explain why it was a year after the previous World Cup that we finally found out the new format. Waited for the rule change, but it didn't pass.

You bringing up articles from 2 years ago doesn't exactly prove anything. We are talking about FIFA, who very recently was strongly considering changing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be a 48 team tournament with one or more co hosts added on to it, 8 years after Qatar was given the sole hosting rights to a 32 team tournament (to be hosted in the summer, which of course now has turned into winter).

[SkuseisLoose]

I was thinking the early rounds of WCQ would be the time to give a canpl stadium a game. Because when we have to play the cayman island at home it’s not gonna draw more than 5k spread out around the stadium in the 3 big cities while we could probably get closer to a packed house in one of the canpl grounds. My choices for grounds to get one would be wanderers ground, spruce meadows, or westhills stadium.

[Binky]

8 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

I was thinking the early rounds of WCQ would be the time to give a canpl stadium a game. Because when we have to play the cayman island at home it’s not gonna draw more than 5k spread out around the stadium in the 3 big cities while we could probably get closer to a packed house in one of the canpl grounds. My choices for grounds to get one would be wanderers ground, spruce meadows, or westhills stadium.

Excellent idea! In addition to the points you make, the cost of playing an international in those stadiums would be considerably less, it would also give supporters an opportunity to see a World Cup qualifier in their home-town, something two out of the three cities above have never had the privilege of doing. Playing a home match against a country like the Cayman Islands would also be a good opportunity to include a few more home-based players on the roster.

[xabuep2]

Panama determined  to raise its FIFA  ranking plans 7 friendly matches: two of them already confirmed vs Curacao and the UAE and other five to be confirmed to play here at Rommel Fernandez stadium vs Nicaragua, Suriname, Antigua-Barbuda, Dominican Rep. and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Canaleros have a new coach from Argentina Americo " El Tolo" Gallego. 

 

 

http://www.rpctv.com/marearoja/Curazao-Emiratos-Arabes-Panama-FIFA_0_1270673274.html

Edited August 7, 2019 by xabuep2

[Binky]

6 hours ago, xabuep2 said:

Panama determined  to raise its FIFA  ranking plans 7 friendly matches: two of them already confirmed vs Curacao and the UAE and other five to be confirmed to play here at Rommel Fernandez stadium vs Nicaragua, Suriname, Antigua-Barbuda, Dominican Rep. and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Canaleros have a new coach from Argentina Americo " El Tolo" Gallego. 

 

 

http://www.rpctv.com/marearoja/Curazao-Emiratos-Arabes-Panama-FIFA_0_1270673274.html

It's obvious that Gallego is gunning for a spot in the HEX, while Herdman has opted to extend the length of his career as coach of the CMNT by taking the inactive approach to ensure matches against CONCACAF minnows.

I'm sure that those who support Herdman approve of his chicken-poop approach. Personally, I find that mindset to be totally disrespectful toward the crop of young talent that we currently have at our disposal. Our national team players deserve the opportunity to test themselves against the best countries in CONCACAF.

IMO, Panama with confirmed friendlies against Curacao on October 10th, and against the UAE on November 19th, and a handful of others in the works, will be a shoe-in to make the HEX. On the other hand, with Herdman saying that "Canada can’t just schedule friendlies willy-nilly, arguing that playing a game three days in advance of a key showdown with the U.S. would not help his team. It’s a risk-reward situation and we have to navigate it very carefully,” Herdman said. “It isn’t just pulling games out of the sky. We have to be very deliberate,” it seems all but certain that John is waving the white flag for Canada when it comes to qualifying for the HEX.

Oct 15th matches - Canada vs USA, and Mexico vs Panama

Nov 15th matches - USA vs Canada, and Panama vs Mexico

Obviously Gallego has no problem securing valuable FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking points playing a game three days in advance of a key showdown with Mexico.  EHHH, HEY JOHN? ARE YOU SURE YOU READ THE INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR CORRECT?????? Because apparently Panama is playing the UAE FOUR DAYS AFTER their key showdown with Mexico, NOT THREE DAYS BEFORE, you foolish rookie coach! Oh you're going to be so shocked when you discover that they moved the goal posts on you AGAIN!!!!

Would it not be interesting if Panama ended up as the 4th place finisher in the HEX, and Canada ended up the winner of the Best of the Rest knock out phase?

 

[An Observer]

Assuming we won’t be able to get the necessary points to get into the top 6, my strong preference would be for Panama to overtake El Salvador and get into the top 6.  That would eliminate the best side currently outside the top 6 and certainly ease our path into the playoff with whoever finishes 4th. 

Instead of having to beat Panama and then likely someone like Honduras or Jamaica; we then would only need to beat an El Salvador or a Trinidad and then a Honduras, Jamaica or Panama. A much easier pathway (I know that we would likely still need to get by a Curaçao or Haiti in the semi’s which the Gold Cup showed can be a real challenge). 

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

22 hours ago, xabuep2 said:

Panama determined  to raise its FIFA  ranking plans 7 friendly matches: two of them already confirmed vs Curacao and the UAE and other five to be confirmed to play here at Rommel Fernandez stadium vs Nicaragua, Suriname, Antigua-Barbuda, Dominican Rep. and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Canaleros have a new coach from Argentina Americo " El Tolo" Gallego. 

 

 

http://www.rpctv.com/marearoja/Curazao-Emiratos-Arabes-Panama-FIFA_0_1270673274.html

Some of this just doesn't make sense.

For example, the UAE will be playing WCQs in Asia for the Sept/Oct/Nov windows.

The possibility of Curaçao makes sense though.

-----

In fact, we should be playing Panama!

They are free for the 1st game of the October window and the 2nd game of the November window.

A friendly vs Guatemala in the USA in November wouldn't hurt.

[Binky]

8 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

In fact, we should be playing Panama!👍👍👍

They are free for the 1st game of the October window and the 2nd game of the November window.👍

A friendly vs Guatemala in the USA in November wouldn't hurt.👍

I wish you were coaching Canada, instead of Herdman!.

[Binky]

35 minutes ago, Lofty said:

Don't forget that if you play and lose, your ranking points go down.

It is hard to artificially raise your ranking using an ELO-like system. If you think your ranking is too low, the best way to boost it would probably be to play and beat those teams you think are weaker but who are ranked higher. Of course those teams may not be too keen to participate.

So why do all of the top ranked countries in the world play so many friendlies? Right now the difference in CONCACAF between playing in the HEX, 6th place El Salvador with 1342 points, and being outside of the HEX, 7th place Panama with 1331 points, is only 11 points. And Canada in 8th place is not far off with 1312 points. Panama is obviously trying to do everything it possibly can to make it into the HEX by June of 2020. If Panama succeeds in moving up one spot they will have a way better chance of qualifying for Qatar, than if they don't. Also by playing in the HEX, Panama will play 5 home matches against opponents that will attract way higher attendance figures, increased public interest, generate more broadcast rights revenue, not to mention more sponsorship and advertising revenue. In addition, the Panama players will be competing against far superior competition, which will make them better players in the process. All of these returns far outweigh the cost of playing a few friendlies, as well as pay for John Herdman's outrageous contract.

But no, chicken-poop John is opting to play against CONCACAF minnows instead, which will not generated any of the above mentioned benefits. Of course, his won-loss record will look stellar, with another 9 wins against a single loss, but it will be that one effing loss that does Canada in, and John, no doubt, will come up with a great excuse to justify that loss.  That's when he finally gets canned and will get one more job in a place like New Zealand, where he again will fail because he is a coward, and then that will be the end of his coaching career. In the meantime, Canada fails again, for the 34th year in a row to make it to a World Cup Final. What a waste, considering we finally have the talent to do something! F U John Herdman!!!

[Kent]

I'd like another crack at Scotland. We drew them a couple years ago, and they are ranked well ahead of us so a win against them could garner some decent points. Plus I think if we could convince them to come here they could potentially draw a decent (hopefully pro Canadian) crowd. I think we are a better team now than we were at the time. Unfortunately we don't yet know the 2022 UEFA World Cup Qualifying format, but it would be even easier to schedule a team like them if they were in a position that losing a few ranking points won't make a difference to their qualifying chances.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Kent