The Road to Qatar.

[Blackdude]

5 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

There was so much riding on this Gold Cup that we weren't even aware of!  Haiti picked up 69 ranking points at the Gold Cup.  If we had picked up a similar amount we'd be sitting 5th right now!!

http://www.football-rankings.info/2019/07/fifa-ranking-july-2019-probable-ranking.html

 

 

 

 

Yes, but the only way we would have picked up something close to 69 points was if we would have beaten Mexico somewhere. Remember Haiti won 4 games, including an upset win against Costa Rica, and a loss to Mexico that doesn't hurt that much in the new rankings. We won 1 game against Cuba and lost 2. 

So, couple of things for friendlies scheduling if we want to make the Hex, we might need to play some decent CONCACAF teams in our range. Beating minnows like some people are suggesting doesn't help as much as it used to. We actually need to beat teams that have a decent FIFA ranking. So, yes, we'll need to scheudle friendlies agianst decent opposition, possibly in front of us, because beating a team higher than us is what would really help our ranking. So, I'd say every team in front of us is a good team to try to schedule a friendly. Haiti's probably the only team behind us that I would think would be an interesting matchup.

[king1010]

How the fuck is our old president screwing us like this. 

[Admin]

I feel like I have been CONCACAFed before even being CONCACAFed.

[king1010]

Is this for real? So the 7th place team has to play a million games to get a shot at the 4th place team in the hex? And the 6th place team doesnt have to play a million elimination games? 

Essentially friendlies from 2017 to 2020 became concacafs wcq. This is fucked up. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by king1010

[apbsmith]

Literally, the only good thing that can come from this is that every member on the board will all be raging on the same side for once. 

[Admin]

2 minutes ago, apbsmith said:

Literally, the only good thing that can come from this is that every member on the board will all be raging on the same side for once. 

I LOVE IT WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THIS IS THE BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN HOW CAN YOU BE SO STUPID

Someone will find a way.

[apbsmith]

Literally going through the rankings to see which teams ahead of us we can beat. 

Questions for the points guru's.... Do we get more points if they are from our region? Or does that not matter?

[king1010]

Its not even a level playing field when you get drawn in a gold cup group with a team who isnt a fifa member and have ZERO chance of increasing ranking points. 

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by king1010

[CanadianSoccerFan]

6 minutes ago, Blackdude said:

Yes, but the only way we would have picked up something close to 69 points was if we would have beaten Mexico somewhere. Remember Haiti won 4 games, including an upset win against Costa Rica, and a loss to Mexico that doesn't hurt that much in the new rankings. We won 1 game against Cuba and lost 2. 

 

I'm fully aware of that.  I'm talking about the fact we laid down for Mexico with a weakened squad.  In a tournament context it's fine.  If Herdman had known before the tournament that this asinine format would come out then I think he would have gone all out to try and get the ranking points.  We showed in the 2nd half it was possible but we'd already thrown it away.

[apbsmith]

4 minutes ago, king1010 said:

Its not even a level playing field when you get drawn in a gold cup group with a team who isnt a fifa member and have ZERO chance of increasing ranking points. 

 

It's soooooooo insane, I honestly don't even know where to begin.  

Just when I finally got out of the Haiti post match rehab, this news drops.

[apbsmith]

5 minutes ago, king1010 said:

 

Double post , must have been button smashing.

Edited July 10, 2019 by apbsmith

[king1010]

Like should the csa not have known this format was a possibility and scheduled more friendlies given their damn ex president runs concacaf now? 

Edited July 10, 2019 by king1010

[BrennanFan]

Scheduling friendlies the week before our home US game in October and the week after the away US game in November is now a must.

Against top 40 teams that are beatable.  Iran, Tunisia.  Northern Ireland is 28th in the world FFS! 

 

[Binky]

25 minutes ago, Addona said:

If I had sat down and tried to come up with the stupidest format I could think of, there is no way I would have arrived at something this dumb!!!

And you fools laughed at me when I christened him Mt. Vic:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soccer-insider/wp/2016/10/13/concacaf-says-its-world-cup-qualifying-is-archiaic-its-solution-is-pure-politics/?utm_term=.e18fae28d7ac

CONCACAF says its World Cup qualifying is ‘archaic.’ Its solution is pure politics.

 

By Simon Evans

October 13, 2016

The intensity of CONCACAF’s final round of World Cup qualifying is in danger of being diluted. (Eduardo Verdugo/Associated Press)

The recent news that CONCACAF is considering a change of name should be no surprise — few brands have a more toxic image than the corruption-stained body. What makes much less sense is the proposal by Victor Montagliani, president of soccer’s governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean, to get rid of the six-team final round of qualifying for the World Cup known as the Hexagonal.

Yes, the Canadian wants to get rid of the only thing CONCACAF touches that is genuinely successful and popular.

[Where is everybody? Attendance at U.S. men’s friendlies continues to lag.]

The “Hex” works because the stakes are high and the field is balanced. Teams that have no realistic shot at the World Cup — frankly, the majority of the 41 national federations in the region — have been winnowed out in early stages that take place more than a year before the Hex begins. As a result, there are no easy games in the final round because all six teams have a chance at one of three automatic spots in the World Cup. The best clashes between Mexico and the United States take place in the qualifiers because they matter. Last time, in 2013, the competition went right down to the wire, with Panama agonizingly losing out on a place in Brazil in the final seconds.

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

But all the pressure, drama and excitement of the Hex, which will begin its latest edition in less than a month, risk being diluted by Montagliani and whatever his organization is to be called, because he claims it isn’t inclusive enough.

“It’s great for those six teams over the next year and a bit, but how about the other ones?” Montagliani told the Associated Press last week.

It’s quite simple: The other ones, which perhaps not coincidentally include Montagliani’s Canada, didn’t qualify. Sport has winners and losers. But for CONCACAF, the game has always been about money first, and that is unlikely to change with a rebranding.

“Can you imagine you are a country trying to find a sponsor and they say, ‘I’m all for it, when’s your next big game?’ And it’s three years from now,” Montagliani said.

“So we seriously need to look at our World Cup qualifying system that is a bit archaic. We need to be a bit more all-encompassing. We’re looking at how we balance competitions with our commercial [priorities].”

CONCACAF could look at improving the Gold Cup. The regional tournament has never managed to get close to being as interesting or as relevant as other continental championships. Held every two years for commercial reasons, the competition features teams that often are not at full strength and is always, boringly and unfairly, held in the United States, also for commercial reasons. A reorganization of that event could give the likes of Canada, El Salvador and Jamaica more big games. But that would require some serious imagination and investment, neither of which the organization is noted for.

Rather, Montagliani has political motivation to focus on World Cup qualifying and for wanting to spread out the process to more countries. His survival as president depends on a voting bloc in the Caribbean, whose federations make up a majority in CONCACAF but whose teams have only made it to the World Cup twice in the past 40 years.

“Something needs to change because you can’t have 85 percent of your members who are on the outside looking in two years before the World Cup. It doesn’t make sense,” he said.

[Who will Klinsmann choose for U.S. qualifier vs. Mexico?]

The reality, though, is that the Caribbean has few nations anywhere near being ready to qualify for a World Cup, and that is a genuine problem when 31 of the 41 national federations in CONCACAF are from that region.

One solution would be to look at raising the level of competition in the Caribbean and improving the poor infrastructure and lack of development opportunities for players. But it is far simpler to let the likes of the Bahamas and St. Vincent and the Grenadines play a few more qualifiers.

A change of some sort is going to come, especially if FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams is backed by leadership of the world governing body. More spots for everyone would mean more for CONCACAF, too.

Infantino was the brains behind UEFA’s ill-advised expansion of the European Championship to 24 teams; he appears obsessed with bloating tournaments in the name of inclusivity. Given that the current FIFA Council looks as supine as those who nodded through predecessor Sepp Blatter’s ideas for years, a rebellion would be a surprise.

After a FIFA Council meeting Thursday, Infantino said a decision on expansion would be made in January but noted that “the general feeling is rather positive.” 

The Swiss’s opportunistic election promise of a 40-team tournament appeared unworkable, and although it remains on the table, he has now come up with a bizarre plan of having 16 teams qualify for the group stage directly and another 32 nations fly out to the World Cup and play one-off matches, in the hosting country, to determine the other 16 places.

In that scheme, which apparently is being given serious consideration at this week’s FIFA Council meeting, 32 national teams would head to the 2026 World Cup not knowing whether they were going to play 90 minutes and go home or spend five weeks at the tournament. Good luck to the travel and logistics people with that prospect.

Of course FIFA would foot the large bill for the significantly increased costs associated with the proposal. That would be a massive waste of resources but no deterrent — the organization has never been known for prudence.

“FIFA’s idea is to develop football in the whole world, and the World Cup is the biggest event there is,” Infantino said last week. “It’s more than a competition; it’s a social event.”

It is certainly a party for the fans — although how many, exactly, would want to travel across the globe for potentially just one game is another issue. But perhaps Infantino is thinking of other people when he talks of the social event?

Would it be too cynical to suggest his thoughts are with the warm slaps on the back from Caribbean, Asian and African officials who could claim their nation has qualified for the World Cup thanks to Infantino?

To FIFA and CONCACAF officials, “development” has always been code word for spreading cash and junkets around to federations. Blatter built his power base by distributing riches from the World Cup to federations where there was little transparency about the use of that money. He was rewarded with votes.

The more things change…

[Binky]

Great Vic! What you've come up with is way less archaic!

[lamptern]

I don't think this format is real.

Apparently it is against the principle of fair play. FIFA ranking shouldn't be a decisive factor in WCQ. WE ARE NOT PLAYING MONOPOLY!!!

If it's real, CSA should united with other 28 associations and file a formal protest to FIFA.

[king1010]

Wouldnt this structure piss off minnows thereby they withdraw their support for him in re election. 

[Addona]

The only thing stopping me from losing my shit is that even they can’t be this stupid, right?  Right?  It’s gotta be wrong...

[lamptern]

3 minutes ago, king1010 said:

Wouldnt this structure piss off minnows thereby they withdraw their support for him in re election. 

This will totally piss off Caribbean minnows.

I just can't imagine he would put his re-election on the line here. 

And I can't imagine he could have any benifit from doing this.

A supper brain cramp bigger than Borjan's topple?

[SkuseisLoose]

We better play wales or some shit every break in a friendly and hope they bring a shit team because they’re ranked 23rd in the world but we could beat them.

[Binky]

10 P.M., Tuesday, July 9th, 2019: Still no format or dates announced on the CONCACAF website.

https://www.concacaf.com/en/news

If it wasn't for our southern neighbours, we in Canada would still be in the dark. Isn't that strange considering that the CONCACAF president is a Canadian. Is Mt. Vic a traitor?

 

[Canadahamilton4]

5 hours ago, apbsmith said:

Well played El Salvador, well played. 

1 friendly 2018, 1 friendly 2019, well done CSA, ffs.

 

Canada didn't even have one friendly in 2019 yet. The match against t&T was unofficial and doesn't count towards ranking points in the Fifa world rankings.

 

[Canadahamilton4]

2 hours ago, king1010 said:

Its not even a level playing field when you get drawn in a gold cup group with a team who isnt a fifa member and have ZERO chance of increasing ranking points. 

 

Thats screwed us over 3 times in the last 2 years. We played French Guiana twice and Martinique once.

[Binky]

7 hours ago, Blackdude said:

Yes, but the only way we would have picked up something close to 69 points was if we would have beaten Mexico somewhere. Remember Haiti won 4 games, including an upset win against Costa Rica, and a loss to Mexico that doesn't hurt that much in the new rankings. We won 1 game against Cuba and lost 2. 

So, couple of things for friendlies scheduling if we want to make the Hex, we might need to play some decent CONCACAF teams in our range. Beating minnows like some people are suggesting doesn't help as much as it used to. We actually need to beat teams that have a decent FIFA ranking. So, yes, we'll need to scheudle friendlies agianst decent opposition, possibly in front of us, because beating a team higher than us is what would really help our ranking. So, I'd say every team in front of us is a good team to try to schedule a friendly. Haiti's probably the only team behind us that I would think would be an interesting matchup.

Has the CSA ever given any serious interest in Canada's FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings? Hardly! If the CSA is really serious about about qualifying for Qatar, regardless of who is coaching the CMNT, they MUST arrange a HOME FRIENDLY against either Honduras, El Salvador, Panama or Jamaica before the Nations League matches in September. This will accomplish two objectives: First it will give the coach a chance to properly prepare for the Nations League matches; and secondly, and more importantly, with a victory it will allow us to close the the gap with some of those countries currently ahead of us in the FIFA rankings. Even if the CSA loses money on such a friendly it must be done, and if we have to induce one of those countries into coming to Canada by paying their way, so be it! That investment will pay handsome dividends come the 2026 World Cup. If the CSA chooses to do nothing, that is fail to arrange a home friendly or replace the coach, then the Road to Qatar definitely becomes that much more difficult and very much longer. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Binky

[CanadianSoccerFan]

14 minutes ago, Binky said:

Has the CSA ever given any serious interest in Canada's FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings? Hardly! If the CSA is really serious about about qualifying for Qatar, regardless of who is coaching the CMNT, they MUST arrange a HOME FRIENDLY against either Honduras, El Salvador, Panama or Jamaica before the Nations League matches in September. This will accomplish two objectives: First it will give the coach a chance to properly prepare for the Nations League matches; and secondly, and more importantly, with a victory it will allow us to close the the gap with some of those countries currently ahead of us in the FIFA rankings. Even if the CSA loses money on such a friendly it must be done, and if we have to induce one of those countries to coming to Canada by paying their way, so be it! That investment will pay handsome dividends come the 2026 World Cup. If the CSA chooses to do nothing, that is fail to arrange a home friendly or replace the coach, then the Road to Qatar definitely becomes that much more difficult and very much longer. 

What's in it for for those teams? They're not going to agree to a game knowing the stakes.