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Gold Cup 2021


Ansem

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6 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

If we are using 3-5-2 as our base, a good debate for this Gold Cup is to see which MLS guy works the best in that RWB role:  Laryea, Johnson, Brault-Guillard, perhaps even Buchanon.  Pretty hot spot of contention.

It is crazy how strong we are at RB/RWB.   Any of those guys are solid players at the senior level.  

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6 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

If we are using 3-5-2 as our base, a good debate for this Gold Cup is to see which MLS guy works the best in that RWB role:  Laryea, Johnson, Brault-Guillard, perhaps even Buchanon.  Pretty hot spot of contention.

I would keep Johnston in that RWB role for Gold Cup especially within our starting XI 

Edited by TGAA_Star
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5 minutes ago, TGAA_Star said:

I would keep Johnson in that RWB role for Gold Cup especially within our starting XI 

All depends on situation and opponent. Against fast, counter attacking teams, he’s probably the RCB. Against players with a big, physical striker, they’ll keep Henry or another true CB there and shift Johnston to RWB or the bench.

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The three at the back has given us some decent solidity again some teams that could give (and have given) us problems. That said we are not sure of the personal for the Gold Cup and knowing your role and executing it in a back three sometimes is easier for more experienced centre backs.  In my observations.

We have so far (real test coming) been blessed that Johnston and especially Kennedy have slotted in there well.   

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With last night’s massive game now in the books, I am pretty excited about the GC. 

- Do we get any young dual prospects to commit? 

- If we use it for depth (recognizing depth will be key to the Ocho) who will shine?

- If we essentially have most/all of our first team to increase chemistry leading into the Ocho, how do they do in a tourney where we should be very competitive?

Any of those scenarios offers some really exciting things to monitor.  Damn it is a good time to be a V.   

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7 minutes ago, mrstepp817 said:

If a couple of young gems can be discovered or you can convince a borderline dual-national to commit and play in the Gold Cup that could be vital depth for the final round...

Dangling the Ocho games in front of them is a big plus.  We will be using lots of players over the course of that campaign so meaningful games against top opposition may be enough to push a few over the edge.  

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My thinking is that we go for as much of an "A" squad as possible. If players want in.. they're in. If they need a break you have to respect it. 

The reasoning is that as a nation we missed out on a handful of opportunities for friendlies during the pandemic. We have played 3 worthwhile matches since 2019 and we could use some big game experience yet. 

If we're not up to speed September could be a wake up call and we could be out of the Octo before we even get rolling.

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6 minutes ago, mrstepp817 said:

If a couple of young gems can be discovered or you can convince a borderline dual-national to commit and play in the Gold Cup that could be vital depth for the final round...

That's what I was thinking also to get as many duel nationals as possible in our GC team. Not sure about bringing a A+, A-, B+ etc.

Btw I was always curious, are you Mr stepp817  or Mrs tepp817?😀

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Unfortunately, the Gold Cup group stage is not looking like it will offer us a challenging, competitive game.

We will play Martinique and Haiti/Bermuda in our first 2 games.  For the final game against the US, both teams will likely already be qualified for the next round.

However, the first knock out game will be very valuable, most likely Jamaica or Costa Rica.  That will be a very good test, just 5 weeks ahead of the Octagon starting.

  

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Step 1 complete. We are in the Ocho.  The GC is the last opportunity for JH  to take a good look at some fringe players who may help us in the Ocho. Perhaps Miller, Cornelius, St Clair, Elva, Froese, Akinola, Guti,  Ferreira etc & any of the highly rated duals of Dias, Flores & Jebbison if they are willing to commit.  Our WCQ squad looked exhausted. The players that played a lot need to have a decent break, re energize and get ready to have a strong start with their clubs which is vital for our success. I doubt JH asks any of our key starters to be at the GC other than a few MLS players. Priority is the Ocho

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1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

Slow down man.  Lol

The draw is less than a year away…

Are goal is to get to a World Cup is it not? And if it is, once we get there, you want to give yourself the best chance to succeed. 
 

These are things the coaching staff are looking at (at least I hope so). 
 

I just don’t want to get there (yes I believe we can), and put in a group of death, and look at are World Ranking, and go FML if we just won 1-2 more Gold Cup games, we’d be in a group with a team that has a lower ranking than us. 

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1 hour ago, Yohan said:

Time to call all the dual nationals and dangle the potential to play in a World Cup in front of them.

They want to play in the Ocho? Show up for Gold Cup, which is to be used to cap tie and judge the dual nationals

We should be able to at least convince Akinola and Singh to join us for the Gold Cup. Any of Jebbison, Flores, Dias would be a nice bonus. 

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2 hours ago, TOCanada115 said:

Just to keep in the back of your head. If Canada makes the World Cup, if we want to be in pot 3, and not pot 4 (easier draw), we need to go deep in this tournament to have any chance. 

We'd also want to book the higher floors in the hotel to avoid the noisy streets.

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I think this tournament will be much more attractive to players compared to past gold cups just because there’s no travel. All our group games are in Kansas City. This is huge if some guys are on the fence. 

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