Canada vs Cuba - Sat Sept 7th - game thread

[king1010]

7 minutes ago, Mikmacdo said:

I expect a full squad rotation on Tuesday. 

GK: Max

Cordova-Vitoria-Kamal-Sam

Johnson-Teibert-Wotherspoon 

Tesho-Larin-Millar 

 

We’ll definitely see a couple of changes, but not full squad rotation. As Nam alluded to, point differential matters and we cant afford any hiccup in the Caribbean.  

[SpecialK]

I really hope Wotherspoon gets to see some action. 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

A back four especially need time together.  Pick the one you think you want for the States and play that for the game. 

Hoilett is going to be playing early Wednesday morning UK time and then supposed to be available for a Friday night game.  (That said he is a lot more important to Canada than Cardiff at the moment)

Really to need to make sure no mistakes are made, but I think we are good enough to rotate some in the attacking places at least.

[gator]

10 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

A back four especially need time together.  Pick the one you think you want for the States and play that for the game. 

Hoilett is going to be playing early Wednesday morning UK time and then supposed to be available for a Friday night game.  (That said he is a lot more important to Canada than Cardiff at the moment)

Really to need to make sure no mistakes are made, but I think we are good enough to rotate some in the attacking places at least.

This! I could care less about his club team right now considering Colin rarely starts him, also I'm a QPR fan!

[Obinna]

Layrea has definitely earned another shot at RB in my opinion. It would be nice to see what Cordova can do there, just to see, but Richie was definitely fitting into the side last night. He is very dynamic in that position and most importantly, he didn't make any mistakes.

I really like ZBG because he is also mistake free (except that one against Mexico), always seems to make the right pass, and the right run, it's like he does everything well and is your textbook fullback, so to speak. But Layrea has one element that ZBG does not - unpredictably.

Richie has that bit of elusiveness and creativity to his game, and for that reason should get another chance. He'll have to past a sterner test against the Americans, but for me it's his spot to lose after that performance.

On the left, I thought Kamal Miller did alright. He brought stability to that side and didn't really put much of a foot wrong. He obviously did not contribute the same way Layrea did, but that doesn't mean his performance was bad. I would rather play him at LB than Kaye, who was fantastic in the midfield, once again. 

Looking forward to seeing what Adekugbe can do. The fact that Miller started over him though tempers my expectations. I am sure we'll see him get the start next match. Hopefully he can impress, because we need a solution at left back.

As for Davies, I agree with everyone who says he is trying to hard at the moment. He looked a little discouraged not to find the net. After he missed that chance, his body language changed. He'll have to learn that it's okay not to be in the spotlight sometimes. Once he moved back, he was able to affect the game in different ways, but against the USA he should play at LW again and move to LB if the game calls for it. Against the Americans, he'll have space to run into that he did not have against the Cubans. 

[Kadenge]

12 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

Not so much that it comes back to... how do you keep any of  Hoilett, David & Cavallini off the field?

You don't need to if you play David as a attacking mid where he can deploy all his immense skills

[PopePouri]

21 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

You don't need to if you play David as a attacking mid where he can deploy all his immense skills

Although Gent plays him there, they play a diamond giving him license to roam with 3 CMs behind him. I don't see him in a midfield triangle unless we concede the centre of the park. 

[Snowcrash]

2 minutes ago, PopePouri said:

Although Gent plays him there, they play a diamond giving him license to roam with 3 CMs behind him. I don't see him in a midfield triangle unless we concede the centre of the park. 

I don't think you can play a diamond against the U.S. but David can still play CAM behind a lone striker like Cav.

[Macksam]

17 hours ago, RJB said:

As much is this is possible, I disagree completely that it is likely.  Points against the USA are not likely: A draw at home would be a great result, and to get anything on the road would be amazing.

We are well within our abilities to beat the United States at home. 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Macksam

[Macksam]

16 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

Large crowd tonight 😂 

Considering the following:

• CNL is still relatively unknown to the general populace
• The opponent isn't much of a draw
• Little to no exposure on mainstream television
• High ticket prices (my opinion)

I think having over 10,000 people search this out, buy a ticket and show up is impressive. I expect the game against the USA to do a lot better as well. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere in the stadium tonight. 

15 hours ago, Bison44 said:

I think Davies, David, Hoilet, Arfield and Kaye all come before Osorio these days.  

Osorio over Arfield but that's my Brampton bias coming into play.

15 hours ago, damaaster said:

Im hoping they eventually become available to download for xbox one. Perhaps it was just a chromecast issue...not sure.

I restarted my phone and it's worked fine so far since....*fingers crossed*

Yeah, OneSoccer definitely needs work. Right now it's like DAZN.....just without the great functionality, sharp/clean interface and overall user-friendliness that you get with DAZN.

15 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

It seems odd to say, but Davies has been the least effective attacker tonight.   It does seem like he tries to do too much sometimes (I disliked all the step overs in the GC).  I am not sure if it is because his big transfer makes him think he has to be the centrepiece but it often leads to mistakes and wasted chances.

Yes, this is true. I'm hoping he was pulling out the party tricks and goofing off because it was Cuba. I expect a more crisp game without any wastefulness against the USA.

[BFBF]

My thoughts in the game.

Lareya looked good. Decent in his few one on ones defensively, but did get caught out of position a few times. It is to be expected as he is learning the position. He could be a long term solution, but is still inexperienced right now. Miller on the other side is still obviously learning the professional game, but this is his first year as a pro so who know. I'd go with Adekugbe for now though.

Our offensive depth is crazy. The fact that one of David, Davies, Cavallini, and Hoilett will start on the bench actually a good problem to have. They are 4 very different players and subbing in one of them could really change a game. It is important to be able to rotate starters in a tournament.

Midfield has the same "problem", just at a slightly lower level. Arfield, MAK, Piette, Oso, and Hutch. Add in Eustaqio and we are Eu-stacked (get it?). I think this midfield can compete with the best in CONCACAF.

Our problem is with the defence. Depending on the player, they are either mistake prone, or inexperienced. A player like Pulisic scares me. As a team, our offence needs to score at minimum 2 to win a game, and Hati proved that wasn't enough. 

 

[SkuseisLoose]

1 hour ago, Macksam said:

Considering the following:

• CNL is still relatively unknown to the general populace
• The opponent isn't much of a draw
• Little to no exposure on mainstream television
• High ticket prices (my opinion)

I think having over 10,000 people search this out, buy a ticket and show up is impressive. I expect the game against the USA to do a lot better as well. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere in the stadium tonight. 

Osorio over Arfield but that's my Brampton bias coming into play.

Yeah, OneSoccer definitely needs work. Right now it's like DAZN.....just without the great functionality, sharp/clean interface and overall user-friendliness that you get with DAZN.

Yes, this is true. I'm hoping he was pulling out the party tricks and goofing off because it was Cuba. I expect a more crisp game without any wastefulness against the USA.

In no world is Arfield going to be the one replaced by Osorio.

[baulderdash77]

Our midfield and attacking options can compete with anyone in CONCACAF.

Our defense is so thin and a notch and can’t really compete with the best of CONCACAF though.  I also don’t see the star power at defence coming up like our attacking and midfielders.

Even our best defender- Henry - is inconsistent and can be mistake prone.  The rest of the defenders are all over the place game to game it seems.

[trc2014]

https://mobile.twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN/status/1170799742806183936

SQUAD UPDATES James Pantemis has joined #CANMNT for the away Concacaf Nations League match in Cayman Islands on 10 September. Maxime Crépeau & Russell Teibert (day-to-day) have returned to Whitecaps FC while Junior Hoilett has returned to England (family). #CNL

 

 

There goes the thought of Max starting game 2.

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by trc2014

[JuicyHam]

26 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN/status/1170799742806183936

SQUAD UPDATES James Pantemis has joined #CANMNT for the away Concacaf Nations League match in Cayman Islands on 10 September. Maxime Crépeau & Russell Teibert (day-to-day) have returned to Whitecaps FC while Junior Hoilett has returned to England (family). #CNL

 

 

There goes the thought of Max starting game 2.

 

I was almost 100% sure I didn't see Crepeau out there last night and I guess I see why 

[Kadenge]

As we found out from playing minnows before the GC, one really cannot  evaluate the performance of our back 4 when they are under minimal pressure. 3 of  the 4 starting defenders yesterday are effectively first year players and 2 are playing in new positions. I hope there is  rotation on the backline for Tuesday ...the last game before the US. Just don't think we can play them with 3 rookie defenders.

[Bdog]

I’d like to see Córdova and Adekugbe get the start Tuesday. 

[BrennanFan]

After a second watch, I really don't think it's fair to say Kaye outplayed Osorio and won the position.  Osorio was constantly pressing and set up many turnovers for Piette, gave a beautiful cross field diagonal ball assist to Hoilett, and of course made one of his trademark late runs into the box for his goal.  Both played very well.  

I would start Osorio next to Arfield against the US at home.  He has the big game experience we will need, and he will be playing on his home ground.  For the away game, we should go with Kaye as he is more defensively inclined and is stronger on the tackle.

[nolando]

45 minutes ago, Bdog said:

I’d like to see Córdova and Adekugbe get the start Tuesday. 

I think both would be very disappointed to not get some minutes during this window. I would even go as far as to say a guy like Sam might consider his future participation if he is expected to regularly attend and never get PT.

[Obinna]

For those saying David should play as a CAM, I would argue that our best finisher should play closer to goal.

[BrennanFan]

1 minute ago, Obinna said:

For those saying David should play as a CAM, I would argue that our best finisher should play closer to goal.

Its a good question.  David is on record saying his favoured position is striker, and Cavallini is not quite as clinical as David.  I really think it depends on who we are playing.  If we are not going to be seeing a lot of the ball, we will need Cavallini's presence to bring down long balls and hold up the play.  Otherwise David is our 9. 

[JuicyHam]

6 minutes ago, Obinna said:

For those saying David should play as a CAM, I would argue that our best finisher should play closer to goal.

He's also, in my opinion, our best playmaker. CAM puts him in the best position to excel at both and let's us also have Cavallini up top. 

[Kadenge]

35 minutes ago, Obinna said:

For those saying David should play as a CAM, I would argue that our best finisher should play closer to goal.

True, but he is scoring for Gent at a good clip while playing behind the strikers. What Larin was lacking yesterday was someone to deliver that quick breaking pass. He was making some great runs and all he needed was a player like David to release the ball quickly into  space. I saw him getting frustrated a couple of times cause the mid was changing the play while he was breaking clear.Oso can be a little slow in doing that. I think David can do both ...score and create at CAM. 

[dyslexic nam]

51 minutes ago, JuicyHam said:

He's also, in my opinion, our best playmaker. CAM puts him in the best position to excel at both and let's us also have Cavallini up top. 

I consider this a mini version of the Davies-at-LB issue, though easier to resolve.   

David may be optimally played as a striker, but barring a downturn in form, I don’t envision a situation where Cav doesn’t get the start in a tough competitive game.  David at CAM and Cav up top is better than David up top and Cav riding the pine IMO.  

[RJB]

8 hours ago, Macksam said:

We are well within our abilities to beat the United States at home. 

Sure it's possible, but we have to be realistic.  If we can get a single point against the USA over two games that would be a success in my opinion.  Nothing has happened under Herdman to suggest we can punch at their weight.  In fact, the opposite has happened: we failed miserably in our one test against Haiti. 

Of course we can beat them, but we are not at their level - even during this slump they are in. 

When was the last time we beat them?  1985, which means it would take a generational result.

https://www.11v11.com/teams/usa/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Canada/