WCQ: Canada vs Bermuda - March 25th 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific - Orlando FL

[Kadenge]

5 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

There’s no incentive for Herdman not to call in his best squad.  But who actually can/is willing to show up is out of his control.  

I will only make him accountable for the players that come and in theory, there should be enough there for us to get a result from the two matches.  

It's really the 1 match vs Bermuda..   our MLS players have been inactive since last fall which is a concern. Hopefully we can get as many Euro based players for this game.

[narduch]

TFC should play Forge on March 19. Giving those players at least 1 competitive match before Bermuda.

[grigorio]

3 hours ago, trc2014 said:

I’m happy that Herdman is taking Bermuda and Suriname seriously but the interview also left me feeling like he was already making excuses if we fall short.

This is also true of virtually every interview with any Canadian player or manager ever in the last 13 years I've been following along except for maybe a brief blip of confidence and swagger before the previous Gold Cup.

• The amount of energy spent discussing the quality of a pitch is insane.
• The number of times we talk about a battery that Craig Forrest was hit with 25 years ago, or a bag of piss De Vos was hit with 23 years ago while in El Salvador contributes nothing to winning games. 
• The amount of times our media focuses the majority of their questions on how hard and scary it is to play in Central America or the Caribbean when interacting with players. Our players and managers are more than happy to oblige with negative language about seeking a result and being satisfied with it. 
• The amount of energy Kurt Larson spent painting the picture and beating the drum of how scary Honduras is to play in during the lead-up to a critical match there.

It's all negative, fearful and self-defeating language that seeps its way into the mentality of a team one way or another and it's very disappointing hearing Herdman shaking in his boots about Bermuda and Suriname already. 

Edited February 26, 2021 by grigorio

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, archer21 said:

If Bermuda are training twice a week, it surely isn’t with all of their UK players. So either they field a team of domestic players that are training together, or UK players that aren’t. 

It doesn't have to be one or the other. They could have a domestic squad with a couple of their stand out players sprinkled in, such as their Bristol City striker. 

[Obinna]

Herdman by the way looked concerned, and he should be. He's been robbed of a chance to adequately prepare this team. I feel bad for him. 

[trc2014]

8 minutes ago, grigorio said:

This is also true of virtually every interview with any Canadian player or manager ever in the last 13 years I've been following along except for maybe a brief blip of confidence and swagger before the previous Gold Cup.

• The amount of energy spent discussing the quality of a pitch is insane.
• The number of times we talk about a battery that Craig Forrest was hit with 25 years ago, or a bag of piss De Vos was hit with 27 years ago while in El Salvador contributes nothing to winning games. 
• The amount of times our media focuses the majority of their questions on how hard and scary it is to play in Central America or the Caribbean when interacting with players. Our players and managers are more than happy to oblige with negative language about seeking a result and being satisfied with it. 
• The amount of energy Kurt Larson spent painting the picture and beating the drum of how scary Honduras is to play in during the lead-up to a critical match there.

It's all negative, fearful and self-defeating language that seeps its way into the mentality of a team one way or another and it's very disappointing hearing Herdman shaking in his boots about Bermuda and Suriname already. 

If you listened to how Oliver reacted to the Herdman interview on OneSoccer, sounds like he echoed this.

[Alex]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

I haven't gone through the roster but I'm certain David will only be available for Bermuda. He will need to head back to France in order to quarantine for 1 week so he can still play v. PSG.

I'm also fairly certain Henry will not be available at all as Korea has a 14 day quarantine 

Ok I did some research. Marquinhos was on the bench for PSG vs Monaco on November 20. On November 17 he played in Brazil’s win over Uruguay. Did something change here because he didn’t quarantine. Richarlison also played for Everton right after playing in the CONMEBOL qualifiers. 

 

[narduch]

France now has a 7 day quarantine. Its possible they didn't have that in November.

At the She Believes cup Gilles left the Canada camp early to allow her enough time to quarantine for the next Bordeaux match.

[grigorio]

22 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

If you listened to how Oliver reacted to the Herdman interview on OneSoccer, sounds like he echoed this.

Missed it live but if it takes the media to impart some confidence and challenge this self-defeating excuse based mindset then so be it??! Ugh. 

[narduch]

Bermuda's captain looking for a major upset.

https://www.royalgazette.com/soccer/sport/article/20210226/leverock-eyeing-major-upset-against-powerhouse-canada/

Article also mentions that Bermuda's 2 friendlies on March 5 & 7 will be against the Bahamas.

Edited February 27, 2021 by narduch

[Alex]

15 minutes ago, narduch said:

Bermuda's captain looking for a major upset.

https://www.royalgazette.com/soccer/sport/article/20210226/leverock-eyeing-major-upset-against-powerhouse-canada/

Article also mentions that Bermuda's 2 friendlies on March 5 & 7 will be against the Bahamas.

Hopefully they have the same confidence going into the home game versus Suriname 

[narduch]

1 minute ago, Alex said:

Hopefully they have the same confidence going into the home game versus Suriname 

Should also note that their Domestic league shut down on December 5 and hasn't restarted yet.

[toontownman]

Powerhouse.

[Kadenge]

If Kennedy is out with an injury and Doneil can't make it re Covid quarantine does Cornelius get pulled from the  Olympic roster? He has a lot of experience with the senior team  2019 GC and played with Vitoria vs US in Toronto

[SoccMan]

On 2/26/2021 at 11:37 AM, trc2014 said:

If you listened to how Oliver reacted to the Herdman interview on OneSoccer, sounds like he echoed this.

 

On 2/26/2021 at 11:37 AM, trc2014 said:

If you listened to how Oliver reacted to the Herdman interview on OneSoccer, sounds like he echoed this.

Yup I’m getting tired of listening to the same interview over and over again about how hard it is to play in Central America. I’ve been listening to the same interview since the 1980’s . The same stories about the piss bags, things being thrown, the crowd intimidating the ref and so on and so on . Ya we get it we know and we’ve known for a longtime now a very long time . It’s time we got over this crap and just concentrate on getting the job done . I think many of us are tired of listening to the same crap every qualifying cycle. Just get down there and concentrate on getting the job done , it’s not their first rodeo as they say. I’m just remembering that El Salvador game in the last cycle, they fielded a B team more or less , the stadium was more than half empty , I’ve seen more intimidating crowds at Junior B hockey games here in Ontario than I saw in that game lol, but yet I still remember hearing the same narrative of going into a very hostile environment .

Edited February 27, 2021 by SoccMan

[narduch]

I have to double check but we won't even play in Central America until as early as November if we make the Octagon.

We are basically doing a Caribbean tour right now.

[jtpc]

5 hours ago, narduch said:

I have to double check but we won't even play in Central America until as early as November if we make the Octagon.

We are basically doing a Caribbean tour right now.

Just looking at the schedule, the first away match in Central America wouldn't be until January 2022 (Honduras). The only wrinkle to that would be if Nicaragua came up with something against Haiti and won Group E, then there could be an away match in Central America in June.

[jtpc]

On 2/26/2021 at 11:27 AM, grigorio said:

This is also true of virtually every interview with any Canadian player or manager ever in the last 13 years I've been following along except for maybe a brief blip of confidence and swagger before the previous Gold Cup.

• The amount of energy spent discussing the quality of a pitch is insane.
• The number of times we talk about a battery that Craig Forrest was hit with 25 years ago, or a bag of piss De Vos was hit with 23 years ago while in El Salvador contributes nothing to winning games. 
• The amount of times our media focuses the majority of their questions on how hard and scary it is to play in Central America or the Caribbean when interacting with players. Our players and managers are more than happy to oblige with negative language about seeking a result and being satisfied with it. 
• The amount of energy Kurt Larson spent painting the picture and beating the drum of how scary Honduras is to play in during the lead-up to a critical match there.

It's all negative, fearful and self-defeating language that seeps its way into the mentality of a team one way or another and it's very disappointing hearing Herdman shaking in his boots about Bermuda and Suriname already. 

I completely agree. I know our preparation plans have been thrown for a loop, but this match is as close to a must win as you can possibly get, so you had better believe you can win, regardless of the obstacles thrown in your way. I'm glad Herdman is taking Bermuda and Suriname very seriously, but for all the talk of how much we're trying to define our national team culture around a changed mindset and a winning mentality, I was a bit surprised to see some of the defeatist attitudes of the past come to light again.

Edited February 27, 2021 by jtpc

[dyslexic nam]

Isn’t mental preparation and the psychological aspect of things supposed to be his strong suit?   That doesn’t seem encouraging. 

[jtpc]

I'm looking forward to seeing who is in our lineup. I'm expecting this to be a frustrating match, one that's tougher than our positions in the rankings would indicate. Bermuda showed in their 2-0 win in Panama that they have a clear plan of exactly how they're going to play and they executed it. I echo what BrennanFan posted upthread on how tight this game will be. Like BrennanFan, I would be more than satisfied with a 1-0 win as well.

Edited February 28, 2021 by jtpc

[Obinna]

7 hours ago, Kadenge said:

If Kennedy is out with an injury and Doneil can't make it re Covid quarantine does Cornelius get pulled from the  Olympic roster? He has a lot of experience with the senior team  2019 GC and played with Vitoria vs US in Toronto

Yes. He said in the interview he will dig into the Olympic squad if he has to.

Best case senario is that he doesn't have to, so that he can have the strongest Olympic team possible, but he also mentioned it would just open up chances for some capable players further down the depth chart.

He specifically mentioned Buchanan as someone who could get pulled up, but as far as CB goes Cornelius has to be the first in line, as far as I am concerned.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Obinna

[Boominbooty]

Thoughts on Aleman and Twerdek joining the team as depth players if Herdman worried about fitness?

both starting in their leagues and playing regularly (Costa Rica and Poland respectively). leagues far stronger than the Bermuda/Caymans domestic leagues. 

[Floortom]

On 2/24/2021 at 11:04 AM, Alex said:

If Arfield, Hoilett and Millar can’t come because of quarantine restrictions then Bermudas UK players are out too, which is a much bigger loss for them because of who replaces them in their lineup. As far as which clubs hold players back well I can’t predict that. 

I was under the impression that UK based players only have to quarantine upon return if they were in a “red list “ country - the US is not on that red list so I wouldn’t think there would be an issue for any of those players to accept a call.

[grigorio]

40 minutes ago, Floortom said:

I was under the impression that UK based players only have to quarantine upon return if they were in a “red list “ country - the US is not on that red list so I wouldn’t think there would be an issue for any of those players to accept a call.

If the US and Florida specifically isn’t on that red list then I’m not sure what kind of list that is. 

[Bison44]

Yeah!! WHy so defeatist and lacking in self confidence.  We can beat these guys, we are better, just need to concentrate and get the job done.  Just like we stomped haiti in the gold cup......and Jamaica the gold cup before that.....