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WCQ: USA vs Canada - Sunday, Sept 5th, 8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific - Nashville


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3 hours ago, 99bottlesofkvass said:

CPL in 2 years had done much more than MLS in 25 and with smaller budgets too.

I mean, demonstrably false.  MLS did for the first number of years what it was intended to - establish a league for American players to continue playing, aid the national team in getting back to World Cups, and make soccer more mainstream in the US.  And it did that.  Now, if you want to argue that the US system of high school->college->MLS is a poor development pathway that the US has stuck with for way too long, I'll 100% agree.  If you want to argue that they're still struggling to find a bridge between their development academies and MLS, again I'll agree.  The USSF and MLS have hit a plateau on their player development, and they don't seem to know how to push through it.  But to say that it's been 25 years of failure, or that CPL has done more in 2 years is quite frankly just false.

Edited by Watchmen
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11 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Mmm.

We did not out play the US. Actually, we were slightly outplayed I think. They hit a post, we had some close call clearances. They had possession and more control of the match. Sure we nabbed a result, and I think it was deserved. But we did not outplay them. 

We did not outplay Honduras either, we wasted the first half, and did not get going until late. 

Both matches we got scored on late and reacted late, we did not impose a game plan in either. Same pattern seen in the GC. 

Both of these matches had one thing in common: we did not dominate the midfield, as if we had no mids to do it with. For all those insisting the GC was so important--it was so important we have not repeated the high press that was successful in the last three matches there, and we have not fully populated our midfield like we did there. So we have not, really, even drawn from the successful points of that tournament for these matches. Nor have we corrected weak points, like poor set plays, no shots from the top of the box, or silly cards and not being disciplined. 

I'd like to see the energetic press, taking the ball back, some talent in the middle to move the ball around. Sure, let's give Herdman a good grade for this match, but it was not a great coaching job, just a solid one.

I agree with this.   We should be thrilled with the result of the match versus the US.  But its one match. We met our expectations in one of two matches.    I started reading here stuff like “Our talent is approaching that of the US” or “we are as talented as the US, or are catching up to the US” and this calls for a bit of reality check.  Ahem,  as much as i would like to believe this stuff, anyone looking at it objectively can realise we dont.  For every TB we uncover,  they uncover a Caden Clark and a Br. Aaronson (sp).  Overall,  they have more players playing overseas a good clubs than we do.  We played as well and deserved the result we got Sunday but our objective remains to get that third spot.   Our real competition is Hon, CRC, Pan,  ES, and Jam.   Its not Mex and US.  We are competeting for that third spot; thats our objective.  The US has ten times our population, a more favourable climate and the popularity of the game is growing at similar pace to canada. 

Edited by Free kick
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16 hours ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

I think in general Aaronson's approach really shows the difference between their players and ours. The talent at this point is nearing or at equivalent. However, they've grown up with silver spoons up their ass whereas our boys have to fight to even be a speaking point in Canadian media and earn everything they've gotten. People outside of this forum will count them out until they're literally stepping foot in Qatar next winter

Every time I see the USMNT, the term "Frat Boy FC" always comes to mind. 😄

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9 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Surely that's what all the teams in the last Hex would have thought going into it as well. Turned out differently.

Current evidence seems to show that the US is not very good away from home. In their last 8 competitive away games, comprising the last Hex, Nations League, and the start of this Ocho, they have a single win, in Cuba, to go along with 3 losses and 4 draws. Based on that record, an American win doesn't look very likely tomorrow in San Pedro Sula. It sucks for them that they can't play all 14 games at home like they get for Gold Cup and Nations League finals.

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24 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Surely that's what all the teams in the last Hex would have thought going into it as well. Turned out differently.

I agree.  Before a ball was kicked I had the US penciled in at #2 for sure, but 2 points from their first 2 games and an away match in Honduras isn’t exactly the ideal start.  If they stumble in San Pedro Sula, it will be either 2 or 3 points from their first 3 games.   Even with 2 of those points being away points, I am quite sure it isn’t the start US fans/players/pundits were expecting.  

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11 hours ago, Corazon said:

I played and coached for some years in the US and this is exactly true.  They truly believe they are the greatest in everything (not just sport & soccer).  It's actually quite embarrassing to hold conversations with them about their teams and soccer in general.  One thing I have noticed as well is that high level soccer players in the US (NCAA and low level professionals) surprisingly lack knowledge of the game in general and many do not even pay attention to world football at all.  The same levelled players from Canada are quite opposite from everything I have learned over the years.

It was very much the same playing AAU basketball in the states when I was younger. Until more recently with Canadians starting to improve on the NBA levels, people would look at Canadian AAU programs as walkovers. Was the best feeling putting those kinda attitudes to sleep 

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11 minutes ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

. Until more recently with Canadians starting to improve on the NBA levels, people would look at Canadian AAU programs as walkovers. Was the best feeling putting those kinda attitudes to sleep 

There is a good documentary that touches on this exact topic you alluded to.  Its on CBC Gem.  Its about the team from Orangeville academy and their travels to the US to play in AAU basketball tournaments.    I highly recommend it 

Edited by Free kick
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13 hours ago, 99bottlesofkvass said:

About Honduras, I agree but they're better than the US. Yes, the US might have better players on paper but Honduras plays well as a team and knows how to Concacaf.

The US and Canada will qualify.  Over the 14 games, both will find their groove - I think the talent gap (especially with the Americans) is substantial enough.  

Edited by TOcanadafan
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17 minutes ago, TOcanadafan said:

The US and Canada will qualify.  Over the 14 games, both will find their groove - I think the talent gap (especially with the Americans) is substantial enough.  

We'll see. It's still early, but so far we have seen that talent can and has been equalized by experience, team spirit, tactics, and home field advantage.

The sole exception has been Mexico, as expected.  

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1 hour ago, TOcanadafan said:

The US and Canada will qualify.  Over the 14 games, both will find their groove - I think the talent gap (especially with the Americans) is substantial enough.  

I'm not so sure about the US now that McKennie is most likely out for the rest of the campaign if the rumour of him banging a USMNT player's sister is true.

 

Landon Donovan said that this was bad to the point that it might not be fixable...

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3 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

I agree.  Before a ball was kicked I had the US penciled in at #2 for sure, but 2 points from their first 2 games and an away match in Honduras isn’t exactly the ideal start.  If they stumble in San Pedro Sula, it will be either 2 or 3 points from their first 3 games.   Even with 2 of those points being away points, I am quite sure it isn’t the start US fans/players/pundits were expecting.  

Pretty sure the US program was expecting a minimum of 5 points this round, maybe six. If they end up with only 2, then some doubt'll creep in.  But there's still lots of games to play, and teams are dropping points all over the place. 

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2 hours ago, shorty said:

Sometimes Herc Gomez is really annoying, but other times (like this) he is tell-it-like-it-is-nail-on-the-head blunt and correct. 

Yeah, he and the host nailed it, over and again.  I don't disagree with what Pulisic said, but he needs to say this behind closed doors.  AND, why can't these US players simply say: "We just weren't good enough tonight. Canada bunkered, defended well, and we didn't find a way to break them down. That's on us." But, no, he volleys a thinly veiled complaint at Berhalter and takes no responsibility for what he and his teammates failed to accomplish.  Massive culture problem in this young side. Berhalter, it appears, has not earned their respect.  They need an Arena or a Bradley to whip these punks into shape. (But not this cycle, of course.)

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After seeing that part of Pulisic's press conference, I'm definitely surprised that he'd be throwing subtle shade at his coach like that. And that's probably just a hint of what's really going on in that locker room right now.

Pretty stark difference to the kind of things you usually hear our guys say in a postgame interview. 

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48 minutes ago, Acid-Tone said:

After seeing that part of Pulisic's press conference, I'm definitely surprised that he'd be throwing subtle shade at his coach like that. And that's probably just a hint of what's really going on in that locker room right now.

Pretty stark difference to the kind of things you usually hear our guys say in a postgame interview. 

There is some going on for sure behind with scenes of the USMNT right even after the success  they had in the Gold Cup and Nations League. Everyone is not on the same page it seems. They certainly have things to sort out. I can understand the frustration some are having after Weston's actions kept him out of the match Sunday and being sent back to his club. 

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17 hours ago, 99bottlesofkvass said:

I'm actually American but I find Canadian soccer more appealing and since the US is utterly hopeless and declining into the abyss, I decided to support Canada. Also, don't worry unlike most Yanks I don't have an Ameri-centric arrogance and I don't think the US is No.1 at anything other than being jerks. In fact, I think Canada is superior to the US in every way and if I say something stupid please forgive my sub-par American education (I'm ashamed of it too).

Actually if a Canadian said that about Canada I wouldn't appreciate it.  If there's something wrong with your country you fix it, not become a Fifth Column.  You have the right and freedom to bitch, but just keep in my mind why you do and how only by accident of birth you live there and not Yemen or Afghanistan.

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